Harmony (Konoha School of Arts)

37. Back to a half empty class

Konoha School of Arts was bustling with activity. The winter break had passed by as quickly as it came and now there were only three days till schools reopened. It was a weekend, a perfect time for boarding students to move back into the dorms.

Naruto was one of the first people to move back into the dorm, being the grandson of the principal and all. He moved in a whole week early. Oh the boredom. He had Juugo to talk to though- the boy didn't go home for the winter break for a reason he refused to tell Naruto about- but the ginger was as silent as a stuffed doll. Naruto was stuck talking to his chipmunks instead. They were better conversationalists.

So imagine Naruto's elation when the school dorms officially reopened and students started moving in. Suigetsu was the first of his classmates to arrive at the dorms. It was amazing how Juugo's personality switched up (even if by a teeny tiny bit) at the arrival of his best friend. He was more talkative with Suigetsu than he was with Naruto and the thought made the blond boy wrinkle his nose indignantly. There were no hard feelings though. Juugo was a big introvert and he kinda just attached himself to the ginger all week long against his wishes. Of course he'd be merrier with Suigetsu around.

Rock Lee's arrival brought about a 360 degrees change in the whole school mood and that wasn't just because of his ten million watts smile or his abundant energy. Coupled with Gai sensei who moved in at the same time he did, and Naruto who also had a reservoir of energy stored from the insane week of boredom, the school never knew peace again.

The trio ran around the school like kids and did random exercises at random places. It was comical to say the least. Finally Tsunade got tired of the ruckus and gave them a good knock on their heads for being a nuisance. Then she called Gai sensei aside to occupy him with work since he was so jobless.

That didn't bring down Naruto or Lee's spirits though. Shikamaru walked in on the both of them doing squats in the hallway and promptly turned around to avoid them. Unfortunately for him, he was seen.

"SHIKAMARU!"

"SHIKAMARU-KUN!"

"Get off me you coffee drunk freaks!" Shikamaru's scream was left unheard as both boys jumped him. Poor Shika. He just wanted to get to his room and sleep without having his mom or girlfriend breathing down his neck for once. That was impossible now thanks to these two.

One by one the other boys in his class moved in, Choji bearing treats from his mom-bless her benevolent heart- and Sai causing drama with his sharp tongue again. Shino was the last of the boys in his class to move in. The boy came bearing sad news about how Kiba wouldn't be moving in with them anymore, something about his mother not trusting the school system after the previous incident.

Naruto wasn't expecting the wave of sadness he felt at Shino's morose announcement. They started off on the wrong foot but Kiba had become one of Naruto's closest friends. The thought of never seeing him again hurt a lot. It didn't help that the canine boy still didn't respond to texts or calls.

Everyone had settled in by the time the evening rolled by Dinner was a simple affair in the main dining hall and soon everybody had broken off into their separate groups to catch up with one another and gossip.

"A lot of people withdrew from school, didn't they?" Karui observed, looking around at her classmates. Some of them were missing for example Hinata and Sakura. Ino too. And some of the boys.

"We can't say." Matsuri replied her. "Some of them might just be planning resume really late and some might have just decided not to be in the boarding system anymore."

"They sure have a lot of money to spend, paying for a dorm room and not using it." Karui quipped sarcastically. Her friends giggled. "What? It's true! If they didn't want to stay on campus then they shouldn't have bothered paying for it at all."