InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Another Yellow Brick For The Road ❯ Chapter 1
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: whymihere 
We meet the characters
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.14.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
We meet the characters
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.14.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Okay for those who know me for my Inuyasha fics. Here’s a little twist, it’s a Naruto and Inuyasha crossover. Inuyasha is the sole property of Takahashi Rumiko. And Naruto is the property and creation of Kishimoto Masashi. Also I’m gonna throw in a Gundam Wing character as a nice little balance. Don’t know the creators name but he don’t belong to me...And for just the hell of it, this takes place in Seattle, and Naruto and Sasuke will be fraternal twins, and Sakura be their younger sister. Don’t know what the last name should be though. Also it’s an A.U.
April 12th, 2002
Chapter 1
The alarm clock blared the sounds of a heavy metal band making the set of twins turn over in their sleep. Neither wanted to get up and go to school as they had just come off of vacation granting them the ability to be lazier than usual. Reaching over the older of the two hit the snooze alarm before wiping some drool from his lips. Moaning in pain at the sudden burst of light he shouted, “Mom let us sleep. No one’ll care if we miss the first day back from spring break.” Telling her son that he’d had enough sleep over the past two weeks when he wasn’t working, she pulled the covers off him forcing him to shiver at the sudden loss of comfort.
Walking over she slapped her other son on the head saying, “Out of bed Naruto.” Sitting up, he scratched ruffled hair, gave his mother a look, and dropped back down onto the bed snoring loudly. Growling loudly she shouted, “Fine! I’ll just have your father deal with the two of you when he gets back from his trip in a couple hours.” The sudden scrambling of her twin sons had the pink haired woman beaming as she knocked on her daughters door.
Glad to see the girl was already dressed, she told her that breakfast was ready and to make sure her brother’s were dressed quickly. Peeking her head in at her eighteen year old brothers, Sakura giggled saying, “Mom’s pissed at you.” Dodging a flying pillow, the fifteen year old stuck out her tongue as she ran down stairs ready for school to get back in progress.
Tossing on a new tee-shirt, Naruto pulled on his pants asking, “Why can’t we just have a day off from school after a vacation?” Telling his twin that he didn’t know, Sasuke grabbed a pick from the dresser reminding him of practice after school. Beaming excitedly, Naruto rushed the closet and grabbed his pick and drum sticks saying, “So, who are we going to be using today?”
Pulling his guitar out from under his bed, Sasuke tuned it quickly saying, “Inuyasha wants to try out that song Kagome loves. And, I think Duo was going to go on lead for the first time in awhile. I hear he’s been practicing.” The blonde rubbed his whiskered cheeks complaining about the brunette’s over-confident attitude. Setting the guitar back in his case, Sasuke lifted it as he said, “Duo’s got a great vocal range and excellent guitar abilities. So shut up or else he’ll take over for you as our usual rhythm guy.” Growling at his brother, Naruto pulled his two guitars out and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Just as they arrived, their mother Janice had just finished putting the toast on the table while Sakura munched on some grapes. In her late forties, Janice had the pink hair, and green eyes of her daughter. Not to mention the same alter ego type personality. The passive/aggressive nature of the woman forced the family to tow the line when it came to pushing her buttons. It was this feature that made her a good cop. She worked second shift as a desk sergeant at the local precinct, giving out orders and occasionally taking on cases that she never discussed with anyone but her husband.
Her husband, Keiji, was a advertising manager for a local company. He handled all his responsibilities with care and discretion making sure that he left time for his family. In their twenty years of marriage, he’d never missed a birthday, anniversary, wedding, funeral, or anything that held even the tiniest amount of importance to his family. Even though he had to go on business trips a lot, he still took time to make sure he called each night. He had the look of his oldest son, with black eyes and dark blue hair. Both shared the same demeanor of calm calculation.
Naruto on the other hand with his blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, was as calm as he was smart. Exceedingly bright, yet with no ability to sit still, the boy passed school with grades that did not expose his true potential. Granted getting B’s and C’s were good, he should have been getting mostly A’s if he sat down and focused. But, he had drive, and was offered scholarships due to his musical and science abilities. If only he had plans on going to college.
Since they were ten, the boys had joined up with some friends of theirs forming the band, “Mutt.” The name came from the fact that most of the band consisted of mostly bi-racial members. Also if they threw in Kagome, who was full Japanese, and Duo who was completely white, the name suited them. The band mostly dabbled in a mix of grunge, metal, and punk. And after eight years of teaching themselves to play, mixed in with their schools music courses, the kids became incredibly talented musicians.
Settling down with a cup of tea, Janice watched her children eat her breakfast gratefully. When they were just about done she said, “I’m going to be working late tonight. So, your dad should have dinner on the table and I want you all to leave out any homework you have.” Giving Naruto a glare she said, “I don’t want to miss part of a shift so that I can figure out why you missed an assignment.” Explaining to his mother that the teacher never graded it, Janice smiled saying, “I believe you, but just make sure that I see the homework, and SAVE IT to you computer next time.”
Handing her his report on chemical bonds, Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as his mother made an attempt to understand the paper. Taking it back, Naruto stuffed it in his bag before saying to his brother, “I have to go to work at around six, so you’ll need someone to take over drums tonight.” Grunting, Sasuke cleaned his plate telling his brother that it didn’t matter. Grabbing the keys to the car he told them to hurry up before they were late.
Grabbing their stuff, Sakura and Naruto both shouted, “Love you,” to their mother as they headed out the door. The sun was shining for once and they decided to open the windows of the car as they drove. Before backing out, Saskue flipped a coin to see what station would play. Grinning at his brother’s devious nature, Naruto couldn’t help but laugh as their sister pouted. The coin was actually double sided making it impossible for the twins to lose. Granted they played fair on some occasions, but a good eighty percent of the time they cheated.
Putting the radio to one of the better rock stations in town, Naruto began mimicking the drum beats as they drove along the suburban roads. Rolling her eyes, Sakura finished a note to one of her friends, sealed it and tucked it into her binder. Reaching over, Sasuke tried to take it from her, earing a sharp slap to the wrist. Waving his hand in mock pain, the oldest twin said, “We all know it’s to your boyfriend so just tell us who the hell you’re dating already.”
Reaching over, Naruto pinched her cheeks shouting, “Sakura-chan’s got a boyfriend!” The girl blushed furiously at the mix of pain and embarrassment. The pain came from her brother pinching her cheeks, the embarrassment was that she had been called by her childhood name. Getting knocked in the head by the younger girl, Naruto sat back rubbing his head saying, “Calm down about it, Sakura. You think we’re bad, wait until Dad finds out.”
Shaking with worry at the possible teasing, or ass chewing she’d receive, Sakura turned to both her brothers saying, “If you tell Dad I’ll be sure to tell him about all the porno you have hidden!” Shouting that she had no right to tell him about the porn they had, Naruto asked his sister how she even knew about it. Smiling viciously the girl said, “You just told me.” As she said that her inner-self began shouting in victory at tricking her brother.
Looking in the rearview mirror, Sasuke muttered, “Nice job you moron.” Remaining silent, Naruto tapped his foot while they drove to school. Glad that they were in their final year, Naruto couldn’t wait to head out on the road with their band. The local night clubs they played were good practice, but with them having school and part time jobs interfering with their progress, the band was ready to leave for greener and more promising pastures.
On the opposite side of town, in an apartment, Inuyasha was just now dragging himself out of bed. Brushing his teeth he noticed his dad walking in with a soda can in one hand. Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha asked, “The meetings going okay?” Grunting the man grabbed his own toothbrush telling his son that it was going fine. He was just glad he didn’t fall into thanking a higher power. Chuckling, Inuyasha rinsed his mouth saying, “Your heart and everything doing well?”
Brushing his teeth, the man told his son, “Have the check up today. But, at least my surgeries are helping me.” He went back to brushing his teeth as his son left to get dressed for school. The man by the name of Teijo Taisho was a recovering alcoholic. Not in the normal sense of violence or possible molestation, he was a happy drunk, only problem was that he’d had to have a liver and kidney replaced six months prior. He’d been going to groups and taking better care of himself, granted the soda was crap due to it being diet. Also he was working out more and eating healthier, the loss and regaining some of his vital organs was enough to give him a lifestyle change.
In his room, Inuyasha grabbed his bass and headed out the door with a quick goodbye to his parents. He only lived fifteen minutes from the school, but he was late enough as it is, which wouldn’t surprise his teachers one bit. It was accepted for him to be late to class on days after long weekends or vacation. He made up for it in his work and participation so no one complained. He even tutored on occasions when he knew more about certain material than the teachers. He was glad to be back with his friends though. The music he was given was incredible and he’d practiced til his fingers bled.
His mother laughed at him as she bandaged his fingers. They were healing nicely, but the scabs were a bit gross so he kept fresh band-aids on all the time. Of course his older brother didn’t make things any easier. Over the past few weeks, Sesshomaru had dropped by on occasion to say hello to his parents. He worked free lance writing about concerts, or sporting events. He made a decent living at it as well, only his true pleasure was torturing his brother.
“I see Mother still has to tend to your wounds. Poor baby brother.” Growling, Inuyasha flipped his brother the bird as the older man poured a glass of coffee. They were only four years apart, but Sesshomaru was his half brother. His mom had died in an accident when he was two so he didn’t have any real memories of her. Just pictures and stories from their father. He seemed cold at first, but the guy was all right. He was just a stuck up prick most of the time.
Both had their father’s platinum hair, and piercing eyes, but Inuyasha took on more characteristics than Sesshomaru did. Where Sesshomaru was apathetic, Inuyasha was empathetic. When Sesshomaru proved himself a success, Inuyasha was just barely behind him feeling slightly inferior. The only thing that made him feel better was Kagome’s praise when she heard the news. One thing that Inuyasha had gotten from his father was a fine taste in women. Nobody knew about Sesshomaru’s love life, he preferred to keep family and his private life separate and nobody cared as long as he was healthy.
But, even if his brother congratulated him, the sound of his girlfriend saying, “I’m so proud of you,” trumped all the praise he could possibly receive from his family and his other friends. But now he was dashing to make it in time for his first class. He was never much of an English student, average grades at the most, but his teacher was a pain in the ass to deal with. He felt she had a secret crush on him, the mere thought of it caused the young mans stomach to churn involuntarily. Blocking the thoughts, he took a right onto the street and checked to make sure his bass was still secured.
As he was about to start running again, a horn honked loudly as he saw Sesshomaru’s car pulling up to him. Sighing in relief, Inuyasha ran to the car, threw his school things in gratefully saying, “Thanks,” as his brother pulled out onto the street once again. Taking a swig of the soda his brother offered, Inuyasha gave a small belch before asking, “How’d you know I was here?”
Drumming his fingers along the steering wheel, Sesshomaru adjusted his sunglasses absently saying, “It’s the first day after a vacation so I figured you’d be somewhere around here after this time, Idiot.” Staring over at his baby brother the older man then added, “Plus I called the apartment and Mom told me that you’d just left so I thought I’d be nice and give you a ride for a minimal fee.”
Tossing three dollars at his brother, Inuyasha set the can of soda back into the rest saying, “Dad’s doing a lot better. He’s got his check up today.” Grunting in acknowledgment, Sesshomaru concentrated on parking the car into the school lot. Both weren’t too keen on discussing their father’s organ failure at Thanksgiving. He’d just given the toast, then out of nowhere he started gasping for breath and coughing up blood. An ambulance was called, and they rushed him to the hospital for emergency surgery.
When he was patched up, the doctors told them he had less than a year if he didn’t get a his liver and one of his kidneys replaced. Unsure of what to do, the family remained quiet until he said he’d wait on the list for as long as possible, and if he died then that would be it. Sesshomaru left shortly after, and didn’t reappear until the old man was back at home two months after the surgery. As luck would have it, an accident with a positive donor arrived and the hosptital gave him the organs he needed. Six months later, along with more pills than they could imagine, the man was on his feet and working back at the last Boeing parts manufacturer in the city.
Staring out the window Sesshomaru downed the rest of his drink asking, “Do you have anything for lunch?” Saying that he’d sponge off somebody, Inuyasha was stopped by Sesshomaru pressing a ten into his hand. “Don’t take charity when you can avoid it.” Gripping the bill, Inuyasha said bye to his brother, grabbed his stuff, and bolted into the school with the usual greeting from the school security guard and a few of the teachers.
Skidding to a halt outside his English class, he could sense what everyone was waiting to do, and opened the door to a loud “WELCOME BACK INUYASHA!” Burning bright red, the teenager took a seat near the back next to his buddy Miroku, and the Uchiha twins. Pulling out his textbook, he began to read their assignment as Miss Kikyo picked up their papers that had been assigned over the vacation. Setting his down, he avoided the sweet look of the woman and went about doing some definitions as a note was slipped to him. Opening it he laughed as he read it.
She went on about you for about ten minutes. Next time show up on time or else we’ll all have a bout of mutiny and set the desks on fire.
Recognizing the hand writing, INuyasha wrote a reply, handing it to Sasuke. The older twin handed it to his brother, starting a short chain until it ended up at his girlfriend’s desk. Opening it, Kagome began to shake with hidden laughter until she snorted out loud and burst into laughter. Slamming her hand down on the desk Kikyo inquired as to what was so funny. Tearing the note apart quickly, Kagome stuffed the remains under her desk and went back to work.
When their work was done, they did a bit of discussion about the short story they had read. Inuyasha found it to be pretty good, while Naruto said it was kind of stupid as to why the woman would swim out so far away and die just because she couldn’t handle the ‘illusion’ that was her life. Sasuke began a rebuttal, but the bell rang telling them that it was time for their next class. Splitting apart, Naruto went of f to his advanced chem class, while Sasuke headed off to math with Inuyasha and Kagome.
Inuyasha’s girl friend was full Japanese. She had long dark hair, and coal black eyes, and rather tall for a girl. At five-foot ten-inches, and 130 pounds, she was the basketball captain of the girls varsity squad, and the best drummer in their band. But, beyond her academic and instrumental abilities, she was the best singer in the group. Well the best singer next to Sasuke when it came to heavy metal music, and she paled in comparison to Inuyasha and Naruto’s grunge/punk singing abilities.
As they took their seats, Sasuke sat back asking, “So where are we practicing tonight?” Inuyasha told him that his dad had to go to the hospital so they’re garage was out. Feeling bad, Sasuke apologized saying, “I forgot that was today. Tell him we said hi.” Thanking his friend Inuyasha asked Kagome if her place was free.
“Sorry guys, Mom’s got her friends coming over tonight and she said we make too big of a mess after we practice.” The three grumbled as the teacher told them to be quiet and to start taking notes on that days lesson. Getting an idea Kagome asked in a hushed voice, “What about Duo’s place?” Stopping their writing, the two guys began to talk over and told her that it would work. Writing it down Kagome went back to her work in preparation for their test that Friday.
Meanwhile over in the chem lab, Naruto was taking a beaker out of the stand and adding it’s contents to a small petri dish. Keeping careful watch with some water should anything go wrong, Duo Maxwell asked quietly, “Band practice still on tonight? Saying that it was, Naruto was glad to see that his and Duo’s experiment was a success. Writing down the results, Duo put their name’s on it and turned it in while sitting down next to his friend.
Although he was adopted, Duo was pretty well adjusted guy. His parents were good people, and always happy having his friend’s over, not to mention letting them practice in the garage when the other’s houses were out of the question. He played rhythm guitar, lead, and some drums while doing back up vocals. He was usually used as a back up when a person couldn’t make it and he’d already discussed that problem for that night’s practice.
With Naruto’s job at a near by bookstore, he sometimes ended up working late hours and had to cut practice early, so Duo would play whatever instrument Naruto had taken over for that day. Their routine was simple, each day everyone played a different instrument that they were familiar with so that if someone had an accident, they could take over for the indisposed band member. Today it was the guitar, which was a good thing because the chestnut haired boy sitting next to him couldn’t play drums worth a damn.
“You got a set list for me to look over?” asked the younger of the two teenagers. Digging into his notebook, Naruto handed over a piece of paper with the list of songs that were scheduled for that nights practice. Scanning over it, Duo gave out a suppressed yell exclaiming his relief at them finally using the song that he wrote.
Coughing loudly and looking up from his book, the teacher Hatake Kakashi shortly said, “Duo, if you cannot keep your energy levels in check, I shall have to talk to the P.E. teacher about boosting your exercises during her class.” Seeing his student settle back into his seat, Kakashi stood up saying, “That’s enough for today. Those of you who did not finish, can finish up tomorrow, but as the bell is about to ring, please dispose of your experiments in the proper fashion.”
The three groups that did not finish their work, made a few more minor notes and got rid of their experiments while the teacher began to put some forms on the lab tables. As he placed one down in front of Naruto he announced, “These are forms for the Science Scholarship to the University of Washington. Those who want to participate in the competition for it please have these turned in by next Monday.”
When he finished the bell rang and the students left the class heading for lunch. The school was on an older form of classes for the seniors. Since most seniors only took the core courses of Math, English, Science, and History for their last year. The school put them on block scheduling, which meant that they had four classes a day for an hour and half each class with a forty-five minute lunch. Down in the cafeteria, the duo took their spots at the usual table and waited for the rest of their group to arrive.
Following, Sasuke, Inuyasha, and Kagome were Miroku, Kohaku, and Shippou. Although they weren’t members of the band in a instrumental sense, they still played a role. Miroku was their manager and agent setting up the gigs at some local clubs where they could legally play. Kohaku worked on lighting, costumes, and make up. And, Shippou when he wasn’t working on the sound system was sort of a band mascot.
Dumping his over sized Government book onto the table, Kohaku gave a heavy sigh saying, “I can’t make it tonight because the Amazon is on my case about my Government grade.” The out, loud, and proud member of the band was the younger brother of the school P.E. teacher Sango. As if he didn’t have enough problems with his sexuality, having a sister for a teacher just added insult to injury. The good thing was that it kept him on the straight and narrow school wise as well as added an extra sense of security should anyone feel the need to jump him for being a “sissy.” The bad part, his sister always had a day by day report of his progress in class making her get on his case should he drop below a C-average.
Since their parents had died when Sango was in college, she had taken it upon herself to go to night school in order to work and take care of her younger brother. Seeing as she had such responsibility thrown at her so young, she relied on the family friends to help her out since their relatives were so few and far between. Each member of the band could remember Kohaku staying part of the night, only to have his sister come and get him after she finished her classes. There were plenty of good memories and the kid had grown up extremely well adjusted despite the circumstances, he just wished his parent’s were around for moral support when he had figured out that he was gay. But, his sister and his friends created a support system that would hold up Mount Everest when he was feeling depressed.
Now sitting at the table eating their lunch, Inuyasha helped Miroku with some the theater homework he’d forgotten to do. It wasn’t hard stuff, it just required a lot of back and forth glancing at the book to find out proper management techniques when booking shows. Kohaku on the other hand began working on some of his delayed government homework, while Duo helped Kagome with her Biology work that was due next block.
Chewing on a bit of pizza, Naruto looked over to Sasuke and Shippou wondering what they were doing, Leaning over their sound guys shoulder he asked, “Don’t you think we should watch the volume after last time? I mean that old bag up the road called the cops on us and Mr. Maxwell had to tell them the woman always complained about us even when we weren’t playing any music.”
Giving his friend an odd look, Shippou looked over the possible sound board variations saying, “I think that might be a good idea. I mean, if I have the tape running near a speaker I can go home and work out all the feedback. But, if we have another call on us, Duo’s parents will kill us.” Agreeing with his twin, Sasuke went back to his hamburger when out of nowhere Ino jumped on his back hugging him so hard that he could breathe.
Getting her off of him, Sasuke shouted, “Can’t I go one day without you bugging me!?” A loud yawn cut the band member off as Shikamaru told his friend that it was too bothersome to annoy him everyday. Choji nodded in agreement as he ate a small bag of chips with the energy of a wood chipper. Straightening his tee-shirt, Sasuke looked at the blonde asking, “Don’t you have enough admirers to fill your insatiable lust?”
The truth of the matter was Ino just happened to be Sakura’s best friend in contrast to the two year age difference. Not to mention that Ino was a very traditional girl in the sense that she would wait for marriage before going to bed with anyone. Only problem was that someone she wanted to marry was Sasuke. This bit of knowledge caused a bit of friction between Sakura and Ino, but not enough to damage their relationship. She was a sweet girl, but Sasuke just didn’t like her in a romantic sense.
Laughing a bit maniacally, Ino mussed Sasuke’s hair saying, “I’m just playing with you so don’t worry. I just thought I’d get a cheap laugh on the first day back before I continue in my efforts to get you to date me.” She could feel the laughter pulse from the table before she added, “And besides, I have enough going on with planning the prom so don’t even worry about me hitting on you, unless of course you don’t have a date yet.” She added a heavy dose of eye batting for good measure.
Gulping loudly, Sasuke kept a straight face saying, “I do,” before going back to his lunch. The look on Ino’s face was so priceless that Kagome pulled out her disposable camera and took a picture of the dejected look she wore. Telling her that she was wasting her time, Shikamaru and Choji went off to join Hinata, Shino, and Kiba at their table.
Stomping off with an aura of rejection, Ino flopped down into a chair as Naruto whispered, “Who you taking to prom?” Sasuke gave no answer, but instead went back to figuring out the set list with Shippou. Chewing his pizza a bit more, Naruto felt a familiar tap on his shoulder. Looking over it, the pale eyes, and rubbing forefingers of Hinata Hyuuga stared at him shyly. Smiling he asked, “What can I do for you today, Hinata?”
Blushing even more, Hinata’s fingers stopped rubbing and her hands clenched as she asked , “Umm..I was...just wondering...if..I mean you don’t..wouldyougotpromwithme?” The movement at the table stopped as the words spilt from her mouth like a tape fast forwarding. Realizing what she’d done, Hinata bowed apologizing and ran out of The Commons, as the lunch room was usually called.
Sighing, Inuyasha got up and followed the girl as the senior class laughed as he made the familiar trip to calm her down. Finding her in the stairwell leading to the French class, Naruto sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Pulling her in he said, “I thought we went over this before vacation.” Turning his head, he saw her smiling with a huge blush on her cheeks. Kissing her head he said, “We’re dating now so you didn’t need to ask me if I’d go to prom with you.”
Leaning into his shoulder, Hinata softly said, “I’m sorry, but we were friends for so long and I thought that it was too early for us to do something like go to prom together.” Naruto told her that going out meant going to dances together. Shaking her head Hinata said, “Well I know that some guys and girls say they go out, but never do anything together and since we never had a chance to talk during break I thought we were just together for social reasons.”
Saying that it wasn’t that kind of relationship, Naruto wanted to continue when a loud cough interrupted them. Looking over they found Hinata’s cousin, Neji giving them a cold look. Being the History teacher, Naruto had to be careful in his relationship with Hinata until they were out of school. Standing up quickly they both bowed respectfully saying that they weren’t doing anything.
Stepping between them, Neji put a hand on both of their shoulders. Putting a small smile on his face he said, “Naruto, I know you are being careful with how quickly this progresses, and I know that your parent’s raised you well. You however,” he looked to Hinata with a more stern look he added, “Have a bit more confidence in yourself. You’re going to need it if you want to survive college and being in a relationship.”
Saying that she would, Neji went to get his usual cup of coffee after telling them to get ready for their next class. Checking their watches, the two bolted from the corridor and grabbed their stuff just as the bell rang signaling the senior classes third subject. But that class meant nothing as what happened during fourth block. With Kohaku and Shippou in theater, the rest of the band ended up in the music room with their favorite teacher Iruka Umino. Since he liked experimenting with many types of music, Iruka had been given the only underground class in the school.
While being just a short stair trip off to the side of The Commons, the classroom was big enough to get a good sound while keeping it condensed to one area so as not to interrupt the other classes, unless of course you count the door leading to the auditorium where the theater class was studying their latest view into existentialism with group performances of “Waiting for Godot.” This week the class was studying the effects of modern music on the classical genre.
Shutting off the cd player, Iruka looked over at his class with a deep smile at the amount of notes they were taking. Before he could tell them about all different routes they could take this project he’d given them, the bell rang signaling the end of the first day back. Seeing that some of his students had stayed behind he called them up to the desk asking, “Did you know that the school will pay if you guys perform at the dance next month?”
Holding back a laugh, Naruto asked, “What are they going to up our grades or something?” The rest of the band chuckled at his remark, and not to their surprise Iruka did as well. Scratching his head, Naruto told his teacher, “Look Mr. Umino, you know we’re not the type of people who really care all that much about school spirit and stuff, right?”
Nodding, Iruka put some papers in his bag saying, “I know that, but it’d be nice to get an extra couple of hundred dollars to fund you tour. Or maybe even use it to buy some studio time.” Slinging his bag over his shoulder, the teacher rubbed the scar along his nose as he continued, “If you feel like you want to take part in it. Talk to me and I’ll have the school use the money for the D.J. to pay you guys instead. Deal?”
He shook Naruto’s hand and the group headed out into the parking lot. Sakura had gotten a ride home with some friends, leaving Naruto and Sasuke room for two extra people in the car. As they sat around Duo’s truck, the group tried to figure out who was going into each car. A small cough revealed Hinata standing amidst the group. Growing silent they let her ask, “Can I come and see you practice?”
Naruto was about to give his brother a look of begging, but the older twin said, “It’s fine, Shippou you’re with us. Kagome and Miroku, you’re with Duo, see you in a few minutes.” They each piled into the cars and headed off in the direction of Duo’s house to get in a bit of practice because if the rest of the band agreed, they’d have to learn a lot of songs in the next month.
April 12th, 2002
Chapter 1
The alarm clock blared the sounds of a heavy metal band making the set of twins turn over in their sleep. Neither wanted to get up and go to school as they had just come off of vacation granting them the ability to be lazier than usual. Reaching over the older of the two hit the snooze alarm before wiping some drool from his lips. Moaning in pain at the sudden burst of light he shouted, “Mom let us sleep. No one’ll care if we miss the first day back from spring break.” Telling her son that he’d had enough sleep over the past two weeks when he wasn’t working, she pulled the covers off him forcing him to shiver at the sudden loss of comfort.
Walking over she slapped her other son on the head saying, “Out of bed Naruto.” Sitting up, he scratched ruffled hair, gave his mother a look, and dropped back down onto the bed snoring loudly. Growling loudly she shouted, “Fine! I’ll just have your father deal with the two of you when he gets back from his trip in a couple hours.” The sudden scrambling of her twin sons had the pink haired woman beaming as she knocked on her daughters door.
Glad to see the girl was already dressed, she told her that breakfast was ready and to make sure her brother’s were dressed quickly. Peeking her head in at her eighteen year old brothers, Sakura giggled saying, “Mom’s pissed at you.” Dodging a flying pillow, the fifteen year old stuck out her tongue as she ran down stairs ready for school to get back in progress.
Tossing on a new tee-shirt, Naruto pulled on his pants asking, “Why can’t we just have a day off from school after a vacation?” Telling his twin that he didn’t know, Sasuke grabbed a pick from the dresser reminding him of practice after school. Beaming excitedly, Naruto rushed the closet and grabbed his pick and drum sticks saying, “So, who are we going to be using today?”
Pulling his guitar out from under his bed, Sasuke tuned it quickly saying, “Inuyasha wants to try out that song Kagome loves. And, I think Duo was going to go on lead for the first time in awhile. I hear he’s been practicing.” The blonde rubbed his whiskered cheeks complaining about the brunette’s over-confident attitude. Setting the guitar back in his case, Sasuke lifted it as he said, “Duo’s got a great vocal range and excellent guitar abilities. So shut up or else he’ll take over for you as our usual rhythm guy.” Growling at his brother, Naruto pulled his two guitars out and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Just as they arrived, their mother Janice had just finished putting the toast on the table while Sakura munched on some grapes. In her late forties, Janice had the pink hair, and green eyes of her daughter. Not to mention the same alter ego type personality. The passive/aggressive nature of the woman forced the family to tow the line when it came to pushing her buttons. It was this feature that made her a good cop. She worked second shift as a desk sergeant at the local precinct, giving out orders and occasionally taking on cases that she never discussed with anyone but her husband.
Her husband, Keiji, was a advertising manager for a local company. He handled all his responsibilities with care and discretion making sure that he left time for his family. In their twenty years of marriage, he’d never missed a birthday, anniversary, wedding, funeral, or anything that held even the tiniest amount of importance to his family. Even though he had to go on business trips a lot, he still took time to make sure he called each night. He had the look of his oldest son, with black eyes and dark blue hair. Both shared the same demeanor of calm calculation.
Naruto on the other hand with his blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, was as calm as he was smart. Exceedingly bright, yet with no ability to sit still, the boy passed school with grades that did not expose his true potential. Granted getting B’s and C’s were good, he should have been getting mostly A’s if he sat down and focused. But, he had drive, and was offered scholarships due to his musical and science abilities. If only he had plans on going to college.
Since they were ten, the boys had joined up with some friends of theirs forming the band, “Mutt.” The name came from the fact that most of the band consisted of mostly bi-racial members. Also if they threw in Kagome, who was full Japanese, and Duo who was completely white, the name suited them. The band mostly dabbled in a mix of grunge, metal, and punk. And after eight years of teaching themselves to play, mixed in with their schools music courses, the kids became incredibly talented musicians.
Settling down with a cup of tea, Janice watched her children eat her breakfast gratefully. When they were just about done she said, “I’m going to be working late tonight. So, your dad should have dinner on the table and I want you all to leave out any homework you have.” Giving Naruto a glare she said, “I don’t want to miss part of a shift so that I can figure out why you missed an assignment.” Explaining to his mother that the teacher never graded it, Janice smiled saying, “I believe you, but just make sure that I see the homework, and SAVE IT to you computer next time.”
Handing her his report on chemical bonds, Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as his mother made an attempt to understand the paper. Taking it back, Naruto stuffed it in his bag before saying to his brother, “I have to go to work at around six, so you’ll need someone to take over drums tonight.” Grunting, Sasuke cleaned his plate telling his brother that it didn’t matter. Grabbing the keys to the car he told them to hurry up before they were late.
Grabbing their stuff, Sakura and Naruto both shouted, “Love you,” to their mother as they headed out the door. The sun was shining for once and they decided to open the windows of the car as they drove. Before backing out, Saskue flipped a coin to see what station would play. Grinning at his brother’s devious nature, Naruto couldn’t help but laugh as their sister pouted. The coin was actually double sided making it impossible for the twins to lose. Granted they played fair on some occasions, but a good eighty percent of the time they cheated.
Putting the radio to one of the better rock stations in town, Naruto began mimicking the drum beats as they drove along the suburban roads. Rolling her eyes, Sakura finished a note to one of her friends, sealed it and tucked it into her binder. Reaching over, Sasuke tried to take it from her, earing a sharp slap to the wrist. Waving his hand in mock pain, the oldest twin said, “We all know it’s to your boyfriend so just tell us who the hell you’re dating already.”
Reaching over, Naruto pinched her cheeks shouting, “Sakura-chan’s got a boyfriend!” The girl blushed furiously at the mix of pain and embarrassment. The pain came from her brother pinching her cheeks, the embarrassment was that she had been called by her childhood name. Getting knocked in the head by the younger girl, Naruto sat back rubbing his head saying, “Calm down about it, Sakura. You think we’re bad, wait until Dad finds out.”
Shaking with worry at the possible teasing, or ass chewing she’d receive, Sakura turned to both her brothers saying, “If you tell Dad I’ll be sure to tell him about all the porno you have hidden!” Shouting that she had no right to tell him about the porn they had, Naruto asked his sister how she even knew about it. Smiling viciously the girl said, “You just told me.” As she said that her inner-self began shouting in victory at tricking her brother.
Looking in the rearview mirror, Sasuke muttered, “Nice job you moron.” Remaining silent, Naruto tapped his foot while they drove to school. Glad that they were in their final year, Naruto couldn’t wait to head out on the road with their band. The local night clubs they played were good practice, but with them having school and part time jobs interfering with their progress, the band was ready to leave for greener and more promising pastures.
On the opposite side of town, in an apartment, Inuyasha was just now dragging himself out of bed. Brushing his teeth he noticed his dad walking in with a soda can in one hand. Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha asked, “The meetings going okay?” Grunting the man grabbed his own toothbrush telling his son that it was going fine. He was just glad he didn’t fall into thanking a higher power. Chuckling, Inuyasha rinsed his mouth saying, “Your heart and everything doing well?”
Brushing his teeth, the man told his son, “Have the check up today. But, at least my surgeries are helping me.” He went back to brushing his teeth as his son left to get dressed for school. The man by the name of Teijo Taisho was a recovering alcoholic. Not in the normal sense of violence or possible molestation, he was a happy drunk, only problem was that he’d had to have a liver and kidney replaced six months prior. He’d been going to groups and taking better care of himself, granted the soda was crap due to it being diet. Also he was working out more and eating healthier, the loss and regaining some of his vital organs was enough to give him a lifestyle change.
In his room, Inuyasha grabbed his bass and headed out the door with a quick goodbye to his parents. He only lived fifteen minutes from the school, but he was late enough as it is, which wouldn’t surprise his teachers one bit. It was accepted for him to be late to class on days after long weekends or vacation. He made up for it in his work and participation so no one complained. He even tutored on occasions when he knew more about certain material than the teachers. He was glad to be back with his friends though. The music he was given was incredible and he’d practiced til his fingers bled.
His mother laughed at him as she bandaged his fingers. They were healing nicely, but the scabs were a bit gross so he kept fresh band-aids on all the time. Of course his older brother didn’t make things any easier. Over the past few weeks, Sesshomaru had dropped by on occasion to say hello to his parents. He worked free lance writing about concerts, or sporting events. He made a decent living at it as well, only his true pleasure was torturing his brother.
“I see Mother still has to tend to your wounds. Poor baby brother.” Growling, Inuyasha flipped his brother the bird as the older man poured a glass of coffee. They were only four years apart, but Sesshomaru was his half brother. His mom had died in an accident when he was two so he didn’t have any real memories of her. Just pictures and stories from their father. He seemed cold at first, but the guy was all right. He was just a stuck up prick most of the time.
Both had their father’s platinum hair, and piercing eyes, but Inuyasha took on more characteristics than Sesshomaru did. Where Sesshomaru was apathetic, Inuyasha was empathetic. When Sesshomaru proved himself a success, Inuyasha was just barely behind him feeling slightly inferior. The only thing that made him feel better was Kagome’s praise when she heard the news. One thing that Inuyasha had gotten from his father was a fine taste in women. Nobody knew about Sesshomaru’s love life, he preferred to keep family and his private life separate and nobody cared as long as he was healthy.
But, even if his brother congratulated him, the sound of his girlfriend saying, “I’m so proud of you,” trumped all the praise he could possibly receive from his family and his other friends. But now he was dashing to make it in time for his first class. He was never much of an English student, average grades at the most, but his teacher was a pain in the ass to deal with. He felt she had a secret crush on him, the mere thought of it caused the young mans stomach to churn involuntarily. Blocking the thoughts, he took a right onto the street and checked to make sure his bass was still secured.
As he was about to start running again, a horn honked loudly as he saw Sesshomaru’s car pulling up to him. Sighing in relief, Inuyasha ran to the car, threw his school things in gratefully saying, “Thanks,” as his brother pulled out onto the street once again. Taking a swig of the soda his brother offered, Inuyasha gave a small belch before asking, “How’d you know I was here?”
Drumming his fingers along the steering wheel, Sesshomaru adjusted his sunglasses absently saying, “It’s the first day after a vacation so I figured you’d be somewhere around here after this time, Idiot.” Staring over at his baby brother the older man then added, “Plus I called the apartment and Mom told me that you’d just left so I thought I’d be nice and give you a ride for a minimal fee.”
Tossing three dollars at his brother, Inuyasha set the can of soda back into the rest saying, “Dad’s doing a lot better. He’s got his check up today.” Grunting in acknowledgment, Sesshomaru concentrated on parking the car into the school lot. Both weren’t too keen on discussing their father’s organ failure at Thanksgiving. He’d just given the toast, then out of nowhere he started gasping for breath and coughing up blood. An ambulance was called, and they rushed him to the hospital for emergency surgery.
When he was patched up, the doctors told them he had less than a year if he didn’t get a his liver and one of his kidneys replaced. Unsure of what to do, the family remained quiet until he said he’d wait on the list for as long as possible, and if he died then that would be it. Sesshomaru left shortly after, and didn’t reappear until the old man was back at home two months after the surgery. As luck would have it, an accident with a positive donor arrived and the hosptital gave him the organs he needed. Six months later, along with more pills than they could imagine, the man was on his feet and working back at the last Boeing parts manufacturer in the city.
Staring out the window Sesshomaru downed the rest of his drink asking, “Do you have anything for lunch?” Saying that he’d sponge off somebody, Inuyasha was stopped by Sesshomaru pressing a ten into his hand. “Don’t take charity when you can avoid it.” Gripping the bill, Inuyasha said bye to his brother, grabbed his stuff, and bolted into the school with the usual greeting from the school security guard and a few of the teachers.
Skidding to a halt outside his English class, he could sense what everyone was waiting to do, and opened the door to a loud “WELCOME BACK INUYASHA!” Burning bright red, the teenager took a seat near the back next to his buddy Miroku, and the Uchiha twins. Pulling out his textbook, he began to read their assignment as Miss Kikyo picked up their papers that had been assigned over the vacation. Setting his down, he avoided the sweet look of the woman and went about doing some definitions as a note was slipped to him. Opening it he laughed as he read it.
She went on about you for about ten minutes. Next time show up on time or else we’ll all have a bout of mutiny and set the desks on fire.
Recognizing the hand writing, INuyasha wrote a reply, handing it to Sasuke. The older twin handed it to his brother, starting a short chain until it ended up at his girlfriend’s desk. Opening it, Kagome began to shake with hidden laughter until she snorted out loud and burst into laughter. Slamming her hand down on the desk Kikyo inquired as to what was so funny. Tearing the note apart quickly, Kagome stuffed the remains under her desk and went back to work.
When their work was done, they did a bit of discussion about the short story they had read. Inuyasha found it to be pretty good, while Naruto said it was kind of stupid as to why the woman would swim out so far away and die just because she couldn’t handle the ‘illusion’ that was her life. Sasuke began a rebuttal, but the bell rang telling them that it was time for their next class. Splitting apart, Naruto went of f to his advanced chem class, while Sasuke headed off to math with Inuyasha and Kagome.
Inuyasha’s girl friend was full Japanese. She had long dark hair, and coal black eyes, and rather tall for a girl. At five-foot ten-inches, and 130 pounds, she was the basketball captain of the girls varsity squad, and the best drummer in their band. But, beyond her academic and instrumental abilities, she was the best singer in the group. Well the best singer next to Sasuke when it came to heavy metal music, and she paled in comparison to Inuyasha and Naruto’s grunge/punk singing abilities.
As they took their seats, Sasuke sat back asking, “So where are we practicing tonight?” Inuyasha told him that his dad had to go to the hospital so they’re garage was out. Feeling bad, Sasuke apologized saying, “I forgot that was today. Tell him we said hi.” Thanking his friend Inuyasha asked Kagome if her place was free.
“Sorry guys, Mom’s got her friends coming over tonight and she said we make too big of a mess after we practice.” The three grumbled as the teacher told them to be quiet and to start taking notes on that days lesson. Getting an idea Kagome asked in a hushed voice, “What about Duo’s place?” Stopping their writing, the two guys began to talk over and told her that it would work. Writing it down Kagome went back to her work in preparation for their test that Friday.
Meanwhile over in the chem lab, Naruto was taking a beaker out of the stand and adding it’s contents to a small petri dish. Keeping careful watch with some water should anything go wrong, Duo Maxwell asked quietly, “Band practice still on tonight? Saying that it was, Naruto was glad to see that his and Duo’s experiment was a success. Writing down the results, Duo put their name’s on it and turned it in while sitting down next to his friend.
Although he was adopted, Duo was pretty well adjusted guy. His parents were good people, and always happy having his friend’s over, not to mention letting them practice in the garage when the other’s houses were out of the question. He played rhythm guitar, lead, and some drums while doing back up vocals. He was usually used as a back up when a person couldn’t make it and he’d already discussed that problem for that night’s practice.
With Naruto’s job at a near by bookstore, he sometimes ended up working late hours and had to cut practice early, so Duo would play whatever instrument Naruto had taken over for that day. Their routine was simple, each day everyone played a different instrument that they were familiar with so that if someone had an accident, they could take over for the indisposed band member. Today it was the guitar, which was a good thing because the chestnut haired boy sitting next to him couldn’t play drums worth a damn.
“You got a set list for me to look over?” asked the younger of the two teenagers. Digging into his notebook, Naruto handed over a piece of paper with the list of songs that were scheduled for that nights practice. Scanning over it, Duo gave out a suppressed yell exclaiming his relief at them finally using the song that he wrote.
Coughing loudly and looking up from his book, the teacher Hatake Kakashi shortly said, “Duo, if you cannot keep your energy levels in check, I shall have to talk to the P.E. teacher about boosting your exercises during her class.” Seeing his student settle back into his seat, Kakashi stood up saying, “That’s enough for today. Those of you who did not finish, can finish up tomorrow, but as the bell is about to ring, please dispose of your experiments in the proper fashion.”
The three groups that did not finish their work, made a few more minor notes and got rid of their experiments while the teacher began to put some forms on the lab tables. As he placed one down in front of Naruto he announced, “These are forms for the Science Scholarship to the University of Washington. Those who want to participate in the competition for it please have these turned in by next Monday.”
When he finished the bell rang and the students left the class heading for lunch. The school was on an older form of classes for the seniors. Since most seniors only took the core courses of Math, English, Science, and History for their last year. The school put them on block scheduling, which meant that they had four classes a day for an hour and half each class with a forty-five minute lunch. Down in the cafeteria, the duo took their spots at the usual table and waited for the rest of their group to arrive.
Following, Sasuke, Inuyasha, and Kagome were Miroku, Kohaku, and Shippou. Although they weren’t members of the band in a instrumental sense, they still played a role. Miroku was their manager and agent setting up the gigs at some local clubs where they could legally play. Kohaku worked on lighting, costumes, and make up. And, Shippou when he wasn’t working on the sound system was sort of a band mascot.
Dumping his over sized Government book onto the table, Kohaku gave a heavy sigh saying, “I can’t make it tonight because the Amazon is on my case about my Government grade.” The out, loud, and proud member of the band was the younger brother of the school P.E. teacher Sango. As if he didn’t have enough problems with his sexuality, having a sister for a teacher just added insult to injury. The good thing was that it kept him on the straight and narrow school wise as well as added an extra sense of security should anyone feel the need to jump him for being a “sissy.” The bad part, his sister always had a day by day report of his progress in class making her get on his case should he drop below a C-average.
Since their parents had died when Sango was in college, she had taken it upon herself to go to night school in order to work and take care of her younger brother. Seeing as she had such responsibility thrown at her so young, she relied on the family friends to help her out since their relatives were so few and far between. Each member of the band could remember Kohaku staying part of the night, only to have his sister come and get him after she finished her classes. There were plenty of good memories and the kid had grown up extremely well adjusted despite the circumstances, he just wished his parent’s were around for moral support when he had figured out that he was gay. But, his sister and his friends created a support system that would hold up Mount Everest when he was feeling depressed.
Now sitting at the table eating their lunch, Inuyasha helped Miroku with some the theater homework he’d forgotten to do. It wasn’t hard stuff, it just required a lot of back and forth glancing at the book to find out proper management techniques when booking shows. Kohaku on the other hand began working on some of his delayed government homework, while Duo helped Kagome with her Biology work that was due next block.
Chewing on a bit of pizza, Naruto looked over to Sasuke and Shippou wondering what they were doing, Leaning over their sound guys shoulder he asked, “Don’t you think we should watch the volume after last time? I mean that old bag up the road called the cops on us and Mr. Maxwell had to tell them the woman always complained about us even when we weren’t playing any music.”
Giving his friend an odd look, Shippou looked over the possible sound board variations saying, “I think that might be a good idea. I mean, if I have the tape running near a speaker I can go home and work out all the feedback. But, if we have another call on us, Duo’s parents will kill us.” Agreeing with his twin, Sasuke went back to his hamburger when out of nowhere Ino jumped on his back hugging him so hard that he could breathe.
Getting her off of him, Sasuke shouted, “Can’t I go one day without you bugging me!?” A loud yawn cut the band member off as Shikamaru told his friend that it was too bothersome to annoy him everyday. Choji nodded in agreement as he ate a small bag of chips with the energy of a wood chipper. Straightening his tee-shirt, Sasuke looked at the blonde asking, “Don’t you have enough admirers to fill your insatiable lust?”
The truth of the matter was Ino just happened to be Sakura’s best friend in contrast to the two year age difference. Not to mention that Ino was a very traditional girl in the sense that she would wait for marriage before going to bed with anyone. Only problem was that someone she wanted to marry was Sasuke. This bit of knowledge caused a bit of friction between Sakura and Ino, but not enough to damage their relationship. She was a sweet girl, but Sasuke just didn’t like her in a romantic sense.
Laughing a bit maniacally, Ino mussed Sasuke’s hair saying, “I’m just playing with you so don’t worry. I just thought I’d get a cheap laugh on the first day back before I continue in my efforts to get you to date me.” She could feel the laughter pulse from the table before she added, “And besides, I have enough going on with planning the prom so don’t even worry about me hitting on you, unless of course you don’t have a date yet.” She added a heavy dose of eye batting for good measure.
Gulping loudly, Sasuke kept a straight face saying, “I do,” before going back to his lunch. The look on Ino’s face was so priceless that Kagome pulled out her disposable camera and took a picture of the dejected look she wore. Telling her that she was wasting her time, Shikamaru and Choji went off to join Hinata, Shino, and Kiba at their table.
Stomping off with an aura of rejection, Ino flopped down into a chair as Naruto whispered, “Who you taking to prom?” Sasuke gave no answer, but instead went back to figuring out the set list with Shippou. Chewing his pizza a bit more, Naruto felt a familiar tap on his shoulder. Looking over it, the pale eyes, and rubbing forefingers of Hinata Hyuuga stared at him shyly. Smiling he asked, “What can I do for you today, Hinata?”
Blushing even more, Hinata’s fingers stopped rubbing and her hands clenched as she asked , “Umm..I was...just wondering...if..I mean you don’t..wouldyougotpromwithme?” The movement at the table stopped as the words spilt from her mouth like a tape fast forwarding. Realizing what she’d done, Hinata bowed apologizing and ran out of The Commons, as the lunch room was usually called.
Sighing, Inuyasha got up and followed the girl as the senior class laughed as he made the familiar trip to calm her down. Finding her in the stairwell leading to the French class, Naruto sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Pulling her in he said, “I thought we went over this before vacation.” Turning his head, he saw her smiling with a huge blush on her cheeks. Kissing her head he said, “We’re dating now so you didn’t need to ask me if I’d go to prom with you.”
Leaning into his shoulder, Hinata softly said, “I’m sorry, but we were friends for so long and I thought that it was too early for us to do something like go to prom together.” Naruto told her that going out meant going to dances together. Shaking her head Hinata said, “Well I know that some guys and girls say they go out, but never do anything together and since we never had a chance to talk during break I thought we were just together for social reasons.”
Saying that it wasn’t that kind of relationship, Naruto wanted to continue when a loud cough interrupted them. Looking over they found Hinata’s cousin, Neji giving them a cold look. Being the History teacher, Naruto had to be careful in his relationship with Hinata until they were out of school. Standing up quickly they both bowed respectfully saying that they weren’t doing anything.
Stepping between them, Neji put a hand on both of their shoulders. Putting a small smile on his face he said, “Naruto, I know you are being careful with how quickly this progresses, and I know that your parent’s raised you well. You however,” he looked to Hinata with a more stern look he added, “Have a bit more confidence in yourself. You’re going to need it if you want to survive college and being in a relationship.”
Saying that she would, Neji went to get his usual cup of coffee after telling them to get ready for their next class. Checking their watches, the two bolted from the corridor and grabbed their stuff just as the bell rang signaling the senior classes third subject. But that class meant nothing as what happened during fourth block. With Kohaku and Shippou in theater, the rest of the band ended up in the music room with their favorite teacher Iruka Umino. Since he liked experimenting with many types of music, Iruka had been given the only underground class in the school.
While being just a short stair trip off to the side of The Commons, the classroom was big enough to get a good sound while keeping it condensed to one area so as not to interrupt the other classes, unless of course you count the door leading to the auditorium where the theater class was studying their latest view into existentialism with group performances of “Waiting for Godot.” This week the class was studying the effects of modern music on the classical genre.
Shutting off the cd player, Iruka looked over at his class with a deep smile at the amount of notes they were taking. Before he could tell them about all different routes they could take this project he’d given them, the bell rang signaling the end of the first day back. Seeing that some of his students had stayed behind he called them up to the desk asking, “Did you know that the school will pay if you guys perform at the dance next month?”
Holding back a laugh, Naruto asked, “What are they going to up our grades or something?” The rest of the band chuckled at his remark, and not to their surprise Iruka did as well. Scratching his head, Naruto told his teacher, “Look Mr. Umino, you know we’re not the type of people who really care all that much about school spirit and stuff, right?”
Nodding, Iruka put some papers in his bag saying, “I know that, but it’d be nice to get an extra couple of hundred dollars to fund you tour. Or maybe even use it to buy some studio time.” Slinging his bag over his shoulder, the teacher rubbed the scar along his nose as he continued, “If you feel like you want to take part in it. Talk to me and I’ll have the school use the money for the D.J. to pay you guys instead. Deal?”
He shook Naruto’s hand and the group headed out into the parking lot. Sakura had gotten a ride home with some friends, leaving Naruto and Sasuke room for two extra people in the car. As they sat around Duo’s truck, the group tried to figure out who was going into each car. A small cough revealed Hinata standing amidst the group. Growing silent they let her ask, “Can I come and see you practice?”
Naruto was about to give his brother a look of begging, but the older twin said, “It’s fine, Shippou you’re with us. Kagome and Miroku, you’re with Duo, see you in a few minutes.” They each piled into the cars and headed off in the direction of Duo’s house to get in a bit of practice because if the rest of the band agreed, they’d have to learn a lot of songs in the next month.