A-plus for the Fashion Boyz

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn’t be sharing. Sorry. (Oh, come on, don't be mad. If you had a blonde sex god there you damn well know you wouldn't want to share either.) Unfortunately, I don’t own, I don’t profit, and I don’t know where to find gaaraxnaruto fics. ‘Tis a sad, sad world.

Title: A+ for the Fashion Boyz

Summary: In a world of wanna-be’s and plastics, Naruto and Gaara are starting their first year at Konaha Academy of the Arts’ Fashion Institute in Japan to master design, create their own famous lines, and …wait…Gaara’s in fashion school? Holy Shit.

Pairing: Gaara and Naruto (equal-opportunity humping promoted)


Translations:

Okay, since this story takes place in Japan, I’m going to be using some Japanese phrases here and there. At the beginning of every chapter I’m going to put all the phrases I’ll use and their translations so you don’t accidentally see something you weren’t supposed to while you scroll down to foot notes and such, you know how it is. I’ll be using the spellings directly translated from hiragana, not necessarily the common way in English(so “shoujo” not “shojo”). Also, keep in mind that it’s normal to use last names for acquaintances. First names are considered more intimate, only for close friends and family. Anywho~ here are the translations:

Ai(eye in English): love

-san(sah’n): an honorific added at the end of someone’s name like “Mr” or “Miss,” but used for all ages and genders; commonly used between people who don’t know each other, kinda like a default setting, before their kind of relationship gets more specific….if that makes sense

-kun(koo’n): used for guys at the same or lower level, so you could use this on a room mate, and a boss can use it on you, but you can’t use it on your boss; also can be used for lower-level girls, but that’s fairly uncommon.

-sama(sah’mah): an honorific like –san or –kun, but for nobility

WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST CHAPTER OR THE PROLOGUE, IT IS THE FIRST PART OF THE FIRST CHAPTER. I just had it up to solicit help writing it, but I have my muse-angels now...I guess I'll just leave this here until I upload the read chapter heh

Suggestions are welcome and adored



::Chapter 1::
Pokeability

Certain things just screamed to be poked. Sometimes it was because they were squishy, sometimes it was because they were shiny, but, whatever the reason, they simply demanded to be poked, lest certain ADD tendencies ensue. The problem was, Naruto mused, that one of those “certain things” just so happened to be the half hidden tattoo under the deep red hair on the forehead of the new not-exactly-smiling international student at the front of the class.

The blond only vaguely heard the teacher explain that the new student had just moved into town from another country, something about some dignitary somewhere. He wasn’t listening; he was too busy trying to find the source of the tattoo’s pokeablity. Why would someone tattoo “ai” on their forehead? Why ai? The guy didn’t exactly look like he went around giving out free hugs….not that Naruto would mind getting hugged by…Gaara was it? Ice green eyes, pale skin, thin build; dude was pretty hot, but that wasn’t the point. No. Why that word? And why there? Why not the arm? That’s what most people did, not that the blond was ever one to follow the crowd. Besides, how was the guy supposed to get a part time job anywhere with a freaking huge red tattoo covering his face?! Ok, well, not exactly ‘covering,’ but

“Uzumaki-san! Take three: RAISE YOUR HAND!”

“Huh? Oh! Right here!” The blonde plastered on a goofy grin as he jumped up from his seat and waved far more energetically than was required.

If Gaara was accustomed to showing emotions, he would be flinching. This kid was just too hyper. They’d only been in the same room for a couple minutes and already he was annoyed. Blond hair almost as crazy as he seemed to be, blue eyes that currently couldn’t be seen for the overly huge smile, the guy was an all around stereotypical California beach bum if you switched the dope for Ritalin.

Actually, on second thought, even a beach bum would have better taste in wardrobe. What the hell was this guy wearing? The orange cargo pants might have been salvageable if he’d worn a black top with it, “might” being the operative word, but the human pogo stick had chosen an equally baggy, equally retina-burning, orange shirt with a blue spiral in the middle. Who wears orange and blue together? Sure, they’re called complementary colors, but talk about a clash. What kind of designer was this guy? Artists were well-known for claiming a style all their own, but this guy’s was just pathetic.

Why was he even in Japan again? Oh yeah, because Konoha Academy of the Arts was //the// place to go to learn how to design, so if any place could teach the blond how to dress, this was it. The fashion institute was no slouch. Gucci’s four sons had been sent to Japan just to take classes here, and if that didn’t sum up the university’s prestige, nothing would.

“Alright then, my name is Umino Iruka and I will be your Garment Construction Foundations professor.”

“Dude, Naruto-kun, you’re such a space case,” the boy next to Naruto was giggling at him, making no effort to whisper at the blond.

“Shut up, dog breath.” The blond stopped waving his arms, instead crossing them over his chest as he turned away from Gaara to pout at his friend.

“No, I agree with him, Naruto-kun. So, in light of having our very own space cadet, tonight for your first assignment I’d like everyone to create a full piece inspired by space. Wear your futuristic pieces to class tomorrow. This’ll let me know where you guys are starting from so I can see which topics I can skip and which ones I’ll need to spend extra time on.”

“What?! One night? For a full outfit? Oh my god. How is that even possible? Inspiration doesn’t come on a hotline.”

‘God, the blond may look annoying, but at least he isn’t complaining like his ‘dog breath’ friend. Actually, if anything, the Orange Disaster looks excited, like he knows something everyone else doesn’t. Cocky bastard.’ Gaara was less than impressed with the whimpering idiot, but the blond was annoying him in a different way. This guy thought something like this would be easy when he couldn’t even dress himself? Fine. He’d get his tomorrow when he showed up in polyester with loose threads, snags, and a box cut design. Gaara briefly closed his eyes and returned his attention to what the teacher was saying.

“Your portfolios can only show me so much. I want to see what you are all capable of doing under time constraints when being asked for a style other than your own. Upon enrolling, everyone should have received a student ID card. This is also the credit card you will be using throughout the semester at the fabric store on campus, which I’m sure you’ve all seen. Everyone begins with the same amount, enough for two or three projects. After each assignment you turn in, I and your other professors will give you a grade and that grade will affect how much money you will receive for your next project, so no one can complain about not having materials; you get what you earn. Accessories are always required to finish a look.”

The blond’s smirk was a full blown Cheshire grin as he imagined the looks of amazement he’d be getting the next morning and from there more money for more material meant it would only get better. He may have been called a hyperactive idiot more than once in his life, but no body could beat Uzumaki Naruto when it came to creative challenges.

The class passed with Iruka-sensei lecturing on the “fundamentals of apparel engineering” as a certain blond mused about his prowess and how guys and girls alike would be begging him for very //private// tutoring sessions, pleas that would fall on deaf ears. Just when he finished deciding how he would make his outfit, the lecture ended and a final reminder was given to be prepared to explain the thought process behind each outfit presented the next day.

“Oh my god, Naruto-kun, how the hell am I supposed to do ‘futuristic’ crap? I don’t do that; I do outdoors wear, you know, cargo pants and jackets! You can’t have silvery, shiny cargo pants! It’d look like Michael Jackson meets Elvis and Rain in that ‘It’s rainin’ music video. You. Would. Get. Eaten if your wore that in the wild. Period. Ugh!” Kiba continued to rant to himself as Naruto turned away from him in favor of returning to the mystery of the origin of pokeability. Blue eyes met green-aquamarine as they continued to simply stare.

“Dude, Naruto-san. You two need a moment here, or should I just start explaining to the sexual harassment lawyers now? ‘Oh no, no. It’s a misunderstanding. I know your son only recently came to Japan, so he must just not understand our customs. We //always// stare blankly at our classmates. It’s a form of showing respect.’ Yeah, that’ll go over well.” Kiba was a step away from waving his hand in front of the uncharacteristically quiet blond before Gaara stood up and left. He didn’t say anything or look back. He just left.

“Don’t you just wanna poke it?”

“Huh?”

::~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::<>~*~::~*~::



A/N::

Again, like I said in the beginning, this isn’t the first chapter and it isn’t the prologue. This was here in hopes that I could find a co-writer…which I did ^0^ *does happy dance*

If anyone wants to throw any ideas for future sewing assignments, let me know! (all ideas welcome, for assignments or otherwise)

I want to make this fic super long. In my Author’s Panel, I promise to never write a chapter that’s less than 18pgs (A/N’s and side notes not included) and I don’t want a fic less that 21chs, but, besides that, I really just hate it when stories are under-developed. That said, I’m not someone for quick flings, so don’t expect Naruto to be either in this fic. It’s gunna be a while before lemons are served. Sorry, but this is gunna be more humorous warm-fuzzies than lusty craziness, not that there won’t be any of that. I rec’d a bunch of fics though (something more people should do *hint, hint*), so if you want more action, I’m sure I have something to suit your cup of tea.

Hey, for formatting, how do you bold, underline, italicize, and center things?

How do I make it so that people who aren't logged in to AFF can still leave reviews?

Did anyone actually read this whole A/N or did I just type to myself for a while?


EDIT: Wow, I posted this less than 10 minutes ago and I already feel like a review whore. I'm looking at it like "ok ok, 7 hits, omg omg, please review, please please please" and refreshing the page every few seconds to see if there were any more hits...I think this is going to prove to be a hard addiction to break...

EDIT2: Oh yes, this is most definitely an addiction. I'm seeing SNs who have left comments for fics that I absolutely adore and now they're leaving comments for me!! Do you know that that feels like? I feel as giddy as if I had just seen Naruto across the room! I may just have to respond to comments as they're left, so here we go:

Sneakyfox: ~le gasp~ Oh no! You're right! Eeks! Um, I kinda have more for this chapter than what's written here, so those translations were a part of the rest of the chapter. *goes back and deletes the translations until she uploads the rest of the chapter so other people don't see* I just stopped it here since there really was no other stopping place. Sorry it's so short *bows, bows* I'm positively extatic that you like it so far, I hope I don't disappoint you!

Nejislady: First off, aw~ no fair! You get to be Neji's lady? Grr, then I wanna be Naruto's! Hmm, or Gaara's...how could I ever decide between them? Alas, I can not *melodramatic sigh* Anyway, thank-you thank-you thank-you!! Comments like yours really make me wanna go continue writing. I'm glad you think this is different, I love school fics (college or high school) and band fics, but a little variety is nice too. Haha, Kiba...to be honest I wanna know to XP I haven't written that far yet, still just trying to get through their first day without it being too horribly boring.
As for the other characters, you'll see when I upload the rest of this chapter, but even though Naru- and Gaa-chan are in the Fashion Institute, that's only one part of Konoha's Art Institute. So, Sai'll be the drawing/painting part, I'm thinking Sakura and Ino can be there as models (they seem like the type) hmmm as for Neji and Sasuke, I'm thinking they'll come into the story once our dynamic duo get out into the "real world," so not for a while. I want to use all the main people, I just need to figure out how, heh '^-^ I need to bounce ideas around with my coauthor to figure some of those things out.
Thanks so much for the comment about the Japanese translations. I was really worried that I had written too much and that people would be like "you're just wasting space to make it look like you wrote more" or something. Now I'm taking Japanese lessons at my college, but when I first came here I didn't know what any of the normal phrases (dobe, teme, hai, gomen) meant until I read a fic that explained them. So I guess I was kinda trying to be that fic for someone else, heheh.

Word_Slave: *dies in your amazing presence* I know I said this in the e-mail I sent you, but I can’t believe that you commented me…wow. I love your stories and you left a review for me? I must be in subspace or on extacy or something…wow. We’ll see what Naru-chan comes up with. He’s always a wild card, you never know what that crazy blond’s gunna do. XD

Maxentius: Heheh, then I shall update soon! I have helpers now, so I should be able to do it, and you wouldn’t believe how much motivation these reviews are giving me! If you ever want to give an idea for something you want to happen in the story, just let me know :D The finished chapter should be up by Monday :)

Midnight Essence: Thank you so~ much! I’ll update quickly for you. I look forward to your reviews –( >_< )-

lilburrito: I love your name! Huh, so that’s what happened to NAO_Angel…I’m so sad, that was honestly in my top three favorite stories. I know it was really WAFF, but that’s what I loved about it *sighs* Sometimes I wish that authors would pass on their stories to other people they think will do them proud when they feel like they don’t want to continue writing. Oh well, thanks for letting me know! <3

Thanks so much for your comments! I absolutely adore hearing from you guys!