University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 9

Deidara was apparently excited by the party this Saturday. "It's been forever since we've done something like this!" he exclaimed. "Well, after what happened with Zetsu and Nagato the group wasn't exactly feeling up to partying," Sasori commented in a monotone voice. Zetsu and Nagato? Those weren't names I was familiar with. I asked them who they were. "They were former members of Akatsuki. It's best if you ask Pain for the details," Deidara said. Hmm, another mystery added to the list. "We'll be picking you up again for the party, hm," Deidara stated. "That's fine with me." As we were leaving class, I noticed Obito standing in the hallway. "Hey Deidara, Sasori, I'm going with Obito for lunch. He's going to introduce me to the PAL's." "Alright, we'll see you later, hn?" "Yeah, see ya."

"You ready?" Obito asked me. "Yep." We walked through the campus and chatted about our classes. We eventually reached the PAL's office which was in a building I didn't frequent. Obito opened the door and I walked into the office. Several faces turned to look up at me. "Hey everybody, I want you to meet Asami. We used to be childhood friends," Obito introduced. The first person to introduce themselves was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and ruby red eyes. "Hello, I'm Kurenai." She smiled warmly. Next to her was a tan man with dark hair and beard. He had an arm around Kurenai's shoulders and he smiled at me too. "Name's Asuma. I'm Kurenai's boyfriend." I said hello to both of them. Next was a man that looked like the spitting image of Lee if he grew up a couple years. "I'm Might Guy! Nice to see a new youthful face around here!" I laughed at his comment. Next was a man with silver gravity defying hair and a black mask that covered the lower half of his face. He gave me a closed eyed smile and held out his hand. "I'm Kakashi Hatake." I shook his hand. I noticed he had a book in his other hand and when I saw the title, I gasped in surprise. "You read Icha Icha Paradise?" I questioned. He nodded. "You know of it?" "Yeah. I have the deluxe boxed set with Jiraya's personal signature." He blinked in surprise. The man next to him laughed. "Looks like you have a fellow fan Kakashi." I turned to him. The man had dark brown hair in a ponytail and a long horizontal scar over his nose. "Name's Iruka." "It's nice to meet you," I smiled. Then I moved on to the last person. He had short brown hair and dark eyes. "Yamato," he introduced himself. We shook hands. "I can't believe there's actually someone else who reads that stuff," he joked. I rubbed the back of my neck and blushed a little. "Yeah, it's a little embarrassing." "I just can't believe you have the personally signed deluxe boxed set. You'll have to show it to me sometime," Kakashi said. I laughed. "Sure." Asuma spoke up. "Say Asami, you don't seem like a freshman." I shook my head. "I'm a sophomore. I transferred here." "Oh yeah? Where were you raised?" "Well for the first eight years of my life, I actually lived on the outskirts of Konoha. That's how I know Obito. Our parents were friends and coworkers." "I remember Obito mentioning you sometimes when we were little," Kakashi spoke. "Yeah, he talked to me about you and Rin sometimes too." I noticed a touch of sadness enter Kakashi's eyes when I mentioned Rin. "So after you were eight, what happened then?" Yamato asked. "Well my parents died after that so I lived with my uncle. My uncle is an archaeologist so we've been all over the world." I noticed that they had sympathetic looks. I was glad that none of them pitied me. I hated seeing pity in other's eyes when I told them about my parents. "So you must of seen a lot places then?" Iruka asked. I nodded. I started going into detail about some of the places I visited. I mentioned some of the ruins I visited and the cultures that I learned about. I also mentioned the different people I met and the volunteering I did. They all seemed pretty amazed at my stories. "You should tell my kids these stories," Iruka said. "Kids?" I questioned. "Yeah, I do tutoring for kids. Kakashi and I also volunteer at the city library sometimes and read stories to kids. I bet they would love to hear about your travels. Would you be interested in coming with us sometime?" "I would love to," I smiled. I loved kids so this kind of volunteer work would make me really happy. I felt someone rest their hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Yamato smiling at me. "You know, since you love volunteering so much, you should become an official PAL's member. It's a little unorthodox to recruit someone from the lower classes but you have a lot of valuable experience. Plus we would love to have you around. What do you say?" "Really? You guys would take me?" I noticed nods from everybody. "You're youthful spirit will be a great addition to our group!" Guy enthused. My spirits soared. I couldn't contain my excitement. I squealed and tackled Yamato in a hug. "Yes! I want to join the PAL's!" Yamato seemed surprised for a moment before he chuckled and hugged me back. "You're pretty cute when you're excited." I didn't notice the glare from Obito. "Alright, that's enough hugging." Obito gently pulled me from Yamato's grasp. I was too elated to think much about it. "Thank you everyone!" "I'll get the paperwork." Kurenai smiled and walked over to a desk.

After I filled out the official paperwork, it was time for me to go to my next class. Obito decided to walk with me. I said my goodbyes to the PAL's and Obito and I left. I couldn't keep the bounce from my step as I walked along. "Thank you so much for introducing us Obito. I'm really happy I got to join." He smiled gently at me. "I'm glad you're happy. I figued they'd like you." I noticed a dark look cross his face. "Maybe some of them a little too much." I laughed. "Oh come on Obito. Don't be such a downer." We arrived at my biology class. "This is my class. I'll see you later Obito." I started to turn away when I heard him say wait. I turned back to see he was just a hairsbreadth away from me. I didn't have time to register what was going on when I felt his lips kiss my forehead. "Enjoy the rest of your day," he softly murmured. I blinked and he was gone. My feet moved on their own for my mind was still trying to process what just happened. What was that about? I was still wrapped deep in my thoughts when I heard a soft voice say, "Asami?"