Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Year of Change ❯ Chapter 1, Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Well, I wish I did, but I don't. Own Naruto or the cast, that is. *sulks off somewhere*

 

Genre: Drama, Humor, Romance
Rating: M15+
Warnings: Language, disturbing imagery, possible tissue alerts

 

Chapter One: New Neighbor

 

“Looks like we have some new neighbor” Sakura's mother said while looking out the window in the living room. “They must be empty apartment above us. Hopefully they will be quieter.” She said softly while walking over to the kitchen area and started putting the dishes away.

 

Curious, Sakura walked over to the window to see the said neighbors. The moving van was small, one that was made to move furniture from a two room apartment to another. Because of the tint of the van windows and the angle from where she was watching, Sakura couldn't get a good look at who was inside. She could tell that there were three people there before the van turned in the parking lot to back up so the back of the truck was facing the stairs. The lights went on and then off and the three people inside emerged.

 

She wasn't able to see the person who climbed out of the drivers side. The edge of the car door was the only thing visible as it opened and then closed. The first person she saw was a blond woman who had her hair up in not two, but four bushy pig tails. Two on top of her head and two at the bottom. Her cloths were simple, a pair of aged jeans and a black shirt with a set of sneakers. Sakura was surprised as she realized that the women couldn't be too much older then herself. The blond must have been in her second year of college. She was fairly pale, and saying something to the driver on the other side of the van. She moved to the side slightly as another person got out of the van while she was listening to the unseen person… and that was the first time Sakura saw him.

 

It was his hair that she noticed first. It was red, not auburn or even that somewhat purple red color, but actually red. It stood out even more against his skin, which was even paler then the blond woman's. Although that was nothing compared to what he was wearing. His jeans were a dark grey color, while his t-shirt was black, under it was some type of fishnet shirt, where the sleeves of it went down to his forearms. And while Sakura was on the seventh floor, she could also see that he had a few stud earrings, three in each ear. He also had one of those wallets with the chains would attached to one of the belt loops. It stood out against his dark clothing sharper then his hair did with his skin.

 

He was looking around and taking in his new setting with mild interest. He stared up at her apartment complex, his eyes looking from one window to another. His eyes fell on her apartment window and Sakura felt herself become startled somewhat. There was a lot of make up around his eyes, giving him an almost raccoon look, which she could see now that they were looking at her. And he was looking right at her. Not at the window, or anything else... but her. Not sure what to do, Sakura raised her hand up in a little wave. He blinked and returned the gesture before the blond woman grabbed his attention. Sakura stepped away from the window after he turned away.

 

She went back to her room and double checked the contents of her backpack. Tomorrow would be the first day of her last year of school, and she was looking forward to it. It was suppose to be one of the easiest years of high school, but she was taking some advance classes this year, which would give her some college credit for when she would go to college. She was hoping to go into one of the local universities so she wouldn't be too far from home, but her mother was pushing her slightly to aim higher. Possibly a nursing school.

 

She could hair heavy foot steps, the new family bringing their way up the stairs to their apartment above her. Two people were talking as made their way up, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Although the tone of it sounded pleasant.

 

“I wonder what grade he's in…” Sakura said to herself, opening her basic algebra book and flipping through it. Her thoughts had gone back to her new red haired neighbor. He looked about her age, although there was something in his eyes that made him seem a little older. She heard heavy footsteps followed softer ones above her. They were talking again, but she could almost make out what they were saying. Almost not believing what she was doing, Sakura put her text book down and stood on top of her bed room desk so she could place her ear closer to vent at the top of her room. This was something that her mother normally did, not her.

 

“What do you think?” Said a deep male voice. “Not too bad for what we are paying for.”

 

“It's nice.” Said a soft male voice. Right away Sakura new that it was his voice. The other must belong to the other person that she had not been able to see. More foot steps and then a third voice, female, joined in.

 

“We'll have to order dinner tonight. I don't think we will have everything unpacked and up here in time for us to get the car back before the shopping area closes."

 

“Shouldn't be a problem. What do you think about Gaara having this room? You and I can share the master bedroom.”

 

“It'll work. Let's hurry up and get everything up here. The sooner, the better." The female voice said. Then there were the sounds of them leaving and more as they went down the stairs. Pulling her head away from the vent, she carefully climbed off her desk. She stood in the middle of her room for a moment before going into the kitchen.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

They were all tired. The sofa had been the worse part of it all. Kankuro and Gaara ended up having to take the whole thing apart and take it up piece by piece up the stairs. They had just finished putting the beds together in all the rooms and sitting on the sofa and staring at the wall where the TV would be… once it was set up. Neither of them really and any energy after making several trips up and down eight flights of stairs and then putting all the large bits of furniture together. Their legs felt like jelly when they walked, but it would be worse tomorrow when they would be sore. Temari had already left to take the moving van back to the shop so they could get their car back, but they would have to wait for her to return before they could order any food… since she had all the money with her.

 

“What do you think? Pizza or Chinese?” Kankuro asked while getting up and looking for the box that was marked “Mis Crap” so he could find the phone and plug it in. He found the local phone book and tossed it at Gaara, who caught it neatly.

 

Before Gaara could even open the book, there was a shy knock on the front door. Kankuro and Gaara looked at each other before Gaara, the one who wouldn't have had to do some amazing acrobatic feat to get to the door, got up to answer it. He opened it and was surprised to see the pink haired girl from earlier that afternoon standing there. Although you wouldn't have been able to tell from his face. She was still wearing the red cotton shirt he had seen her in when he saw her at the window, but she was also wearing a daimio skirt that went down to her knees and white sandals.. She was holding a large bowl of something, but he could not see or smell it because of the seal on it. One top of it were some paper bowls and three plastic forks.

 

“Umm..” Sakura didn't have any trouble talking to people normally… but under his intense gaze, she felt suddenly shy. “Hi. I live in the apartment under you. My name is Sakura… My mom and I noticed that you guys moving in today and we thought… you might like something to eat… since you wouldn't have any food or anything unpacked yet…” Gaara stared her for a moment, his eyes moving about her face, taking in her hair style, eyes and body position while she talked. “So… here.” She said weakly offering the food.

 

“Thank you.” Gaara said, taking the large warm container, being careful to balance it so the bowls and forks wouldn't fall off. She gave him a little smile, waved at him with her fingers and turned to go back down the stairs. Gaara closed the door with his hip and looked back at his brother.

 

“We have food.” Gaara said simply.

 

Gaara and Kankuro took the time to make a little makeshift table and had just finished setting it up when Temari came back.

 

“What's this?” She asked in surprise while setting her purse down on the sofa.

 

“The folks down stairs made us some food.” Kankuro said while placing said item on the cardboard boxed table. He opened it to reveal a penne pasta dish, the smell of it instantly filling the room. All their stomachs growled loudly. Kankuro and Temari laughed while Gaara gave a small smile. All of them sitting down, they scoped some food in their bowls and talked about nothing.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

She was sitting with her family in the living room, watching TV, when knocked happened. Her mother got up to answer it Sakura would hear her mother talking to another female voice. It took her a moment to recognize the other voice was the one that she had heard through the vent, but she wasn't able to make out the words very well till…

 

“Oh, my Sakura goes there as well. The bus stops around the corner a little ways from the stop sign at seven.” There was more murming and then the door closed. “What a nice girl…” Her mother said while taking the clean and dried container back into the kitchen and placing it in its spot in one of the cabinets. “Looks like the younger one is going to be going to the same school as you Sakura. Be a good girl and show him around tomorrow.”

 

Sakura wasn't sure if she liked this idea or not. Interesting he had been… from a distance. But… being so close to him had scared her a little. It was his eyes… they were very intense looking. As if he would have eaten her alive. She still felt extremely embarrassed about when she gone up to give them the food she had made. Only to stumble all over herself. If Naruto found out, he would tease her about it for sure.

 

Once the TV program was finished, Sakura took her shower and checked her bag one last time before going to bed. As she laid there, she could hear his soft foot steps in the room above hers. There were the soft thumps as, what she thought must be boxes, were placed on the ground.

 

`He must be unpacking…' she thought as she closed her eyes. She fell asleep quickly and peacefully.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Naruto yawned as he stood by the bus stop. He was till eating his morning meal of instant cup of noodle when Sakura walked over to him. He was wearing his trade mark orange shirt with his black jacket. His single strap backpack rested by his feet.

 

“How do eat that every day?” She asked, giving the cup a dirty look. She asked the question on the first day of school ever since she and Naruto had been standing at the bus stop together for the last five years. She hadn't liked him at first because he was very loud and not really bright at times, but he was a good person and she had been given the opportunity to know him better the rest of the kids at school.

 

Naruto slurped up some noodles before answering him. “It's easy… add hot water and while it cooks I walk to the bus stop, and while I wait for the bus I eat them.” He tipped the cut up and drank the remaining broth and tossed the empty foam cup into a nearby trashcan. He grinned and turned to say something else to her, but stopped to tilt his head and look at something behind her. Turning to look as well, she saw Gaara walking over to them.

 

He was wearing almost the same thing as yesterday, not the pants were black and shirt was Grey. Over one shoulder was a tanned postman bag. He was munching on a bagel and stood next to them, although still a little ways off. Naruto, who was normally out going and friendly also stopped short from introducing himself to this new addition to the bus stop wait team. The three of them stood in silence till the bus finially came to take them away. Naruto and Sakura said in their normal spot in the middle of the bus and waited before the bus started to move before talking.

 

“Was it me or did it get colder when he came over?” Naruto asked while taking a peek over his shoulder to get another look at Gaara who was sitting in the back of the bus.

 

“It was just you.” Sakura said, poking him in the ribs. “Are you going to try and join the track team again?” She asked, in the effort to change the subject.

 

“Naw, I need to start studying actually. The college I want to go to requires I take an entrance exam, so I'll be studying a lot this year.”

 

“Sounds intense.”

 

“It will be, but it'll be worth it if I can join. Iruku would be so proud if I made it.” He gave Sakura his victory grin. “What about you? What college are you thinking about going to?”

 

“I don't know. My parents and I are still talking about it. I'll have to make my mind up in a few months…”

 

And so on the conversation went till they arrived at school. Once they disembarked, they waved goodbye to each other before looking for the group of friends to sit with in the large gym for the annual “Welcome back to school, here are the new rules” speech from the principal.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By lunch time, she couldn't believe it. He was there…. In everyone of her classes. During the first three classes, she was glade that all they were doing today was reading the school manual, because she kept looking over at Gaara. He was there for her College Algebra class, her History of Literature class and her Honors Government Class. They even had the same lunch period… she was also willing to bet that they would have the last three classes together as well with the way that this day was turning out. She was paying for her food when someone bumped lightly into her.

 

“Can do you do me a favor?” Naruto said, paying for his own food.

 

“It depends on what it is.” She picked up her tray and stepped a few feet away so the next person could pay.

 

“I want to go and apologize for eyeballing that guy this morning. Will you go with me? I won't feel like such a moron if I am with someone else.” Naruto said, pointing his tray over to a table in one corner of the cafeteria. Gaara sat with his own food and was eating quietly by himself.

 

“You just like seeing people eat alone.” She said simply. Which was true. While Naruto had his own group of friends, lunch time was the one time he wouldn't hang out with them. Always wanting to sit at the table with those that were considered “outcast” by the school. This, along with a few other things, was one of the reasons Sakura like Naruto.

 

They made their way over to his table and sat down. Gaara looked up at them.

 

“You don't mind if we sit here, do you?” Naruto asked, a little nervous. Gaara shook his head and Naruto went on. “I'm sorry about this morning, I didn't mean to be rude or anything.”

 

“I don't mind.” Gaara said simply. He quietly chewed his sandwich, taking small bits.

 

“What other classes do you have for the day?” Sakura asked. “I noticed you and I have the same classes in the morning.”

 

Gaara dug in his pockets and pulled out his class schedule and handed it to her. Taking the bit of paper, she looked it over. Sure enough… they were in the same classes for the rest of the day as well. Handing the bit of paper back at him, she thought for a moment. The only reason she had been able to take so many advance classes was because she had to take a placement test for all of them, to prove that should take them. He would have had to have done the same. It was school policy… there was no way he could do it without the placement test.

 

By now, Naruto was doing his introduction bit and trying to get to know Gaara a little bit. She wasn't paying too much attention though. She was thinking to herself while she ate.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The rest of the day was uneventful. More school manual reading, and one teacher has asked that they write a letter to themselves to give to themselves at the end of the year, which most of the class had moaned about. She signed her name up for the martial arts club before getting on the bus. She sat alone on the way home since Naruto had a part time job he did after school. Gaara was on the bus as well, but when he saw him, he was reading the assigned book that was handed out in the History of Literature class. When they finally arrived at their stop, she waited for him to get off and walked with him.

 

“You were very quiet at lunch.” He said as they started walking.

 

She looked over at him. “I was just thinking.” She readjusted her backpack strap. He seemed to think the answer was acceptable, and didn't say anything else.

 

There was more silence as reached the building and climbed the stairs. He was about to climb his extra set of stairs and he looked over at her. “Thank you for dinner last night. It was really good.”

 

“Oh… you're welcome.”

 

“See you tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah… night.”

 

She unlocked her door and went inside. No one was home yet, as expected. She went to kitchen to get a glass of water before going to her bedroom and sitting at her desk. She drank a little bit of water and looked out the window for a moment. Sighing, she placed her bag on the ground and took out a few sheets of notebook paper and started to do her first assignment of the year.

 

Dear Self,

 

I am sure as you are reading this, you forgot that you even wrote this letter, just like you did last year. I am not sure how much has changed since I sat down to write this. Even as I write this, I am not sure what to write…

 

She paused for a moment and then went on.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

He was also alone when he opened the door to his apartment. Although it was evident that A lot of unpacking had been done. The kitchen was set up. There was a note on the table from his sister. Leftovers in the fridge, would be home around ten. He heated up his food and went to his room, which was still halfway to being fully unpacked. There were four boxes in one corner that were labeled “art supplies” in a sloppy handwriting. He opened the top one and pulled out a spiral notebook and his thin tin box of sketch pencils.

 

Placing them on the neatly made bed, he quickly eat his dinner. The pasta dish had been good, and it was even better now that the seasoning that had gone into it were able to set in overnight. When he finished, he picked up the supplies. Opening the notebook he turned the pages till he found the blank section. Reaching over, he opened the tin and pulled out one of his penciles and started to setch.

 

AN:

I thought I would try an AU Naruto Story… and yes… it's a Gaara x Sakura. Why? Because I like a bit of a challenge when I write I suppose. I tried to put a lot of effort into this first chapter… so I hope you all enjoy it.

 

Review, please ><