Forest: Um, yeah, another new story. No, I'm not insane.

Sasuke: Yes you are.

Forest: MY MENTAL STATE IS IRRELEVANT. READ.

Chapter 1-

Bad Day

Lio Thompson could not believe the horrible day he was having.

First he was woken up at the crack of dawn suffering from tremendous jet lag after having flown from California to rural Japan, only to find that there was nothing for him to eat because his mother hadn’t had time to convert their American dollars to yen yet. Then he missed his bus, because of the jet lag and had to get his grandfather to drive him to school. Upon arriving at school (an hour late because his grandfather got lost), he discovered that they hadn’t made up his schedule yet, and had to wait another half hour for that. By the time he got to his class, they were being released to go to their second hour class, so poor Lio was forced to hurriedly check in with the teacher and dash madly to his next class. The only good news he’d heard all day was that English was the main language used in the school. This made him very happy, seeing as he could just barely hold a conversation in Japanese. But the happiness didn’t last, because he had convinced himself that he was now attending the most confusing and scattered high school in Japan.

Because on top of all that, he was completely and utterly lost.

“This map cannot be right,” he muttered darkly, twisting the piece of pink paper in his hands and staring at it intensely. It was bad enough he had to switch schools in the middle of his sophomore year, but now his map, the only thing he’d been able to rely upon to guide him in the right direction was lying to him. It was telling him that the gym was right in front of him, but his eyes told him otherwise. Because unless the Japanese had some weird construed sense of what a gym was, an empty field was not what he should have been sighing at.

At that moment in time, Lio Thompson wanted to do nothing more than flop down on the ground and scream. Unfortunately, he could not do this, seeing as the late bell that informed the students that they should have been in their class rooms already had rung five minutes ago.

“I hate my life,” Lio wailed, flopping to the ground anyway with absolutely no intention of moving. Ever again.

“Are you new here?” called a light, feminine voice from somewhere behind him. He didn’t move, only grunted in a vaguely affirmative way. “Ok then, what are you looking for?” He grunted again, thrusting his schedule in the general direction of this new arrival. He felt the paper leave his fingers and heard a soft, “Ahhh.” He still didn’t move. “Yeah, they must have given you one of the old maps. They built a new gym in the middle of last year. You’re lucky, I have Coach M this hour, come with me.”

“No, I’m not moving,” Lio said flatly.

“Um, why not?”

“The Gods hate me. There’s no point in moving.” The girl was silent, and then he felt himself being hauled backwards by the collar of his shirt. “WARGG, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

“Taking you to class,” she said simply, turning a corner sharply and nearly choking him.

He coughed and hacked. “FINE! FINE! I’ll come of my own free will!”

“Promise?” She asked, not slowing or loosening her grip.

“YES! YES GODDAMMIT JUST STOP CHOKING ME!”

She stop abruptly and released him. He fell to the ground due to the sudden lack of support, breathing heavily. “Jesus are you really that weak?” He opened his eyes to find the girl crouching over him, staring intently. He blinked a few times then realized something.

This girl had pink hair.

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Forest was ticked. “Kuso, why does Matsumoto-sensei always send me to do these sorts of things?” She absolutely despised being sent to The Forest, for whatever reason. This time, just was being sent to deposit some things with Toshiro, the grounds keeper, but still. She sighed and ran a hand through her dark pink hair. She paused on her journey back to the gym and looked around. This school was more than a school to her. It was her home.

It was that day again, that day when her life was ruined. Today marked 4 years. It was hard for the ten-year-old to fathom it’d been 4 years since she’d become an orphan. She stumbled through the dense forest, bleeding slightly from the many wounds. She felt no pain. She’d been on her own for years, she’d learned how to survive. Still, she should treat the wounds soon, to prevent infection. She’d stop at the next clearing, and use the slave she picked up in the last town.

She was well aware that these were not thoughts my ten year olds thought, but years of being along had hardened her. It was either castaway her innocence or castaway her life. She knew this was a foolish thought too, she could simply go to an orphanage. She’d tried that though. No Japanese family wanted a daughter with pink hair, bright green eyes and no first name. She wasn’t normal. And then there was the madness. The times when she lost control and the lights came. She’d black out and when she woke up, everything and everyone around her would be dead and destroyed.

She wasn’t normal. Only her own family would have been able to handle her. But they were dead. Every last one, slaughtered. Had it not been for Suki, she wouldn’t even be alive. Her sister…she’d hidden the small girl, she’d saved her.

The girl stumbled foreword. She didn’t know where she was, but she felt something following her. Fear prickled at the edge of her consciousness, and she sped up. Sharp pain shot through her right leg and she fell foreword, into a vast clearing. She scrambled away from the forest behind her and blacked out.

She awoke in a panic. Had the bad things happened? Had the lights come and destroyed everything? No…she felt life around her. She felt safe. Looking around, she realized she was in a room, a sort of office. Her wounds had been bandaged, and there was a plate of steaming rice and stew sitting on the table next to her. It smelled fantastic, and she soon learned that she was starving, yet she eyed it warily.

A quiet chuckle came from the corner of the room. She whipped her head around and stared at the man in the corner. He was tall, with long wavy black hair and a relaxed look about him. He smiled warmly, then spoke in a low, comforting voice. “Don’t be scared, it’s not poisoned. Eat it, you need the strength.” With one last glance at the man, she did so, savoring the taste of real food. He chuckled. “You’re very far from home, little one.”

She nodded. “My family was murdered. I’ve been alone ever since. 4 years now.”

He frowned sympathetically, “You have no home?” She shook her head. “What’s your name?”

She paused. My name…. she thought sadly. She didn’t have a first name, or, at least, not one she could remember. But she couldn’t tell him that, he might kick her out. And, although she was now far from the woods, she still felt the presence of the thing that had been following her. “My name? Aano, it’s … ehm…Forest. Shinrin.” Shinrin was her last name, that much she knew.

His eyes widened, “So…” he said softly. “You’re the Last Shinrin. I’d heard only one survived. “ He smiled broadly. “Well, little one, I can’t just let someone as special as you wander homeless. It’s not safe for young girls out there. I guess there’s no choice.” Her eyes widened. “Forest-chan, I would like to offer you a home. Come live here, in the school with my daughter and me.”

Forest gasped. A home? She was being offered a home. And a family. She could have a life again. But…the madness…”Aano, mister, I…can’t.” He looked taken aback. “I’m not normal. Bad things happen around me.” She held up her hand, and blue flames shot from it, searing the ceiling. “The lights,” she whispered. “I can’t control them.”

His face softened. “It’s magic, little one. We can teach you to control it. We can help you.”

She looked at him, hope shining in her eyes. “You can? You can make it so I don’t hurt anyone else?” He nodded. “And I’d have a home.” She grinned. “Of course, mister, I’ll live with you! What’s your name?”

He grinned. “My name, little one, is Ichigo Suteki. Welcome to the family.”

Forest smiled and shook herself. “Yosh, back to class with yourself, For-chan, no more spacing out.” She grinned and Started off in the direction of the gym.

She’d not gone three feet when a flash of red and black caught her eye. Sitting in the middle of the empty field which used to be the location of the gym was a boy, no older than her self looking very, very dejected. “Hey!” she shouted, jogging over to him. He didn’t move. She stood behind him and held her hand out to tap his shoulder. A large blue spark zapped her finger and she pulled her arm back sharply. That’s some intense chakra. His power is crackling. She adjust her eyes, well trained in being able to see peoples Power, until she could see his. He was overflowing with Power! It was rampant and uncontrolled. He has no idea it’s there, does he? That was the only explanation as to why he’d have that much power and no control over it. She let her eyes go back to normal, then spoke, “Are you new here?” He didn’t move, only grunted. “Ok then, what are you looking for?” He grunted again, and thrust his schedule out, so the it was hovering about a foot to her left. She grabbed it and her eyes landed on his second hour. Gym Coach Matsumoto. She looked up at the empty field. “Ahhh.” She said quietly. “Yeah, they must have given you one of the old maps. They built a new gym in the middle of last year. You’re lucky, I have Coach M this hour, come with me.”

“No, I’m not moving,” He ground out.

Forest blinked rapidly, “Um, why not?”

“The Gods hate me, there’s no point in moving.”

Oh sweet Jesus, I will murder this child, she thought bitterly. She shoved the schedule in her back pocket, grabbed the boy by the collar and proceeded to haul him in the direction of the gym. He shouted in protest and questioned her objective in a loud, slightly obscene way. “Taking you to class,” she answered simply, turning sharply, making sure to cause as much pain as possible. She chuckled sadistically as he made a strangled noise.

“FINE! Fine! I’ll come of my own free will!” He managed to hack out.

Once she’d made him promise, which he did in a loud, slightly obscene way, he seemed to like that method of portraying his feelings, she stopped and turned around to face him, peering over him as he sat gasping against the wall. “Jesus, are you really that weak?” She studied his features intently. His hair was fascinating, it looked black at first, but when he turned his head and the light hit it, it turned a very pretty shade of blue. He opened his eyes, which widened almost immediately (probably because of her hair and eyes), and she noticed that his eyes were equally fascinating. They were the most interesting shade of blue. At first, they were more of a royal blue, but seemed to change into a lighter, sky blue shade, then shift back.

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Lio was utterly speechless. This girl crouching over him had long, shiny magenta hair, there was no way around it. Her eyes were a bright, clear green, too. He opened his mouth and closed it again, closing his eyes as well and shaking his head. When he opened them again, she was turned around slightly, getting something out of her back pocket. His eyes traveled over her body, and fell on the small oval on the front of her gym shirt. Inside, it said the word, “For-chan” written in sloppy letters with a small heart next to it. (In the process of finding this, he had also noticed her ample chest, but quickly shoved that and all thoughts pertaining aside.) She turned back around and opened his schedule. “So, you’re Lio Thompson, eh?” he nodded mutely. She scanned his schedule, then turned her intense eyes on him. She stared for a second then-

“You’re hair is pink.” His traitor mouth spat out.

She sighed. “Yeah, and it’s natural too. And?”

He shook his head. “No and, it’s cool.”

She grinned. “I like you, kid.” She stood and offered him her hand. He took it and let himself be hauled to his feet. Once he’d collected his stuff and brushed the dust off, she spoke again, “Aa, we have this period together, follow me.” With that she set off at a brisk pace, and he followed.

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The first thing Lio thought as he and his companion trotted up to the gym coach was, Sweet Jesus, if I thought Forest had an ample chest… Coach Matsumoto was, apparently, female. There was absolutely no way one could mistake her for male. He and Forest walked up to the big busted coach and Forest thrust the schedule at her. “I picked up the new kid on my way back. Someone really needs to talk to Ichigo-san about getting rid of those old maps.” Forest turned to leave, but Matsumoto stopped her.

“For-chan, I do believe our new student has taken a bit of a liking to you,” She said, her eyes glinting mischievously. The pink hair girl glared back at her playfully. “You know this school better than most, so I think you should be the one to show him around. Aa, that sounds like a good plan.” Matsumoto turned to Lio. “Welcome to Suteki High. I’m Coach Matsumoto, and I’ll be your gym teacher for the rest of the year. Forest will be your guide for as long as you need her too. But,” She paused and gave Lio a going over mentally. “Well, she and her friends are a bit odd. Do you think you can handle that, Thompson?” He nodded grimly, causing her to chuckle a bit. Forest made a series of displeased noises at the older woman, before turning to Lio and nodding in towards the opposite side of the gym. “Come on, Lio come meet the gang. I have a feeling you’d end up hanging with us anyway.”

She lead him across the large gym to an area in the back corner where 4 other girls lounged lazily. When they got to them, Forest put a hand on her hip and cleared her throat. “FOR-CHAN!” all four of them shouted happily. “Who’s your friend?” the smallest one asked.

“This is Lio,” Forest said, slinging an arm about his shoulder. He looked at her oddly. “Lio, these are my friends.” She looked at them, “Well, four of them, where’s Ryo?” They shrugged, and Forest shook her head. “Anyway, that’s Rose Suteki, the short one.” Rose raised an angry fist at Forest then waved at Lio, she had maroon hair to match her namesake and golden eyes. “That’s Luna Hatake.” A slightly taller girl with short blue hair and violet eyes waved cheerful and gave a sort of catlike meow as a greeting. “The tall one is Vira Nanahara.” Purple hair and brown eyes smiled broadly and shouted something about a moose. “And finally, well, ish, is Kyra Yagami.” Kyra was by far the most normal of the group, sporting mid length mouse brown hair and grey eyes. She grinned and waved. “And yeah.” She said, peering around as if she was looking for someone. “There’s another guy, but-”

She was cut off by a loud shout of her name and a large shape tackling her backwards. “OH, FOR-CHAN, I MISSED YOU GREATLY.” The figured shouted, obviously a male.

“OFF, BAKA!” the pink haired girl shouted, shoving the red haired man off with one foot. She began shouting and hitting him, while her friends watched in awe and amusement.

Lio climbed up into the bleachers and took a seat next to Luna. “I’m going to assume that’s ‘Ryo’, correct?” He asked her.

She laughed and nodded. “Yup, that’s our Ryo. Up until now the only guy in our group.”

Lio nodded. “Which means he’s either a womanizer, or gay,” he stared calmly at the pair. “But, judging by his behavior, I’m inclined to go with the first.”

The girls laughed, and Vira muttered, “You have no idea.” Lio chuckled. Luna threw her arm across his legs, which were closer to her than his shoulders. “I think we’re going to get along splendidly, Lio-kun, Welcome to the gang.”

Lio grinned. He couldn’t believe what a wonderful day this was turning out to be.

Sasuke: Mmm, I'm sure you do.

Forest: Shut up, baka, no one asked you.