Slouching lower in my seat, I stifled a sigh. I could sense the stares of my classmates directed at me, the paranoid coiling in my stomach and the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end at the whispers from all around me.

'Who can blames them?'

I seethed silently, trying to keep my inner turmoil from showing on my face. I had been careless, too arrogant and caught up in the moment to realize the repurcussions of my actions.

'This is my own fault... I under estimated them.'

But then again, it could also have been that Uzumaki Naruto did not back down from a fight. 'Ever. It's my way of the...street fighter?...Gangster?...Ninja. Let's go with Ninja.'

Glancing around, I noticed the quickly averted gazes that had been directed towards me only moments before.

Breathing through my nose, I forced myself to calm down. It wasn't that I was angry. Well, not at my classmates, anyway. I was panicking that someone would find out. No. No one would assume that a student of Hidden Leaf Highschool, the school that was reknown for having nothing to do with the gangs, would ever be involved in the recent gang wars that plagued the night.

Not even the school's notorious prankster.

Focusing my attention back to the front of the room, I tuned out the poorly hidden whispers and rumors swirling around me until the bell screeched, singling the end of first period. Gathering my things quickly, I was perparing to make a quick dash for my next class when my teacher's voice stopped me midstride, and encouraged the whispers all over again.

"Naruto! A word, please."

Grimacing inwardly, I plastered an all too wide, all too convincing grin on my face, and stepped away from the door I had been about to step through.

So close.

Waiting for the rest of the class to leave, I tried to gauge my English teacher, Iruka-Sensei's, expression. I nearly sighed again at seeing the worry and disappointment written across his scarred face.

After the final student had left and the door slid closed, I let the grin slip from my lips and beat him to the punch before he could even open his mouth to speak.

"Don't give me that look, Iruka-Sensei, I know what I'm doing and I know my limits." At the incredulous look on his face, I let my famous face splitting grin grace my features once more, adding in a light, cheerful tone, "I just like to push them... a little."

Iruka-Sensei was an old friend of my late father's, and had acted as my doctor on more than one occation when I had refused to go to a hosipital after staying out too late.

"You're going to get yourself hurt again. You've been involved in this for too long and-- !" Thankfully, I didn't have to listen to the end of the speech that I could of quoted with Iruka, if it wouldn't have encouraged him to wirte a longer, louder, tearfelt lecture about how bad being in a gang is.

'Like I don't already know.'

A movement by the door stopped Iruka-Sensei's scolding before it could get emotional, thus earning my undying gratitude.

Standing at the classroom door was a vaguely familiar face. Pupilless lavender eyes, long black hair tied back loosely between his shoulder blades. You wouldn't think he would be quickly forgotten. Student council, maybe? Soccer club? Oh well, either way he came bearing the excuse I had been looking for.

"Iruka-Sensei," He directed his words at Iruka-Sensei with a respectful nod, but kept his eyes locked on the discolouration the left side of my face turned. "Kakashi-Sensei needs to see you at lunch."

I smiled a genuinely happy smile, glad to dodge this conversation, at least for the moment. I called a loud fairwell and wave to the scarred man and quickly fled the classroom without looking back at Iruka-Sensei, though I could feel his gaze burning a hole in my back.

Escaping into the hallway, I headed towards my locker. I let the grin slip from my face once again, as the halls were now deserted and there was no one to act for. Maybe I would be lucky enough to get to class without--

"Hey! Wait up," But then again, I never had been a particularly fortunate person.

Glancing over my shoulder without stopping, I found the same pale eyed boy from Iruka-Sensei's class hurrying after me.

Forcing the grin back onto my face, I discreetly quickened my stride. "Hey, did you need something?"

I has known the current state of my face was going to draw attention as soon as I had spotted the dark purple blemish in the mirror, and I had practised an excuse, but I still wanted to prolong the half-assed explanation for as long as possible.

"What happened to your face?" A loud snort followed the blunt question from my persuer, and I had to fight not to roll my eyes.

'Such concern the student council has for the students. Oh well, might as well have some fun.'

Fixing a hurt and shocked expression in place, I whipped my head around to face my current annoyance without breaking stride.

"I'm hideous, aren't I?!" I cried, sorrow flooding my voice. I bit the inside of my cheek to force my eyes to water.

The urge to laugh was almost too great to squash at the horrified look on the teen's face, but I had years of practise holding in my emotions.

The boy took a step back, jaw slack with horror, pupilless eyes wide with confusion. Maybe if I was lucky he would warn the rest of the student council how 'sensitive' I was about my injuries. The school was more or less run by the select few, and the rest of the student body would follow their example to either bombard me with questions, or act as though nothing was wrong. Needless to say I prayed to the Gods of Ramen for the latter.

"W-what? Uh, well..." I had to give the kid credit, he seemed to compose himself quickly enough. Still, I gave a loud sniffle and jutted out my bottom lip for good measure. "The bell is about to ring, you should hurry to your class, Uzumaki-San." I watched as he gracefully, albeit quickly, darted around the corner, waiting until the too fast to be casual footsteps could no longer be heard before I let out a soft chuckle.

Maybe today wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

And maybe hell handed out snowcones for good behaviour.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So, your telling me, you didn't find out what happened to Uzumaki because he started to cry?" I was satisfied with how the irritation in my voice carried across the room.

I had asked the Hyuuga this morning to find out what had happened to Uzumaki, confident the normally stoic and serious boy could handle the Dobe's tricks. It was now lunch and the Student Council still had no idea as to what had caused the Idiot's injuries.

'This is not acceptable.'

Glaring at the Hyuuga, I couldn't help but scowl. Oh, sure, the Dobe sniffles a bit and Hyuuga turns tail and runs, but I glared countless deaths unto the teen, and he barely bats an eyelash. Maybe I was losing my touch.

Standing abruptly, I headed for the door of room 218, the room the Student Council had assigned as their meeting room at lunch every day. The student body expected the Student Council, or at least the Student Council President, to know everything that happened to the school and the students, and in turn report that the problem had been solved back to them. It was how the Student Council retained their respect and power at Hidden Leaf. The Dobe had yet to ruin that fact, and that was not about to change. Even with such incompetent members.

"I'll go see what happened." I called back flatly, showing my annoyance by snapping the door shut behind me. 'And then I'll kill the Moron for causing trouble for me. Again.'

Walking down the almost empty halls, I wondered where the Dobe would most likely be. He would normally be eating with his friends in the hallways, or attempting another lame, and extraordinarily troublesome, prank, but if he was trying to avoid people questioning him about how he got injured, 'One of his damn pranks probably backfired in his face,' he would most likely be hiding away from everyone. That knocked out the cafeteria. One of the classrooms? People could just walk in. Roof? Locked... 'Like that's ever stopped him before.'

Turning up the closest flight of stairs, I couldn't help but smirk slightly. I couldn't wait to throw in Hyuuga's face that I, Student Council President, Sasuke Uchiha, had once again suceeded where he had failed. It almost made it worth having to deal with the obnoxious Moron.

Almost.

Reaching the top of the staircase, I tried the doorknob, a smirk lifting my lips when it silently turned the entire rotation, and I slowly opened the door an inch.

My smirk instantly grew just a tad wider as I heard an unmistakable voice shouting seemingly to itself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Groaning, I fell onto my back, finally finding santcuary from all the poorly hidden rumors and sniggers directed at me on the roof of this dreadful prison.

The morning had been hell. My second class, science, had been the same as english, seeing as I had arrived too close to the bell for anyone to question my...ah, condition. I was still hopeful that the Student Council would heed the pale-eyed kid's warning, with the rest of the school following their lead and leave me alone.

Of course, I had been forgetting just how far Sakura Haruno would go to please the Student Council.

When the bell had rung, I was perparing to make a quick escape for my next class, when Sakura had blocked the only doorthat had access to the hallway, glaring right at me with her arms crossed over her chest. So, instead of follow my instincts and leaving through one of the many windows, as any sane person would have done, I plastered a large grin to my face, and strode right up to Sakura-Chan.

'Next time I'm going through the damn window.'

As soon as I had opened my mouth to excuse myself, she started screeching about how I had to stop causing trouble for the Student Council. Sasuke-Kun was already so over worked, he didn't need the extra stress of chasing after me.

'I bet the Teme could handle it if he wasn't too stressed from dodging his fan club.' Which Sakura just happened to be co-founder of.

About half way through her speech, Sakura's best friend and rival, Ino Yamanaka, came storming up to help. As they both started in on how... well, I'm not quite sure what they were going on about. My ears were still ringing from the first bout of screeches. Luckily, they eventually turned on each other. I took the chance to duck around them and into the swarm of students that continued on their merry ways, far too used to Sakura and Ino's fights at any given time to be bothered anymore. I think I even saw some ear plugs.

Fortunately, none of the other student's had bothered to confront me like Sakura and Ino had, instead choosing to take bets as to how I had come about such injuries, and wait until I snapped and screamed the cause at them or until the Student Council got it out of me to find out.

By the end of third period I was more than a little insulted. Why was everyone doubting my pranking skills? Hadn't I proven time and again that I did not make mistakes in my pranks?

'Guess I'll just have to show them again.' A smile smile tugged at my lips. I still had a few tricks up my sleeves that would probably draw the attention way from my face.

I skipped out of the end of third period, right before lunch, debating whether I should head home early, and wait out there until my injuries were completely healed to return, dealing with the questions then, not to mention the mountain of homework that would be waiting for me, or if I should just hide out for lunch and take out my frustations later.

I was already falling behind in math.

So I had headed to the roof, knowing no would bother to look for me here. Toying with the lock on the door for a minute or two before it clicked loudly, I pushed it open and let it swing closed behind me, grinning to myself all the while at my self-proclaimed refuge.

Shielding my eyes from the sun with my forearm as I lay on my back, I winced when I put too much pressure on my bruised features.

'Damn it.' There was a vibrating in my pocket could only lead to no good.

Sighing, I rummaged around in my pocket for a second before pulling my cell phone out, taking an extra moment or two before drawing my arm still thrown over my face down from my eyes to peak one open tentively at the offending device, groaning when I recognized the name flashing on the caller ID.

Willing myself to calm down, I flipped the phone open and held it to my ear. "Hiya, Gaara. What's up?" I tried in my lightest, loudest tone.

"Explain." I couldn't help my flinch at the cold, one word response.

'This day just keeps getting better and better.'

"Explain? What kinda greeting is that? Really, Gaara, you should work on your manners." It felt like my mind was frozen. How the hell had Gaara found out already? I swear that kid has minions everywhere.

"Naruto." There was no arguing with that damn tone. The tone that carried across the message 'defy me and I'll use my pyshic abilities, that I do have indeed have and yet have been denying from Naruto just to screw with his head, to crush you via sand. Your choice'.

"Yes, Gaara?" My brain was still stuck in an iceberg.

"Explain." There's going to be hell to pay. I could no longer remember my half-assed excuse.

"Uh, right." I've never heard Gaara laugh before. I doubted he would start now.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Stopping at the door, I listened to the Dobe's muffled shouts, answering my questions unbeknowningly.

Unfortunately, a hundred more were quick to take their place.

"Explain? What kinda greeting is that? Really, Gaara, you should work on your manners."

There was a short pause, and I opened the door a little wider.

"Yes, Gaara?"

Gaara? The name sounded fimiliar, but I knew he didn't go to Hidden Leaf. Gaara...

"Uh, right." What had that Gaara kid said to make the Dobe agree so quickly? Was that even humanly possible?

"You see..." I heard the Dobe take a deep breath, and his next...statement, I suppose it would a nor-quite-but-close-enough title, came so quickly that it sounded like one word.

"IwascheckingoutthenewestgangonthesouthsideofKohohawhenIranintosomepunksfromSoundFourtheystartedafightsoItookthemdownbutthebigone, And I mean HUGE, Gaara, really! You remember my friend Choji? This kid looked like he had ate him! CameatmefrombehindwhenIwastakingdowntheredheadandthespiderycreepishoneandwhenIturnedtoblckhimtheredheadlandedasuckerpunchtomyface."

I stood with my hand on the door knob, slowly trying to process what I had just heard. Someone had eaten Choji? There were Canabals in Kohona? 'I didn't know the Moron did drugs. I suppose that would explain alot. And something about a red spider?'

I could hear the Dobe panting, obviously trying to say everything in one breath. I discreetly opened the door a bit more, peeking out of the crack to see the Idiot sprawled out on his back not a yard from the fence surrounding the perimeter of the roof, one hand holding the phone to his ear and the other arm thrown over his face.

"Yes, Gaara?" The Idiot was still breathless as he answered after a few moments of silence.

A loud sigh, followed by a groan as the Moron moved his arm away from his face to push himself up into a sitting position, back facing toward me.

"I said I was checking out one of the more recently active gangs in Kohona, they've been around for a while, but they started getting a lot more members lately, and they've been causing some trouble on the South end of town."

I felt my face tug down into a frown. What the hell was the Moron doing checking out a gang? He was a prankster, sure, but he wasn't a delenquient.

"I wasn't really paying attention to the other people in the streets, it wasn't quite dark yet... Yes, Gaara, I know that people like us can't let our guard down... No, I just had a hood. I was just planning on watching them last night, and then sending out a warning tonight if they were breaking the rules..."

I was completely lost. The Dobe was really a stalker? Why the hell would he be following a gang around? Was he planning to join one? He'd get himself killed. And expelled. I would see to that.

"I was just planning on waiting out in an alley for a while, but after a while the Sound Four...Yeah, those ones... No idea what they were doing in Kohona, but I couldn't exactly start demanding answers as I was, I would have given myself away as a member of... I thought it would be easier to keep tabs on the gang if I wasn't a notable gang member myself, I mean, what kind of idiot would knowingly break the rules in front of one of us?"

Impossible. Naruto Uzumaki was part of a gang? He was just a prankster! He never actually did anything to hurt people. At least not directly, even if his damn pranks were slowly driving me insane and the Principal into an early retirement.

As something slipped past the thick fog in my brain of the innocent, naive little prankster that was 'The Dobe', I registered one word above the rest.

Rules.

There were no rules in gangs. It was all or nothing, kill or be killed. Ruthless. What the hell was that Moron going on about?

"No, they were just picking a fight at first, trying to see if I belonged to a gang before they started something. When I didn't throw a title in their faces, they tried to demand some cash. When I did nothing, one pulled a knife... Awwe, you care! How sweet, Raccoon-Tan1... What the- Shut up, my guard is perfect, dammit!"

None of this made sense. Uzumaki was attacked by a gang, but all I had heard was that he had a bruised cheek. That was practically unheard of in Kohona, and considering The Moron's big mouth, it was less then likely he would get away with so little.

"Yes, yes, I made sure it wasn't for show. I waited until the one with the knife rushed me until I took him down... Um, broken wrist and a pop to the head?"

I saw the Idiot hold the phone away from himself as though it were a bomb, gingerly holding it between his thumb and forefinger at an arm's length, but I still couldn't hear the voice on the other end.

"S-self defense? It's very popular right now, especially with the streets being so dangerous... There were three more. Two attacked when they saw their buddy go down, I thought the other one... Yes, the one that looked like he ate Choji... I thought he had made a break for it, but I heard him moving behind me, for such a big guy he's fast, so I twisted out of the way, and he took down the spidery looking guy in a head long tackle, hehe, you should have seen the look on the guy's face when he saw his buddy coming at him, Gaara, it was too great...Oh, uh, right, sorry, when I went to go back to the red headed chick, I think she had picked up a rock or something, and I didn't block before she hit my face... No, dammit, my guard is great! I was distracted, I say, distracted!"

Even when talking about something that would cause others nightmares and to be distraught, the Dobe was as obnoxious as ever.

"I took the girl down, and then the big one after that... No, the spidery one was out cold from the big guy's tackle, heh... I was think about leaving a warning but... I'm sorry! I don't think she saw my face, but the girl knocked my hood down!"

I couldn't take this anymore. I didn't understand any of this.

But I would.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the down wide open, making sure my stoic mask was firmly in place, giving away nothing. I watched as the Dobe made a choking, gasping noise and whipped around, already on his feet.

Wide blue eyes stared in shock, mouth gaping like a fish as his words seemed to catch in his throat. I took the chance to look him over, only hearing about his face, only having heard the rumors, since I didn't have a class with him until after lunch.

Two jagged cuts ran from under his left eye to just over the three scars that ran horizontal on either cheek. From under the left eye until the bottom of the middle scar was a deep purple colour, looking darker than it actually was compared to bright azure eyes and sun kissed hair. The right side of the Dobe's face was unscathed, albeit the three scars.

Eyes trailing downward, I noted bandages hiding a tanned neck, and realized I had just heard the edited addition of Uzumaki's attack. Bandages also ran up the boy's right arm, fingers to elbow, with an orange wrist band over top at the wrist, the Dobe's small addition to the standard uniform of black slacks, white dress shirt, and black tie and blazer.

Trailing back up to find the blonde's face, I caught the nervous tugging at the end of his untucked dress shirt, the sleeves had been rolled up to the elbows and blazer and tie at been discarded on the ground beside his feet.

I couldn't believe how different he looked to me now. The outfit was the same, the hair, the eyes, the small but obnoxious touch of orange. It was all the same, and yet I no longer saw the lithe body caused from running away from myself and the teachers after being caught in one of his pranks and genetics, but from fighting on the streets. I noticed how prominent the muscles became in the small unbandaged forearm as the teen's hands curled into fists and uncurled, only to curl again.

"Gaara?" I looked back to Uzumaki's face to meet his guarded blue eyes. "...I'm going to have to call you back."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There are moments in our lifes that can change them forever. Some are small and unnoticable, and trigger other small events that can gradually lead us unto another path in life.

Others are bold, and demand attention. They can alter every aspect of our lifes, and force us on to the next path immediately.

As fate would have it, it would seem I have once again fallen into the latter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. '-Tan' is a childish form of '-chan'

This is my first fanfiction, please let me know the plots too played out or just plain boring. Praise or flame, I take no offense! Thanks,

KyoKotou