DISCLAIMER: I, Esperwen, am naught but a poor student who does not own Naruto, or any characters, pairings, or awesomeness affiliated. This disclaimer covers all of this fic!

Esperwen: Heeeey! Thanks for clicking on "Konoha Central High: Fall Semester"! This is the first of a trilogy...or at least that's what I have planned. Please bear with me; I'm playing around with my writing style between heavy loads of homework, so this isn't easy for me. I shall try to post weekly, but I make no promises. Posting twice a month would be an accomplishment for me, actually...

And don't worry about how the intro is written out...the whole fic isn't like that.

Also, just a heads up: this fic contains OC. According to reviews, they are good OC. So...don't be put off by the OC!

...anyway, carry on!

-Intro~-

Radio static.

Mocking laughter. Cut-off screaming.

Radio static.

Wind's shriek. Creaking wood.

Radio static.

Surprised gasp. Growl of rage.

Radio static.

Hushed silence.

Radio static.

Police sirens.

Radio static.

Sidewalk, running.

Radio static.

Metal screech. Door slamming. Soft panting.

The team is gathering.

"Radios off." Male voice.

Electronic beeps. Breathing easier.

Brown-eyed count. "Five. All present."

"Robbers caught." Blue-eyed smirk.

"Nobody hurt." Black-eyed smile.

Soft laughter. Cool relief. Distant sirens.

"Mission, success." Male yawn.

"Final mission." Green-eyed reminder.

Unwanted memory. Heavy silence. Wordless ache...

"E-mail. Letters." Misty black.

"Phone calls." Brown and blue chorus. Crooked smiles.

"New friends." Green pessimist.

"Old comrades." Male insists.

"Forgotten fast." Green grumble.

"Not possible." Blue disagrees.

"Grew together." Brown-eyed voice.

"Laughed together." Black murmur.

"Always together." Blue vow.

Wanted promise. Wordless silence. Heavy ache...

Green whisper. "...Good times."

Sighs. Sniffles.

Final command. "Team disbanded."

Last look. "...Goodbye, friends..."

~*~

-Chapter 1~ Welcome to KC High-

(Michiko)

(first day of school, Konoha City)

"Michiko...Michiko..."

Oh, no...

The voice was hazy, and sounded far away, but I still managed to make out my name. I wish I hadn't; then I'd have the excuse to tune the voice out.

"Michiko...we're nearly there," a woman's voice coaxed.

I felt a hand gently shake my shoulder. But I didn't want my shoulder shaken. I know it was rude, and I regret it now, but I shoved the hand away. Even groaned a little. I was so tired...that's no excuse for rudeness, I know, but I was really tired.

"Still jet-lagged? C'mon, kid, you slept a good 12 hours last night."

"Woke up twice," I croaked, my eyes still closed. Ugh, first I was whining, and now I was making frog noises. I hate mornings; I always act like such a troll.

"You still had 6 more hours than me, regardless," the woman pointed out, "Not to mention that since I'm the one paying for your hotel room, thanks to you coming a day earlier than you were supposed to, I should be the one complaining."

I yawned openly, stretching for a moment, and then sat up properly in her beat-up old car's front seat. I gave the woman my most charming smile.

"What're you talking about, Kushina? Children's Aid is paying for the room, not you."

My new social worker chuckled at that, just like I hoped she would. I was glad; I was starting to feel guilty about growling at her a moment before, and was relieved that she let it go. Kushina's a really sweet lady, honestly.

"Good point," the not quite middle-aged woman allowed, her eyes fixed on the road ahead while she continued to drive, "Smart-ass. Just like my son."

I rolled my eyes, and then sat facing forward in the car, again. We were on our way to my new school, which I would be attending for who knows how long.

"Do you have your transcript from last semester?" Kushina asked me, going back to business.

"Right here," I nodded, unzipping the worn, old backpack on my lap and touching a paper I kept safe in a thin folder. That sheet all the courses and grades from my freshman high school year printed on it. And it looked different than most kids' transcripts. My name, 'Michiko,' had no family name following it, and my courses had either D's or A's for grades. I never got Bs or Cs like a normal person. Behold, the freaky transcript that doesn't belong! ...story of my life...

"Your photo I.D.?" Kushina had to make sure all my information was in order; I hadn't been in this city very long, and we had to register me into my classes today; it was the first day of the school year.

"Yup. Oto City's student bus pass counts, right?" I'd needed to bus to my old school, and this little plastic card with my face on it got me a 50cent discount every time I paid bus fare. That doesn't sound like much, but it does make a difference if you're as poor as me.

"Yes, it counts. What about your lunch?" Kushina pulled into a parking lot as she spoke. We'd arrived at the school, I realized. I tried to keep my nerves in check.

"You gave me $5, remember?" I smiled, flashing a bill at Kushina before shoving it back into my pocket. One of the first things I learned in Oto City was to never wave money around for people to see. We weren't in Oto City anymore, but better safe than sorry.

"Right, right. Which means you owe me $5 now," she grinned, parking his car and taking her key out of the ignition.

"Don't worry. If I stay here long enough to hold a job, $5 from my first pay check is all yours."

This time, she didn't laugh. I chuckled a couple times, though. I had to; I was really, really nervous. I mean, I had just reminded myself of an inconvenient truth: I never stayed in a foster home for very long.

Yes, I said 'foster home'. I, Michiko, have been without parents for as long as I can remember. Having no known relatives, when my parents died I was given to the Children's Aid Society of the Fire Country. And I've bounced between foster homes ever since then.

It's not that I'm a problem child, or anything. I mean, my grades are so weird because I'm only good at certain subjects, and the ones I don't understand I do really badly in (hence, the Ds and As on my transcript). And if anything, I try to break up school fights. I try hard to be good. Seriously. It's just that...the places I've been haven't been so great. In fact, the foster homes I've been in have always pretty easy to leave, if I'm being completely honest. Well, except for this last time...

I'd thought I was doing a good job pretending to look up at what would be my new school, but I guess I didn't hide my sniffle that well, because suddenly Kushina had a hand on my shoulder, and an apologetic look on her face. I wish I hadn't made her feel guilty, but I had.

"Michiko, Zaku honestly tried his best-" Kushina started, referring to my old social worker.

"I know!" I exclaimed, blinking hard against hot tears, but stopped myself from throwing a tantrum at the last moment.

Instead, I forced myself to calm down. Oh, I wanted to yell. Trust me, it was hard not to. I mean, for almost 16 years, my foster homes had all been in Oto City, a huge metropolis in the State of Hebi. But for some reason, Children's Aid decided to relocate me to the other side of the country (a two-hour plane ride!). I was assigned to a family in Konoha City, in the State of Katon. Now I was in another giant city, which looked just as unfriendly as the old one. And trust me, if you weren't rich or had a family name, Oto wasn't friendly.

New family, new social worker, new city...and now, my biggest problem: I had to find new friends. But how could I?! Do you expect me to forget my old friends?! They were my fam...no. I had to get a grip. After all, one of my friends promised to follow me to Konoha City as soon as she could.

"...I know," I sighed, trying to smile at Kushina, "I'll get over myself...I just need more time."

'Time', I said. Right. If experience has taught me anything, nobody in the neighbourhood will like me, and the family I'm moving in with will hurt me. It was always like that. Always, except for the last time, and honestly, friends like that can only happen onc...No. Get a grip.

Kushina nodded at what I said, and I could help but silently thank her when she changed the subject. If she hadn't distracted me and made me think of something else, I know I would've collapsed on the ground and given up, right where I was. Dramatic and pathetic, I know, but sadly, that's how much I had wanted to stay in Oto with my friends. I always was a dramatic kid. Heck, I usually got As in Drama class.

"Well, here we are, Michiko," Kushina said, motioning an arm to the great, ancient-looking high school we were walking into, "Welcome to Konoha Central High."

~*~

(Kiba)

(first day of school, lunchtime, Konoha City)

I know this sounds cliché, but the first morning of the school year sucked so badly! English sucked, and History sucked harder! As a rule, I, Kiba Inuzuka, hate school, but that morning was definitely the worst ever. Hands down.

When lunch came around, I yanked the lock off of my locker and threw the door open so fast that it bounced off the locker beside it and slammed shut again. Dammit! It was making fun of me! I glared at it, and then yanked it open the same way, kicking it when it bounced so that it stayed open this time. That'll teach it...

"Damn locker..." I growled through bared teeth, "Where is she?!"

"Whoa, Kiba! Relax!"

My friend, Kankurou, punched my shoulder cheerfully before opening the first locker to the left of me. Kankurou's a year older than me, but we hang out a lot anyway; he was one of the few guys in this school that'd let me goof off when I wanted. But I didn't wanna goof off, right then. The blonde idiot was always so damn happy…

"Lay off, man, today sucks ass," I snapped, putting my books away and looking for my wallet; I had to buy my lunch. Cafeteria food was crap, but I'd slept in that morning and had ended up late for first period, even without stopping to pack something. That day sucked.

"Why, you got detention for being late, already?" Kankurou guessed, raising an eyebrow and still smirking.

"Nah," I shook my head; good thing I'd had Mr. Hatake for English; he always comes to class at least a half hour late, so he never knew I'd walked in a good 15 minutes after class was supposed to start, "You forgot? Today, that girl my family's taking care of is coming to Konoha, remember?"

Kankurou frowned a little, thinking, then his face lit up and he snapped his fingers before pointing at me, "Your foster sister."

"Exactly." I still can't figure out how he forgot for a second.

"And, what, they cancelled on you? She isn't coming?"

"That's not it," I grumbled, finding my wallet in my backpack and shoving it into my back pocket before closing my locker, "I'm supposed to meet her here, at school. But I didn't have any classes with her this morning!"

"Dude, relax!" Kankurou laughed a little as he spoke, and he led me off to the caf, "Everyone in the school has lunch right now. If she's here-"

"She has to be," I snapped, running a hand through my messy hair irritably. I didn't even wanna think about the chance that she wasn't at school, that day.

"...then she'll be in the caf," Kankurou finished, as if I hadn't interrupted. He's a good guy like that, letting little things go.

As Kankurou said that, we entered the caf together. The hallway had been pretty silent, and I had to rub my ears a few times before I got used to the chaos in the lunchroom. But I didn't really care, just then. Ears are one thing; a foster sister is another.

While Kankurou scanned the room for our friends, I pulled a photo out of my hoodie pocket and stared at it again. A couple weeks ago, Children's Aid had sent us (my family, I mean) a picture of the girl we were taking care of for a while. All three of us (my mom, my older sister and I) had a copy of that photo, and I dunno about Hana, but my mom and I carry our copies with us everywhere.

Sounds like we're creepers? We're not. But you gotta understand: my mom always wanted to have a big family. But when my dad died, my mom didn't wanna replace him with some other guy, so she figured she'd adopt some kids. So now, she really wants kids with no family of their own to join ours.

My photo was already kinda worn out from carrying it around everywhere; good thing it was just a copy. I already had the girl's face memorized, but I liked looking at her pic anyway. About my age, she was sitting on a park picnic table, with her feet on the bench. She was around normal height, had tan skin, and dark brown, straight hair that turned up at the ends. The girl had almond-shaped, black eyes, fragile-looking cheekbones, a flat-ish nose, and a light pink mouth. I guessed she didn't pose for pictures a lot, because her smile looked kinda forced, but when I first showed the guys her picture, they all agreed that she was really cute. ...Well, if they hadn't agreed, I'd have shoved their teeth down their throats, but still. She was cute.

"Ah," Kankurou said suddenly, just as I shoved the picture back into my hoodie's pocket, "I see my brother and Shino. Over there."

I saw the table Kankurou was pointing at; it was the table we usually sat at, in the far corner by a graffitied wall and the caf's scummy windows. We started walking towards it, weaving between tables where the usual cliques tended to gather at. I decided was gonna lend the pic to the guys so they could look for the girl while I bought lunch.

My best friend, Shino, saw us coming, and he nudged Kankurou's little brother, Gaara, with an elbow. Gaara looked up and saw us headed towards us; he nodded once like always and went back to staring into the crowd. That was Shino and Gaara's thing; they sat facing the rest of the school and stared at people, watching them and freakin' them out. Though, in Gaara's case, he leaned back in his seat and had his arms crossed and his green eyes just sorta pierced through people. With Shino, he sat up straight like he was in the army or something, had his hands folded on the table and he hid his face with his coat's collar, hood and his sunglasses, simply giving people the feeling they were being watched. One guy watched you openly, while the other just gave off an aura. And you thought me and my family were creepy...

Then Shino jerked his thumb to a table across the room, and when I turned to see what it was, I froze.

"...Go on," Kankurou urged, when he saw what I was staring at, "I'll buy your lunch for you."

My friends and I may look like creeps, with our frowning and our big sweaters, but seriously, we're all nice guys. Sometimes even Gaara.

"You owe me," Kankurou called, when I sped away, but I didn't care. Lunch money didn't seem so important anymore.

Because on the other side of the caf, there was the girl! The girl I'd been looking for was sitting at a table! A lunch table! In Konoha Central High's disgusting caf! I guess I showed the guys her pic a lot, because Shino ended up finding her for me.

I must have looked dorky, how I ran across the caf. Normally, I don't run outside of Gym, but I was excited and forgot to look cool; good thing I didn't lose my head and just T over. You've probably figured out by now that my mom wasn't the only one who wanted a big family. I did, too.

It's been eight years since my mom opened up our home to foster kids. But I guess Children's Aid didn't like our 'single-parent with two kids' home, or our shitty neighbourhood, because kids never stayed more than a day. Our house was only being used as a halfway point or pit stop for kids travelling to a new home from far away, but not far enough for a plane ride. So when we heard about this girl, and how she might stay for a long, long time...if you haven't realized it yet, we were really excited about this girl!

As soon as I reached her table, though, I stopped. She was sitting alone, staring at her tray and trying to be invisible. You could tell she was shy. I hoped that all I had to do was break the ice and she'd be talkative and not shy. But I had a problem.

I've wanted a little sister for a really long time (ok, she's only a few months younger than me. But still. That counts.). I've waited eight years for this girl. But with a sickening jolt, I realized that I had no idea how to say 'hi' to her.

...Crap, I thought, freezing for the second time that day.

I guess she heard me reach her table, or maybe I said 'crap' out loud, because she glanced up at my face before looking back down. She's cute when she's shy, I realized! Not as cute as Hinata Hyuuga, of course, but...wait, you never heard me say that. Don't tell anyone I said that. Tell anyone I said that and you're dead.

"...Um..."

The girl half turned, almost looking at me. She started to say something, but then she choked and faced forward again, putting a hand on the caf table, so that her arm was between me and her.

I realized I was scaring her. Crap! I'd forgotten how scary the fang tattoos on my face could be. And now that I'm looking back, I can see that I had been doing the whole staring thing Shino and Gaara do that I hate.

Say something. Say anything, I thought, racking my brains for something. I was supposed to be taking care of her! She shouldn't have to try to start a conversation! What was the guidance counsellor always telling me? ...oh yeah, "Take leadership!" So I said the first, non-creepy thing that came to mind.

"I'm, uh, your big brother!"

The girl just stared blankly at me.

I'm pretty sure time stopped.

It took a moment, but then I realized what I had just said.

...in my defense, that had sounded a whole lot better in my head.

Esperwen: Haha, so! How're you guys keeping up? Review, please; constructive feedback helps! I'll try to update this time next week!