University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 3

  "The what now?" I asked. "The Akatsuki. They're a fraternity. But don't bother interacting with them. They're trouble," Naruto told me. Sasuke turned to him with a frown on his face. "Hey, my brother is one of them." Naruto shrugged and looked sheepishly away. "Still..." "Why do you guys say they're trouble?" I asked. "We don't like to talk about it," Tenten replied. I raised an eyebrow. That's it? I wonder why they don't talk about it. I knew from first hand experience that people tended to judge off of their own preconceptions and appearances. Avoiding judging by appearances was something I learned from watching my uncle's work. Sometimes my uncle would pick something up that would look like a shard of wood or a random rock until closer inspection. Then you would realize that it was a piece of dinosaur bone or a part of an ancient statue. My uncle always said, "Don't be quick to judge outward appearances Asami. You never know what you're willing to toss away as junk until you get a closer look and see its treasure." So I decided I would wait and judge for myself on what the Akatsuki guys were like. The rest of the class was fairly uneventful. I was deep in thought as I left the classroom. "Hey Asami, do you need help finding your next classroom?" Naruto called out. I looked over at him. He was standing there with a grin on his face, but I noticed Sasuke was standing next to him looking annoyed. What's his problem? I wondered. Is he annoyed with me? Not wanting to impose I answered back, "No, it's ok Naruto. I think I've got the hang of it." "You sure?" "Yeah it's fine." "Ok, see you later!" I waved at them and walked away. Okay, let's see. My next class is Foundations of Art. 

 A few minutes later, I found myself totally turned around. "I should've asked for help," I murmured to myself. By the time I figured out where my classroom was, I was a few minutes late. I arrived at the doorway to see that the teacher was well into a lecture. The class was also full. I managed to spot one seat near the back. I walked quickly and kept my head down. I quietly slid into my seat. I barely glimpsed at the person next to me as I got my supplies out. All I saw was a flash of blonde hair. I focused on the teacher as she was finishing up with her lecture. As she finished, she told us to turn to our peers and discuss the lecture. I was finishing jotting down my notes when I heard, "Are you a new student, hn?" I looked up to see who was talking. I blinked in surprise when I noticed it was a young man with long blonde hair and an Akatsuki jacket. I noticed that next to him was another young man with red hair and a matching jacket. More Akatsuki members? Well I wanted to know more about them so here's my chance. I smiled and stuck out my hand. "Yes. My name's Asami Kanashe. Nice to meet you!" The young man seemed to blink in surprise for a moment. He then gave me a smirk and shook my hand. "Deidara, and this is my man Sasori." He pointed to the guy next to him. Sasori just stared at me with a blank face. Oookay. "Are you a freshman, hn?" Deidara asked. "No, I'm a sophomore transfer student." He smiled. "We're sophomores too." "Really? That's great!" I turned back to my notes. "So what do you guys think about the teacher's lecture?" "She made art sound rigid and strict. I don't think art should follow such strict rules. I think it should be free flowing and sudden like... an explosion!" I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't be stupid," Sasori spoke. "You make it sound like any splatter of paint could be art. Art is structured and eternal. Meeting certain qualifications is what makes it art." "No, my man. You got it all wrong." Deidara turned to him. They started getting into a heated argument about art. I giggled. They stopped and turned to look at me. "Something funny, un?" Deidara asked. "You guys must be really great friends." I smiled at them. They frowned at me. "What makes you say that?" Sasori asked. "Cause only the best of friends can argue with each other like that." "Well, if Deidara wasn't such a knucklehead," Sasori mumbled. "Hey!" Deidara yelled. He suddenly turned to me. "What do you think art is hn?" I pondered for a minute. I opened my mouth to speak when the teacher suddenly announced that class was over. I started putting my stuff away. "Hey, we're just about to go have lunch. Would you like to join us hn?" Deidara asked. I looked up in surprise. They were both staring at me. "Sure, I would love to!" I beamed. "Great. I know this cafe nearby that has some great sandwiches." I finished packing up my stuff and followed the boys out the door. 

Deidara and I chatted lightly while we walked along with Sasori interjecting some comments here and there. Suddenly I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Kiba had a big smile on his face until he looked over to see who was next to me. His face suddenly went dark. "What are you doing with them?" he asked. I frowned. "I'm going to have lunch with them." "That's not a good idea. You shouldn't hang out with them." I crossed my arms. "I think I'm perfectly capable of deciding who I hang out with. "But-" "No buts Kiba. I'm having lunch with them and that's that." Kiba looked like he was about to say something else when Shikamaru put his hand on his shoulder. Kiba looked at him and Shikamaru gave a small shake of his head. "Alright, whatever," Kiba said. I sighed. "Thanks, Kiba. I'll see you guys later." "Ok. If you ever need anything, you know where to find us." I nodded and continued walking away. Deidara and Sasori followed next to me. We walked for a couple minutes in silence. "So you're friends with those guys hn?" I nodded. "Then you must have been warned about us," Deidara said. I looked down. "Yeah, I was," I replied softly. "Then why?" I looked up in surprise to see Sasori had spoken. "Why what?" I asked. "If you've been warned about us, why are you here?" I looked off into the distance. "I've had a lot of experience with people judging harshly. I know that people tend to make assumptions without all the facts." I turned to them with a gentle smile. "So I wanted to decide for myself. I wanted to get to know you guys better and decide for myself who you really are." "And what did you decide?" Before I could answer the question, we arrived at the cafe. We ordered our food and sat down at a table. Before we dug into our food I said, "You guys are alright. I think we could be good friends." Deidara and Sasori both looked at me in surprise. "I think we could be too," Deidara replied with a smile. I noticed Sasori giving me a small smile too.