Echoes
When Sasuke was first introduced to the other members of Team Seven, to say that he had been disappointed would have been...well, quite an enormous understatement. It would have been like calling the entire Leaf Village a puny little passer-by town.
First there was Sakura, whose subtlety was less than lacking. All year at the academy, she'd blushed if he'd so much as tapped a pencil on his desk. And then there was Kakashi, who, if Sasuke was perfectly honest with himself, didn't really live up to his reputation.
And then…then, there was the dobe. Uzumaki Naruto. He wondered if a greater idiot had ever graced the earth.
Most days during class, the poor moron had tried (and failed) to be inconspicuous about throwing wads of paper at the back of Nara Shikamaru's head. Sasuke almost felt bad for Iruka, who chose such times to turn a lovely shade of red and cough behind his hand, as if embarrassed to have ever taught Naruto anything about aim in general, let alone anything about actual weapons.
It was also at times like those that Iruka looked slightly scared for the future. But Sasuke, being an Uchiha—being focused, being dedicated, being bent on killing Itachi—tried hard not to take notice of such trivial things.
…He definitely didn't care that Sakura made the neatest bento boxes of anyone, or that Naruto actually knew where to find nice spots to think.
He didn't care that they were both reaching for things they couldn't have, walking on twisted paths. It wasn't any of his business what they chose to do with their lives, so, really, he didn't care at all.
"SASUKE-KUN!"
No.
"SAKURA-CHAN!"
No.
"Isn't this great Sasuke-kun! We get to be on the same team!" Sakura let out a girlish giggle that really didn't suit her at all. And then she turned to the idiot. "Just stay out of our way, Naruto, all right?!"
The blonde looked dumbfounded, and Sasuke took a moment to register his expression before clenching his hands into fists.
"…Sakura-chan?"
No, Sasuke thought. No. Go die, Naruto. Die.
-ooo0ooo-
The second that the chalkboard eraser hit Kakashi's head, Sasuke's life changed forever.
Naruto's schoolboy chuckles died away as Kakashi's smile appeared out of nowhere, and Sakura's harsh reprimands broke into tiny pieces that hung in the air so awkwardly they all nearly choked.
"Yo," Kakashi greeted cheerfully, and it was all Sasuke could do not to face-plant, something which Sakura did in his place.
"W-what the heck?! Aren't you supposed to be our sensei? As in, someone serious?" She asked rudely.
Naruto stared.
As if realizing her mistake, the pink-haired girl smoothed her skirt over in a demure little display and then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sensei. I shouldn't have questioned your authority like that."
No, you shouldn't have, Sasuke thought irritably.
Naruto then began laughing loudly.
"Sensei? Oh man, are you serious?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the tall, slumping stranger and said, "You just fell for the lamest prank in the history of the world! Some ninja you are!"
The man—Kakashi, Sasuke reminded himself—only smiled again, and, not for the first time, Sasuke wanted to beat the happiness out of him. What right did he have to be happy, anyway? Maybe Naruto was right…some ninja.
…But, no.
Naruto was wrong. Dangerously wrong.
His laughter became louder and louder, and, as if infectious, Kakashi and Sakura joined him in making sounds that made Sasuke's ears ring. He winced and stared at them, alienated.
"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"
"Yeah, Sasuke-teme, what's wrong? You're not gonna cry, are ya?"
No.
"Sasuke-kun? Hellooo?"
Stop it. Stop.
"Sasuke-teme? Answer me!"
Just die, Naruto. Please just die.
-ooo0ooo-
"Sorry, kids, but I got lost on the road of life…"
The first time that they gathered to train with eachother, Kakashi arrived six hours late. The thought of being ignored didn't sit well with Sasuke, but he couldn't bring himself to throw a fit about it, lest he lower himself to…their level.
Naruto's eyes were closed and his arms were crossed. One of Sakura's little pink eyebrows was arched in her teacher's direction, and a vein in her forehead pulsed noticeably somewhere off to the side.
"So…the 'road of life', huh?" Naruto asked quietly.
Kakashi nodded calmly and, slowly, slipped a hand into his pocket.
Sasuke held his breath.
"LIAR!" His teammates chorused.
No.
He choked, watching Kakashi's hidden hand. In a sudden flash of skin and…the color orange…what looked like a porn book was revealed.
"Pervert!" Sakura screamed.
"Shield your eyes, Sakura-chan!"
"Whatever, Naruto! I can take care of myself." She then whirled around to poke fingers at someone different. "And you know what? Kakashi-sensei, you're a real creep! Sasuke-kun's the only normal one here!"
Yeah, Sasuke thought, the only normal one. Me. Go die.
-ooo0ooo-
A few years later, Team Seven met again on the Great Naruto bridge, and Kakashi was, predictably, very, very late.
Sasuke waited for what seemed like ages, his hands clenched around the cool metal railing, his feet half over the edge, and he was surprised by who he saw first.
Expecting Sakura, he got Kakashi.
"Sorry, Sasuke, but I got lost on the road of life…"
No.
Please, no. No.
Sasuke's hands slid off of the railing as quickly as if it were made of ice, and he stared at the man blankly, wondering when 'kids' had become 'Sasuke', and when the echo had disappeared.
(…"Sorry, kids, but I got lost on the road of life…"
…"LIAR!"…)
He really missed it.
Fin.