Chapter One - Trouble Already

~*~ DEIDARA'S POV ~*~

I step off the bus, almost tripping over my own feet in the process. I clutch the strap of my backpack tighter, as it's the only thing I can take comfort in. As I have no friends whatsoever, what else am I supposed to do? Without warning, someone shoves me from behind. I fall forwards, and very nearly trip again, only this time on the kerb. A girl with vividly pink hair dashes away from me, straight into the arms of a guy with the most ridiculous haircut I've ever seen. Sort of like he'd shoved something electrical up his backside and it made his hair stand on end. I roll my eyes, and run my fingers through the blond bangs that covered my left eye. My ponytail brushed against the base of my neck as I steadied my feet once again, tickling me. I noticed the black haired guy and his pink haired bitch muttering to one another and then pointing in my direction. I glare icily back, and both looked shocked. Clearly the new kid wasn't supposed to behave like this. Well, they'd better get used to it. I'd had enough of being the one everyone picked on. I wasn't having it anymore, especially not from some tosser and his little whore.

Still glaring at them, I walk down the concrete pathway that leads up to the school. The school itself is split up into three separate buildings. The two on the edge of the main building have sloping roofs, made of very shiny metal. The middle building was made of the same metal, but its roof was flat. Spikes line the edge. I notice the same spikes along the edge of the window sills too, and I can't help but wonder if the students hurled themselves out of them every so often. The windows are bleak and tinted so that I couldn't see into the classrooms beyond. The walls were made of red brick, but even these seemed dull and colourless. As I continued up the pathway, I passed by a bicycle shed, where a couple of girls with ridiculously short skirts were giggling. They stopped when they spotted me and stared. I ignored them as best as I could, and instead focused on the building behind the shed. It was made from the same bricks as the other three, but stood even taller than they did. I spotted netball and tennis courts spreading out from one side of the far left building, and a field beyond that. It must have been used for sports, I assumed. Aware that the girls were getting up, still looking at me, I quickly hurried off. I passed by other students, who all stared at me as I was an imposter trespassing on their grounds. I hated it, but I had to ignore them as best as I could. After all, I should be used to this by now, shouldn't I? I mean, it was always the same story. It was already halfway through the year. People had their friend groups, so why would they want me to be bugging them? Just like everywhere else, I would never fit in. I was just looking at the sign post outside the front of the main building looking for the reception when I saw them.

Two tall boys were leant against the wall of the main building, talking in hushed voices. The tallest one had slicked back grey hair. His eyes had a cruel glint, despite their being pink. I took one look at the boy's muscled arms protruding from his short sleeved t-shirt, and realised he was not one to be messed with. The bottoms of his black jeans covered his shoes, but I wouldn't mind betting he wore boots underneath. He had his arms folded across his chest. Around his neck was a metal chain, and I spotted an odd charm at the bottom. It was a metal circle, with an upside triangle in it. I gulped. I knew that symbol. This kid was a Jashinist, and that was anything but good news. Even though he was talking normally to the boy next to him, he was glaring, as if his eyes didn't know how to do anything else. The boy he was talking to was a lot shorter than he was; a little shorter than me. His raven coloured hair was tied back into a ponytail like my own, except his was lower down the back of his head, mine was at the top. He too was glaring up at the grey haired boy, and his eyes were scarlet. The shorter boy wore a Slipknot t-shirt which lay baggy on his thin frame, as well as matching black skinny jeans. I saw black Doc Martins boots on his feet, and I shuddered. These guys looked like they would be able to snap me in two with ease. I noticed that tied around both their bags were two identical bandanas. They were jet black in colour, with a series of red clouds outlined with a white line.

Suddenly, the black haired boy prodded the other's arm, and glared over at me. I felt fear and nausea sweep over me as the Jashinist kid turned to stare at me too. His eyes contained more malice than I had first thought, and my heart rate sped up sickeningly. They were gonna kill me for looking at them, I knew it. I blinked, but when I opened my eyes, they had vanished.

'That was weird..' I thought to myself, eyebrows arching in confusion. Then I shrug my shoulders and look back to the signpost. I walked in the direction it indicated, and found that I had to go in front of the buildings, down some steps and around a corner. Finally, I arrived outside a set of sliding doors. I looked up when I spotted a gleam, and saw in large metal letters that had been fixed to the brickwork the word 'Reception'. With a quiet sigh, I stepped through the doors.

*

"Well, you've certainly moved around a bit.."

"Yeah."

I sit uncomfortably in the head teacher's office, trying to look anywhere but her face. When I had first been shown into her office by a smiling black haired woman, I had let myself think it wouldn't be too bad. But I was very much mistaken. As soon as I'd seen the head herself, a woman called Tsunade, my stomach dropped. She just seemed to radiate a bad energy that said 'Mess with me and die'. Her long blond hair was tied back into two separate bunches that stretched right down to her hips, and she was.. Well developed, to say the least. Her amber eyes had a flicker of kindness and understanding, but there was also a hint of danger. I couldn't help but feel intimidated just by sitting opposite her.

"Well, any idea of how long you would be staying in our school?"

I gulped. I honestly had no idea. Since my mom abandoned me with my dad, he'd had to take up a lot of jobs to support me through my schooling. Every time he'd gotten a new job, we'd had to move to a new place, giving me hardly any time to adjust.

"I don't know, miss.." I said honestly.

She nods.

"Very well. If you have any problems at all here, feel free to talk to me or any other teachers. Remember, they're here to help you, not hinder you. We want your time at this school to be an enjoyable experience, not a lifelong torment. We do not tolerate bullying here, and any children caught or found out will be excluded. Immediately. So, if you come across any incidents, report them at once."

I didn't like the way she told me about that. It was almost as if she was expecting me to get bullied. This made me feel great. Instead of saying all of this however, I nodded and forced a smile on my face. She seemed to buy it though, because she smiled back before pushing two pieces of paper across the desk at me.

"That is a map and your timetable. Your father said in his application letter the subjects you had been doing at your previous school, and I am delighted to say that there were plenty of spaces available."

I nodded with another fake smile, and looked through the paper. The map was made up of four pages, each depicting the rooms and subjects taught in each building. I then shifted my gaze to the timetable. Today, I had double art with someone called Iruka. I quickly consulted the map, and found that I was only one floor up from where I sat in the office. With yet another nod at Tsunade, I picked up my bag from the floor and exited the room.

*

I burst into the classroom, out of breath as I'd run all the way from the reception. The stairs had been steep, and I'd tripped quite a few times. The teacher, Iruka, looked up from near the back of the room. He looked shocked, like the rest of the class, but the expression quickly softened into a smile. He ran a paint-splattered hand through the brown locks gathered on his shoulders, and his kind mahogany eyes made me feel a little more relaxed.

"Sorry sir.." I muttered.

"Deidara, right?" He says, his voice as kind as his eyes. "Not a problem, I remember my first day at a new school too. As we're halfway through a project right now, you'll have to join up with someone."

I looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be muttering behind their hands to the person next to them, and I knew each of them was saying how annoying it would be to get stuck with the new guy. Iruka was looking expectantly at me, clearly wondering why I hadn't moved, but I just couldn't. I didn't know who to go and sit next to. I was about to say so, when I heard quite clearly, the words spewing from the girl on the edge of the table nearest me. It was the pink haired whore who had almost knocked me down from the bus this morning. She said in a catty voice, loud enough for the whole class to hear, 'Look at his clothes. Who dresses like a tramp?'

The whole class erupted in laughter. I saw Iruka look flustered and try to calm them down, but his words weren't being heard by any of them. I felt my face go crimson, and my entire body began to tremble. My bag fell off my shoulder and fell to the floor. The zip flew open, and half of my belongings poured out onto the classroom floor. The laughing escalated, and my blush of humiliation turned scarlet. I dropped to my knees and started trying to stuff things back into my bag, but my hands were shaking so much out of anger and embarrassment that they just slipped out of my grasp again. This made the pink haired bitch burst into tears of mirth.

SLAM!

I jump out of my skin, and the entire class goes silent. I look up and see a boy sitting alone at a whole table almost opposite me, his curled fist lying on the table. His bottom lip curls into a snarl as he glares around at the whole classroom. He was shorter than me, I could tell that from where I was, but he radiated a feeling of intense power. Even the pink haired bitch looked scared. The boy had short red hair that seemed to be cut in jagged layers. His eyes were a red-ish brown, but there was a definite furious flame boiling within them. He wore a short sleeved red t-shirt, with a long sleeved black and white striped one underneath. These fell over his hands, but no-one made a comment about how child-like the look was. I saw, tied tightly around one of his wrists under his shirt, was a bandana identical to those on the bags of the boys from the start of the day. Very slowly, he got to his feet, the sounds of his bench scraping back on the floor painful to listen to. Then, still glaring at the class, he crossed the room to where I was kneeling on the floor. Without saying a word, he bent down, stuffed the rest of my belongings into the backpack, and stood.

"He'll work with me, sir." He said in a cold, angry voice.

"Y..Yes.. Okay.." Iruka stammered, still pretty shaken up.

Without warning, the boy grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. There was a lot more strength in those arms than I had first imagined. I stumbled on my way up, but no-one so much as sniggered. The boy led me back to his bench, then shoved me into the spare seat next to him. Soon, the class began working again, but nobody looked in our direction much. The boy picked up a screwdriver, and carried on with what he had been working on before coming to my rescue. It looked like a wooden puppet. The detail on it was incredible, even if it was only a torso and a head right now. It looked creepily real.

"Um.. Thanks.. Is there anything I can do to help..?" I ask timidly. The boy turned to glare at me, and I felt my insides go icy cold.

"Yeah. You can grow the fuck up and develop a fucking backbone, or you'll be dead within the week."

As soon as he had said his piece, he turned back to his work, ignoring my presence. I was shocked by what he had said, but I soon got over this. This was definitely the most violent of the schools I'd been sent to, and his words made sense if I truly thought about it. He was clearly someone everybody listened to, so I should take his advice too, even if it was pretty depressing.

So as not to antagonise him further, I sat back in my seat and watched him work.

*

About an hour later, a loud bell rang out in the room. I watched as everyone else in the classroom began to pack up, shoving pencils and tools into drawers around the room, carrying models and sculptures into a cupboard at the back of the room. The red haired boy beside me shoved me hard in the back with a hammer he'd been using. I jumped out of my skin, and he sighed as if dealing with a child.

"It's break time." He hisses.

I watch him as he storms away, putting the tools he'd used on the puppet in their appropriate places. He then came back without even looking at me, put the puppet on a shelf behind his desk, then grabbed his backpack from under the desk and stormed out of the room. I watched as the pink haired whore from across the room looked at me, but her friend's expression turned to one of fear and mumbled something in her ear. It must have been enough to freak her out though, because she shuddered and quickly left.

After the rest of the class had vanished, I picked up my backpack and took out the map. If it was break, I could try and find some secret little corner to curl up and hide in. I left the room and followed the throng of students to the grounds. I looked around in vain for the red haired boy, but he had completely disappeared. With a quiet sigh, I looked around. The grounds were a vast slab of concrete with little fenced of areas with a couple of bushes and trees in them. I saw at the far end of the area, near the sports hall, there was a stretch of grass area covered with trees, where many of the students were laying or sunbathing. I spotted a shadowy corner on the far end of this grassy area, and made for it.

Or I would have done, had an arm not materialised in front of my face, blocking my path.

I stared up into the face of the person blocking me. A tall boy stood before me, thick black hair hanging in greasy clumps around his shoulders. His eyes were yellow, and he had weird eye makeup on; a purple diagonal line exceeded from the far corner of each eye. His eyes were cruel and cold, and I saw no emotion other than hatred lingering within them. He has tall, and his face was thin and sunken. His skin was a horrible pale colour, and he looked ill. Or on drugs. I couldn't tell which. Probably both. Beside him was a much shorter boy, about my height, He had light grey hair, tied back into a short ponytail. His face was a lot fuller than the other's, but he still had that menacing look about him. His cold, dark eyes were covered by glasses that he had to keep slipping back onto the bridge of his nose.

"So.. I hear you got your butt saved by Sasori." The black haired guy drawled.

I don't reply. So.. His name was Sasori..

"Oi, can you speak?" The one with glasses snarls.

Yeah, but I'm not wasting my words on the likes of you. I glare.

"Ah, he can't speak but he can understand English." The first one laughs. The sound of his laughing was like nails scratching down a chalk board; it sent shivers down your spine.

My glare intensified.

"Or maybe he's scared of us, Orichimaru."

I snorted. The name was so funny and that he thought I was scared, I couldn't help it. It's a big mistake though. Both of them glare death daggers at me.

"You think you're tough, huh?" The Orichimaru guy spits.

"I think you should teach him a lesson."

"That, Kabuto, is a great suggestion."

The hand that had been previously been blocking my way curled into a tight first, and drew back in order to hit me. I tensed my arms, ready to fight back if I had to. That was the one thing my father had ever taught me; don't back down from a fight. He had taught me from a young age how to defend myself, but only when I truly had to. Sometimes, I wondered if that was another reason mom left. She never liked me fighting, and even when she begged me to stop, I didn't. But she didn't understand. I got teased a hell of a lot because of my hair, and I got mistaken for a girl more often than not, so I had to have something to confirm my masculinity. She didn't understand.

But I shouldn't have worried about fighting Orichimaru. Just before he could swing his fist, his arm was caught by Sasori, who had appeared beside him. He glared up at Orichimaru, who seemed to falter.

"Don't forget, Orichimaru, we can kick your fucking asses. Don't act all macho when you have no reason or right to do so."

~*~ SASORI'S POV ~*~

Five minutes earlier

"You're a child minder."

"Shut up Hidan."

"I'm just fucking saying."

"Well don't."

"But-"

"Just because I shut that little pink haired whore up, it doesn't mean I'm a child minder, okay Hidan?!" I yell, my temper snapping. The Jashinist grins.

"Baby sitter then?"

"SHUT UP HIDAN!!"

"No fucking way man! You stuck up for a fucking newbie!"

"So?! Just what the hell is wrong with that?"

"You should hear what people are saying, Sasori." Itachi says coolly.

I turn away from Hidan, thankful that I can get away from the boy's smug grin.

"What are people saying?"

"I heard Sai saying that you were head over heels for this newbie."

My temper flares again.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!!!"

Itachi holds up his hands as if to say 'Calm the hell down'. He glares up at me, his scarlet eyes glinting dangerously. Hidan appears behind him, still grinning.

"I didn't say it. Don't get so pissed off at me."

"Look, I do not like this newbie. I just couldn't stand the way he looked so pathetic that I just lost it. Besides, it's always fun to slap Pinky in the face without having to actually touch her."

"I hear that." Kisame mumbles, walking up from behind Itachi.

Hidan suddenly moves out from behind Itachi and stares over my shoulder. His confused expression changes into a smirk, before he looks back at me.

"Take a look, 'Sori. Your latest bitch is already in shit."

I sigh, then turn. My eyes widen when I see Orichimaru and Kabuto making a beeline for the newbie, Deidara. I watch as they both talk to him, but after he doesn't respond, I start to think it's all going to be okay. Then I see Deidara laugh. If there's one thing Orichimaru can't stand, its people not taking his threats seriously. I roll my eyes and emit a low growl when he pulls his arm back, forming a fist. Without another moment's hesitation, I stormed over to where the situation was developing. Hidan being Hidan followed me. If anyone loves a blood bath, it's Hidan. And as he hates both Kabuto and Orichimaru, he'd jump at the chance to fight them.

~*~ DEIDARA'S POV ~*~

"Give me one good reason to stop, Sasori." Orichimaru spat.

"Because your ego's bigger than your fighting skills, and unless you wanna get your ass kicked, you better get out of here now."

It's an order. Someone as small as Sasori is giving orders to someone as tall as Orichimaru. The creepy looking boy hesitates for a moment, then tugs his arm out of Sasori's hold. I think it's all going to be resolved with no fighting whatsoever, when Kabuto swings forward without warning and hits Sasori around the back of the head with a heavy looking text book. I took a step forward, ready to swing for him, when the Jashinist that I'd spotted this morning leaps out of nowhere, landing on Kabuto. I watch as Kabuto slams into the wall beside us, face first. The Jashinist pulls him back by the collar of his shirt, and punches him in the face. I hear the bone in his nose snap, before blood flows in a constant river down Kabuto's face.

Orichimaru then charges forward to try and hit me, but Sasori sticks out his leg, tripping the boy up. He lands face first at my feet. Sasori then kicks him again and again with the heel of thick looking boots, each blow earning a yelp of pain from Orichimaru.

After a few minutes of this, Sasori seems satisfied. He dusts himself down, then looks up at me. I gulp, and take several steps backwards. He looks murderously angry. He takes a few steps towards me, and opens his mouth to yell, I assume. But my attention is taken away from him at the last second. Orichimaru's face appears right over Sasori's shoulder, blood trickling from his nose from where he hit the floor. Without even hesitating, I bring my clenched fist flying past Sasori, hitting Orichimaru right in the jaw. He fell backwards, blood now pouring from his mouth. Sasori whirled around, and stared in shock down at the unconscious body at his feet. I look back at him, and manage a weak grin. His expression of shock fades, to be replaced with a grin back. That's when we hear it. The click of heels.

I look up from Sasori's face, and he turns, just in time to see Tsunade marching towards us, gripping the Jashinist's ear in a vice-like hold. Blood covers his face, but I can just tell it isn't his own. A huge grin spreads from one ear to the other, but Tsunade is doing anything but smile. Her eyes are steely, and she points with her spare hand in the direction of the main building.

"My office. Go. Now."

*

"Sasori.. I expected so much better of you.." Is the first thing Tsunade says once we're all sitting on the chairs. Sasori is in the middle, the Jashinist on his left, me on his right.

"Miss, it wasn't my fault. I was trying to help Deidara."

Tsunade turns to me, and those steely eyes make my blood run cold.

"What happened?"

"That weird black haired kid and his friend, the one with glasses, both threatened me, so Sasori and Hidan came to help." I only knew the Jashinist's name because Sasori had hissed it at me as he had sat down.

Tsunade nods, clearly thinking that a new kid wouldn't lie to her.

"Well, I understand that.. Both Orichimaru and Kabuto aren't exactly model students.." She then turns to the still grinning Hidan. "I expected nothing less from you." Hidan's grin doubles at this, and he bows his head. I notice that Tsunade's eyes lighten a little after this, and when she speaks, it's almost as if she's trying to stop herself from laughing. "You may go to your next lessons. I will be speaking to Orichimaru when he regains consciousness and Kabuto when he leaves the school sick bay. Hidan, clean yourself up of that blood before going to your lesson."

We each stand, grab our bags and leave the office in total silence. As I shut the door behind me, I'm certain I hear a peal of laughter, but I don't double back and check. We left the reception quickly, still not speaking. But when we were out in the corridor, Hidan slapped me on the back so hard that I stumbled forwards and nearly fell right over. I turn back to him, a shocked expression on my face, and he grins back. Through the dried blood on his face, it was a rather scary grin, but a grin nonetheless.

"You're not as bad as I thought you were." He announces. "If you ever want help on your fucking fighting skills, feel free to come to me. I'd better go clean this dirty fucking shithead's blood off me. See you bastards later."

Then he walks off down the corridor, a spring in his step. I turn to Sasori, who grins at the shocked look on my face.

"Hidan likes swearing. Even the teachers have given up trying to stop him. In his eyes, calling us bastards is practically a compliment. And he clearly likes you."

"Why..?" I ask, shocked.

"He doesn't offer his vast knowledge of fighting to anyone, ya know."

"No, I meant.. Why would he like me..?"

Sasori blinks at me.

"Because you knocked the guy he hates most out?"

Knocking someone out? That's what got people friends around here? I gulp, suddenly feeling nervous. Sasori seems to pick up on this, because he changes the subject.

"Listen.. Thanks for hitting him for me. I honestly didn't hear him, so yeah.. Thanks.." He smiles. Not a grin, a smile. The cold in his eyes vanishes when he smiles, and his whole face seems to light up. "And sorry for being such a bastard in Art earlier.. I just get pissed off really easily.."

"It's okay." I say, and smile back.

"Do you wanna hang out with us tomorrow?" He asks suddenly. His question takes me by surprise. I hadn't expected to find a group of friends so quickly, but it seems I had. So, I nodded and grinned again.