New Beginnings NOW COMPLETE

Naruto and Sasuke both had Kakashi as a teacher for the first time that day, his eye seemed to twinkle more than usual when he looked their way. The principal had requested he not wear the mask at school and all three new students had been eagerly awaiting their first glimpse of him maskless. The people nearby looked at Naruto weirdly when he groaned as the silver haired teacher walked in with a high necked shirt covering the bottom half of his face.

"I live with him and now I have to be taught by him as well?" Naruto just whispered loudly enough for the others to hear. There was a low ripple of laughter as the rest of the class tried to figure out what to do with the new teacher.

"Sorry I'm late, I dropped my lunch and had to find something else to eat," Kakashi said loudly to the class, his sharingan eye covered by his hair.

"Why couldn't you eat at the cafeteria like the rest of us?" Naruto demanded.

"Have you actually tried the food?" Kakashi countered with a laugh, "Anyway I am Kakashi Hatake and I will be your maths teacher for a while. Now because we haven't gotten anything done this class you will have to make it up for homework."

There were groans and mutters all around the classroom and Naruto had a sinking feeling, he had sort of accidentally on purpose forgotten to do his homework from last night. He didn't think spending the night in a tree would be an acceptable excuse somehow. The bell rang and he bolted for his locker to get the books from the night before which were still in his locker anyway.

When Sasuke arrived at his locker he found a certain blonde waiting for him.
"So, uh Sasuke," Naruto began with a big cheesy grin.

Sasuke sighed, "What Naruto?"

"You're not going to be busy at recess are you?"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, "What do you want Naruto?"

"I was just hoping to spend some good quality time with you," Naruto began innocently, "And your last night's homework."

Sasuke slammed his locker, "And what if I am?"

"Hey it was your fault I didn't get it done! You're the one who started the little competition!" Naruto said loudly.

"Just give it up you can't even compete moron," a passer-by told Sasuke, smirking.

The Uchiha twitched. Did someone actually think Naruto could beat him at something?
"Fine. Recess outside. Bring your books, I'll help you but you're not copying me," Sasuke told the blonde storming off to his next class.

The brunette sat in the back of the classroom (again!) and watched Sakura as she revelled in her spotlight. There was an upside to this place, he decided. She hadn't squealed at him or asked him out since they first arrived which was a definite improvement. He watched as one of the other boys slipped a note in her pocket and winked at the pink haired girl. Sasuke grinned, yep upside to everything!

Sakura laughed and blushed as another boy slipped a note into her pocket, she never wanted to leave. This was all way too much fun. Flirting with guys was so much more interesting when they flirted back she had discovered. She wondered idly if Iruka and Kakashi would let her date, she definitely had some blackmail material after the grope she witnessed. She wondered if her parents would mind. Ino would be so jealous!

Naruto spent the rest of his morning classes in a flurry of activity. He finished as many questions as he could before recess, not that he didn't want to spend time with the Uchiha or anything but the less time he had to do work the better. He had Iruka for Japanese and almost laughed when the teacher ignored him, it wasn't as if they had been that horrible to him. But he had ruined their competition after all. He just hoped they still got dinner, Naruto gulped when he realised who the cook of the household was. He made a mental note to apologise and quick.

Sasuke sat out in the sun under a tree and lazily read over his book until someone cast a shadow over the page.
"Ah there you are dobe. Let's get this over with," he said closing his book.

"Who are you calling dobe?" a deeper voice answered.

Sasuke looked up in surprise to find someone else belonging to the shadow.

"I don't take kindly to being called dobe, especially by some new kid," the lump of a boy behind the voice told him menacingly.

"And I don't take too kindly to people blocking my sunlight," Sasuke said in an unthreatening tone that would have anyone who knew the Uchiha running for the hills.

"Well I don't take too kindly to your face!" the boy said, taking the intellectual high road.

"Well then how about you bugger off and solve all of our problems?" the Uchiha suggested pleasantly.

The boy stared at him for a moment while the words registered in his brain, suddenly it clicked.
"Why don't you come over here and say that?" the bigger boy threatened, unused to people talking back.

Sasuke stood up slowly and calmly brushed himself off and almost ambled over to the waiting ogre.
"I said, now pay attention because I'm only going to say this once more. Bugger off dobe," he said quite purposely.

The bigger boy got ready to launch his attack, Sasuke grinned as he prepared for the ineffectual blows. Naruto chose that moment to make his appearance.

"Hey Sasuke-teme," he said walking up with his head buried in his book, "What did you get for number eight?"

Both boys turned at the interruption, the lump glared at the blonde and made his escape, too many witnesses.

"You have terrible timing you know that?" Sasuke almost growled.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked confused.

"Never mind," the Uchiha said sitting down again.

"Hmm, looks like one of our boys is getting bored honey," Kakashi said leaning towards Iruka across the table which had conveniently emptied.

"I told you not to call me that! Especially at school! Besides I'm still not talking to you," he turned away fully intent on ignoring the jounin.

"I said I'm sorry love," the silver haired man said giving the brunette his best puppy dog eye.

"Don't call me that either, " he said blushing, "Anyway what did you mean?"

"Our little Uchiha almost got into a fight so I was thinking we might go camping this weekend," Kakashi suggested innocently.

"WHAT?!" Sakura wailed, "I had plans and everything!"

"And when were you going to discuss them with us?" Iruka asked raising an eyebrow, "We are you legal guardians at the moment. Or were you planning to sneak out?"
The pink haired girl had the grace to blush.

Naruto shrugged, "I had plans but I can cancel. So why the sudden interest in camping?"

Sasuke looked surprised at the other boy's news but turned it into a sigh, "Are you really that blonde dobe? We haven't even been here a week and you've already forgotten about training?"

"Oh, right," Naruto laughed shrugging, "Maybe if I didn't have so much homework..."

The Uchiha snorted, "You haven't done any 'homework' since you got here. You've done it all at school along with the rest of your work."

The blonde frantically sent stop signals at the brunette boy to try and shut him up.
Iruka's eyes narrowed, "Why don't you two go and do your homework? I need to talk to Naruto."
The boy flinched, this could not be pretty.

Sasuke and Sakura started up the stairs despite the blonde's pleading looks. Sakura followed Sasuke into the boy's shared room and sat down on Naruto's bed.

"Hey Sasuke?" Sakura began, watching him remove his tie before he sat down.

"What?" he asked warily, remembering the last conversation they had started with those words.

The pink haired girl went bright red, "Do you mind, I mean, would it be alright if..."

"Sakura just say it," the boys said rubbing his temples.

"Ok but this is going to sound really weird," she took a deep breath, "Do you mind if I date other guys?"

One eyebrow shot up, "Is that really any of my business?"

"Well it's just that I always, you know. And I just wasn't sure if you'd mind if I sort of... moved on," Sakura explained tracing circles on the blanket.

"I have been waiting for you to 'move on' basically forever. Wouldn't Naruto be a better one to ask? He's the one who actually wanted to go out with you," the Uchiha said looking away.

"Well I don't think he'll be worried about that any time soon," she said ruefully, "I don't know how many propositions he's had since we got here but I think it's even more than me."

Sasuke froze, so that was why she was asking. She actually felt sorry for him. He ignored her as she kept prattling on about some of the things she'd seen and heard.

"He's even had some requests from other guys!" she laughed breaking him out of his bitterness.

"Has he accepted any?" Sasuke asked in a half strangled tone. Why did the thought of that bother him?

"From the guys or anyone?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow with an odd look.

"Gee thanks bastard," the blonde growled storming into their room dumping his tie and everything else on the floor.

"I better go," Sakura said cringing as she left the room closing the door quietly behind her.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto shouted ignoring her, "I got my homework done didn't I?"

"Yeah by taking up my recess and lunch time," Sasuke said lying back on his bed closing his eyes.

"Like you had anything better to do," Naruto cringed and bit his lip as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Touché dobe, touché," the brunette said putting his arms under his head.

"What?" the blonde asked, he had been expecting some sort of attack or insult or something.

"Well I could say 'snap' or 'burn' but I won't bring either of us down to that level," the Uchiha said stretching and opening one eye.

Naruto blinked a few times and grabbed his books. Walking down the stairs he could be heard muttering, "I think I broke Sasuke."