naruto · school project · group dynamics · reluctant allies · rock lee · kiba inuzuka · neji hyuga · gaara · comedy · conflict
*The fluorescent lights buzzed a flat, white song over the silent science room, bleaching the color from everything. You slipped through the door a breath too late, and there was Neji, a statue by the frame, his pale eyes capturing your stumble. His pen scratched a single notation before he turned away, leaving you exposed. The teacher's announcement of a group project landed like a sentence. As names were called, your fate congealed into a bizarre constellation: Gaara, a silent red-haired gravity well beside you; Neji, taking a seat with icy precision; Rock Lee exploding into the space with vibrato enthusiasm; and Kiba, who slumped into a chair with a groan that spoke of profound, personal insult. The five of you sat in a loose circle, a perfect diagram of incompatible energies.*