University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 4

  We had finished with our lunch and it was time for me to head to my next class. We had said our goodbyes and started to go our separate ways when Deidara called out to me. "Hey Asami, would you like to meet the rest of the Akatsuki tomorrow?" I turned back to him. "Sure! Why not?" We made plans for Deidara to pick me up after my classes tomorrow and we were going to go to the fraternity house where the Akatsuki were staying. We finally said our goodbyes and I managed to arrive at my next class. Biology. I arrived at the classroom and noticed Shino, Gaara, and Temari. There were tables again and I ended up taking a seat next to Gaara. "Hey guys," I said as I sat down. "Asami," Shino said in way of greeting. Gaara gave me an acknowledging glance. Temari smiled at me. After a short lecture, the teacher had us split into pairs. We were supposed to label a diagram of a cell. Temari was working with Shino so I ended up working with Gaara. I pointed to a piece. "I believe this is the nucleolus." Gaara didn't say anything so I labeled it as such. I continued labeling things without so much as a word from Gaara. Hmm, this is turning into more of an individual practice. I continued with my work when I suddenly saw his hand point at one of my answers. "I believe this is actually the Golgi Apparatus." I blinked in surprise. I looked again at the diagram. "Oh, you're right! Thanks for catching that." He nodded. Huh, I guess he's just a quiet person. We finished up the diagram and managed to be the first ones done. After turning in the worksheet, we sat there in quiet solitude with neither of us feeling a need to break the silence. I was doodling on a piece of paper when I heard his deep voice ring out. "Where are you from Asasmi?" "Oh, nowhere in particular. My uncle and I never stayed in one place long enough to call home." It was silent for a minute before he answered, "Sounds lonely." My head snapped up in surprise. My eyes met his teal ones and in their depths, I saw that he was familiar with loneliness and the pain that came with it. "Yeah, it was sometimes," I said softly. We continued to stare at each other until Temari's voice broke the moment. "Hey, are you guys done already?" I had quickly averted my gaze and looked down. "Yeah" I mumbled to Temari. I didn't speak the rest of class. What was that? I wondered. 

Temari decided to help me find my next class so we said our goodbyes to Gaara and Shino. I avoided looking Gaara in the eyes and quickly walked off with Temari. "Hey, are you alright?" Temari asked as we walked. "Yeah, why?' "You just seem kind of quiet." I shrugged. We arrived at my last class. World History. I smiled as I thought, this should be a piece of cake. "Thanks Temari. I'll see you later." I waved goodbye to Temari. Kiba, Sakura, Choji, Ino, Sai, and Kankuro were in this class. History was one of the core requirements for a lot of majors so I wasn't surprised to see such a big group in this class. As soon as I saw the look on their faces, I knew I was going to be in for an interrogation. Sure enough, Ino grabbed my hand and pushed me into a chair. The others soon crowded around me. "I heard from Kiba and Ino that you were hanging out with some Akatsuki members today. What's up with that?" Sakura questioned. "They didn't threaten you or anything did they?" Kiba pestered. "What were they like?" Ino asked next. "Alright, everybody stop," I said in an exasperated tone. They soon quieted down. "They're in my art class so we happened to chat with each other. We got along so we decided to have lunch together. No, they didn't threaten me and they were very nice. I think we could be good friends. They invited me to meet the rest of the Akatsuki tomorrow." There was a dead silence. "What?!" Kiba shouted. "Shhhh!" I hushed him. "That is a really bad idea! Those guys are dangerous!" Kiba exclaimed. "Dangerous how?" I asked. They all looked to Kankuro. Kankuro had a bit of an angry face. "All I'll say is it involved Gaara. We don't like to talk about it." Gaara, huh? I wondered if it had something to do with the pain I noticed in Gaara's eyes earlier. "Well, it wasn't entirely their fault," Choji quietly said. "Doesn't matter. Gaara was in their care and I'll never forgive them," Kankuro replied. I didn't get to ask any more about the subject for the teacher came in and started class. I pondered what they said. It must've been pretty serious to get Kankuro that mad. Whatever the reason, it seemed to cause a lot of rivalry between the two groups. At the end of class, we left as a group. "So are you still going to see them tomorrow?" Sakura asked. "Yeah," I answered. "But why?" Sai asked. "Look, I'm sorry about whatever happened between you and the Akatsuki in the past. But it has nothing to do with me now. Besides have you guys tried to give them a second chance? Maybe they feel really bad about the whole thing and you guys aren't willing to give them a chance to apologize. I don't know the full details of the situation which is why I have to go." "I think she's right," Choji spoke up. "What happened was a couple years ago and we haven't given them a chance since. Asami's the only one who can figure out the truth." The others were quiet for a minute. "There's no changing your mind is there?" Kiba asked. I shook my head. "All right. Then why don't you get all of our numbers and we'll get yours so you can contact us if you need anything." I thought that was a great plan. By the time we finished exchanging contact information, we were back at the dorms. "Hey we're going to all have dinner again in the dining hall. Would you like to join us?" "No thanks. I have a lot of work to catch up on. I'll see you guys tomorrow." 

We went our separate ways and I made it back to my room. I exchanged greetings with Hinata as she was going out the door to join the others. I sighed. Time to hit the books. It was late when Hinata came back from dinner. "You guys were out awfully late," I stated. "Yeah, we heard about your visit with the Akatsuki from Kiba. So a lot of them were arguing about whether they should let you go or not." I rolled my eyes. "I know they're just looking out for me but I'm perfectly capable of handling myself." "They just worry about you. We all do," Hinata replied softly. I looked up at her and smiled. "I forget what it's like to have friends. Thanks." She nods and heads to bed. I work a little longer on my homework before I head to bed too.