This chapter is meant to take place when all the kids are 7 years old, long before all the chaos that created the Naruto plot. Some things might not make complete sense due to the timeline (like Gai and Lee later on) but some things I just had to do for the fun of it. XD

I know that the characters in the story probably wouldn't have the kind of connection portrayed as of yet, but since I wanted to make this about Santa Claus, the kids had to be younger, and since it would be boring without any interaction, I just used the relationships from later on in their lives. I really wanted to put in Kakashi, but I couldn't fit him in unfortunately...

As a side note, it was really fun to invent Sakura's father as one of those stereotypical anime dads who try way too hard to make things right (think Isshin from Bleach XD).

I hope you all enjoy this simplistic little fanfic. For once, it's not dramatic or anything like that, just... 'cute.' And I cringe at having to use that word, ha.

All characters, techniques, and terms belong to Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the Naruto Universe. The only rights I claim to this story are for the plot. Do not distribute this fic without my permission and proper credit.


Maybe There is a Santa Claus...

Tick… Tick... Tick… Tick…

"Oh, come on, you stupid clock, go faster!!" Naruto yelled, shaking his fist at the device that kept him from his Christmas break.

"Naruto!" Iruka scolded, hands on his hip as usual. "Why do you insist on interrupting me a dozen times every class? You only have ten minutes left; now sit down and be quiet!"

Naruto obliged grudgingly, crossing his arms and sighing heavily.

"Now, back to what I was saying," Iruka continued, picking up the chalk to write on the blackboard. "If you're charged with protecting a person of nobility, they probably have their own personal guard. In order to effectively protect them, you'll need to position yourself so that you can…"

Tick… Tick… Tick… Tick…

Come on, come on, Naruto urged furiously in his head, watching the second hand move ever so slowly around the clock. Just ten minutes… ten lousy minutes…

"Naruto!" Iruka called.

"What?!" He cried out defensively. "I wasn't even doing anything wrong, I swear!"

The class laughed, as they often did. Naruto got a bad feeling that he had done something stupid.

"I know," Iruka responded flatly. "I asked you a question. Where would you place your squad in order to protect this noble that I've drawn on the board?"

Naruto's cheeks burned in embarrassment, and he turned his eyes to the crude drawing on the board. There was a man in a carriage on a road, surrounded by four stick figures with swords, who Naruto could only assume to be bad guys.

"I'd beat up the four guys with swords myself; there's no reason to set up a squad," he said.

Again, the class laughed, and he could hear a girl's voice above the rest saying, "Man, that kid is dumb! What an idiot!"

His face flushed again, angry at the girl and embarrassed that he'd managed to embarrass himself twice in as many minutes.

"Really?" Iruka asked tiredly. "You would beat up the nobleman's personal escort? I don't think he'd pay you if you did that."

"Oh, well-" Naruto started to defend himself.

"Please pay attention next time, Naruto," Iruka said dismissively. "Sakura, what would you do?"

"Well, it would help to know what kinds of abilities each member of the squad had in order to place them effectively," she said proudly.

"Good point," Iruka answered cheerfully, glad to have a responsible student to interact with. "Let's say you were teamed with… hm, let's see… Sasuke, Naruto, and a jounin instructor."

"If Sasuke were there, I would put him on top of the nobleman's carriage so he could take out the bad guys no matter which direction they came from!" She blushed.

Ugh… Naruto thought. Always about Sasuke... what's so great about that loser?

Iruka sighed, taking back what he thought about the responsible student. "Right… well, I think that's all for today. You kids can talk amongst yourselves for the last five minutes…"

The children broke up into their smaller groups, chattering excitedly about what they hoped to receive for Christmas.

"I hope I get a new weapons scroll from Santa!"

"I hope Santa brings me a new ribbon for my hair!"

"I hope I get a whole bunch of toys!"

"So, forehead, what is it that you want from Santa?" Ino said mockingly to Sakura.

"Don't be stupid, pig, Santa doesn't exist," Sakura said, lying her head down on her desk.

"What?!" Ino cried. "What kind of kid doesn't believe in Santa? Of course he exists! Where do you think those presents come from?"

"I don't know," Sakura sighed. "All I know is that it'd be impossible for Santa to give out presents to every house in the village in one night, let alone the whole world."

"Whatever you say, Scrooge," Ino scoffed, walking away to talk with the other kids.

Sakura let out a weary breath once more, listening to all her excited classmates as they prepared for Christmas. She just couldn't get into the spirit this year. A large orange object obstructed her vision as Naruto ran in front of her.

"Sakura-chan!" He called loudly. "How could you not believe in Santa?"

"I proved it mathematically. Santa can't do what you claim," she said flatly.

"Santa is magic!" Naruto said quickly. "You can't prove magic wrong!"

"Just go away…" she said quietly.

For once, he took the hint and ran to another group of kids to talk about what he wanted for Christmas, leaving Sakura to stare vacantly at the front of the room.

And there, something caught her eye. Or rather, it didn't. In the chaos that was created by all the children running around, talking about Christmas, there was only one person other than herself that sat quietly at his desk.

Sasuke.

I wonder if Sasuke believes in Santa Claus… she thought absently, raising her head from the desk. Then she smiled. Of course not- he's way too smart for that.

As if he knew he was being observed Sasuke barely turned his head, and she could see him looking towards her out of the corner of his eye. Sakura quickly looked away to avoid detection.

Thankfully, the bell rang, signifying the end of the school day, and she gathered her things to leave.

"YEAH! School's out! School's out!" Naruto yelled, running out the door.

The rest of the children hurried out similarly, leaving Sakura walking a few paces behind Sasuke, who was way too cool to lose his head like the other kids, she decided.

If only I was walking with him, instead of walking "with him," she thought sadly. I wonder if he'd walk with me if I asked. He's not really social, but he's not mean, either.

"H-hey, Sasuke-kun," she called out meekly.

"Hn?" He stopped and turned slightly, sounding a little surprised. As if he hadn't even noticed she was there.

"Um…" Sakura said softly. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk together. Like, through the park or something. I mean, the lake and trees look really pretty, they're all frozen over with ice, and it's sort of on the way anyway…"

Sasuke looked away quickly, hiding a blush that Sakura couldn't see. "Sorry, my mom wants me home early today. She wants the house to look nice for guests tonight," he lied.

"Oh," she said, crestfallen. "Um, that's okay. Maybe some other time."

"Yeah, maybe," he said, glancing at a clock. "I really should get going. Later."

He disappeared in a blur, way faster than anyone else in the class could at their age.

Sakura sighed. Ugh, I sounded so stupid!

She mentally berated herself the rest of the walk home, only stopping to think about how cool he looked as he flickered out of her sight in an instant. It was cold. Even though it was only the afternoon, the winter sun was already close to setting. As she rounded the corner to her street, she could see everyone's Christmas lights shining. They all paled in comparison to her house though, thanks to her father, who was in love with the season.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, SAKURA!"

She flinched in annoyance. "Hey, dad," she said, walking past the ladder he was perched on.

He was putting up even more Christmas lights, absolutely covering the roof with the multi-colored bulbs.

"Just… 'hey, dad'?" He asked disappointedly. "Where's the Christmas spirit, honey?"

She opened the door and stepped inside, mumbling, "Guess I lost it somewhere," before closing it loudly.

Her father narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and jumped down off the roof, immediately plastering himself against the wall as though he was infiltrating a base. Then he opened the door cautiously, knowing that Sakura, just like her mother, could get very irritable very quickly. He peered inside stealthily, sticking his just head inside the door.

"Sakura?"

No answer. He zipped inside, moving quietly and peeking around the corner before moving in. He saw her standing in front of the fireplace, holding her stocking.

"Sakura…?" He edged closer. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"…nothing, dad," she said quietly.

He stood behind her silently, knowing that she would open up if she wanted to, as long as he didn't say anything. Being married for all these years had taught him by error.

Sure enough, she turned around and confronted him.

"Dad, why do we put these up?" She asked, holding up the stockings.

"For Santa, of course!" He said cheerfully.

"I'm not stupid dad, I know there's no such thing…"

He looked as though he'd been shot in the heart.

"How could you say such a thing?!" He asked, tears brimming in his eyes. "How could my little baby not believe in Santa Claus?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Come on, dad, I'm 7. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"But… but why would you think such an awful thing? You've seen the toys he brings, the cookies we leave out have bites taken out, the milk is gone, how could you doubt him?!"

She sighed.

"Dad, you buy me toys, eat cookies, and drink milk. For all I know, you could pretend to be Santa every year!"

"I wish I could be good enough to be Santa!" He grinned.

"Whatever," she muttered. "If Santa was real, then he would be able to grant my wish every year."

"Doesn't he?" Her dad asked, thinking about the toys she always received. "Don't you always get what you want for Christmas?"

"No… Every year I ask for the same thing, but Santa has never given me what I want most in the world. Either he doesn't exist or he hates me, I don't care which!"

Then she stormed off and ran up the stairs, slamming her door. She heard her father call for her, but she ignored him, locking her door, jumping on her bed, and burying her face in her pillow.

The doorknob rattled, and there was a knock at the door.

"Sakura?" Her father called through the door.

"Go away!" She yelled, throwing her pillow at the door.

She sat up and stared out the window into the dark winter sky.

All I want for Christmas… she thought sadly, …is Sasuke-kun.



Meanwhile, Naruto was also staring out the window. He closed his eyes, folded his hands, and started mumbling to himself.

"Dear Santa. I've been a very good boy this year. If you love me, you'll make me Hokage. And bring me Ramen. Amen."

Then he jumped up and ran to his bed, sliding under the covers.

"I don't know if that's how it's supposed to be done, but if the guy knows when I'm awake and asleep, he can probably hear what I want for Christmas!" He laid his head down and closed his eyes. Now I've gotta get to sleep! I've been good, sure, but there were a couple times I got on Iruka-sensei's nerves, so I should get some extra sleep to make up for it!

There was a knock at his door.

"Naruto? Are you there?" He heard a voice call.

"Yeah, just a second!" He answered, flying out of bed just as quickly as he had gotten in and answering the door. "Hello?"

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka said. "I just wanted to see if-"

He stopped talking suddenly, looking curiously at Naruto's pajamas.

"What are you doing?"

"I was going to bed early so Santa would know how good I was!" Naruto answered, grinning stupidly.

"It's four thirty in the afternoon, Naruto," Iruka sighed. "Besides, I don't think that's how it works."

"Really?" Naruto asked. Then he scowled in frustration. "Dang."

"Anyway," Iruka continued. "You want to get changed and go out for dinner at Ichiraku?"

"Really?! That'd be awesome! Wait right here!" Naruto yelled excitedly, closing the door and running to get changed.

A few short moments later, he came out, dressed differently only in that he wore a coat over his pajamas.

"Let's go!"


Mikoto Uchiha was decorating her mantle with small porcelain houses when she heard the door open.

"Sasuke, is that you?" She called in a sweet voice.

"Yeah, mom," he answered, taking off his scarf, coat, and shoes.

"School was done over an hour ago, what took you so long to get here?" She asked.

"I was just thinking," he said. "I took a long walk."

"Sasuke, if you're going to be late, tell your mother so she doesn't worry," Fugaku scolded, always the enforcer.

"Sorry, father," Sasuke mumbled.

"Take it easy, it's Christmas Eve," Mikoto chided her husband. Then she turned to Sasuke "It's alright, sweetie, did you have a good walk?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied.

"Are you ready for dinner? As soon as your brother gets home, I'll take the turkey out of the oven," she smiled, finishing her decorating and moving into the kitchen.

Sasuke spent the time waiting for Itachi to come home washing up, helping his mother with the rolls, and setting the table. Just when he had put the last plate on, he heard the door open, followed by his brother's footsteps.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke called, running to greet him. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, to you too, Sasuke!" Itachi smiled. "Sorry I'm late, mother, I had to stop by the Hokage's office for details on my next mission."

"No problem at all," Fugaku answered happily, "As expected of my son, to help out even on Christmas Eve!"

Sasuke looked away, disappointed. Of course, his father was upset with him for being a little late, but not his brother. Itachi, as always, noticed that Sasuke was upset, and ruffled his hair.

"You want to help me with mom and dad's present after dinner, Sasuke?" He asked.

"Okay!" Sasuke agreed happily.

"Come on in, boys, dinner's ready!" Mikoto called from the kitchen.

They ate dinner in relative silence, not uncommon of the Uchiha household. Mikoto asked Sasuke how school went, Fugaku asked Itachi about his missions, but most of the time was spent quietly chewing Mikoto's delicious dinner.

After dinner, the family exchanged Christmas presents as they always did on Christmas Eve. Sasuke helped his brother carry a new bench into the garden for their parents- a gift that he and Itachi had bought together with money from Itachi's missions and some chores that Sasuke did around town. After leading their surprised parents to their gift, Itachi handed Sasuke a box, wrapped and topped with a bow.

"Okay Sasuke, here's a present from me," Itachi smiled.

Sasuke hurriedly unwrapped it, to find a package of three trick shuriken that you could tie with wire to do all kinds of tricky attacks, including the Sharingan Triple Windmill attack his clan was famous for.

"Wow! Thank you Nii-san!" He beamed. "Will you teach me how to use it?!"

Itachi laughed. "I'll teach you a trick tomorrow Sasuke, but it's too dark to teach you now!"

"I can't wait!" Sasuke grinned.

"You won't have to wait long," Mikoto laughed, "because it's time for bed now."

"Aww, why?" Sasuke groaned.

"Your mother said it's time for bed, Sasuke," Fugaku said flatly.

Sasuke took the hint and followed his mother upstairs.

"Why do I have to go to bed, mom?" He asked. "Itachi doesn't have to go to bed now…"

"I need Itachi to help me with something tonight," Mikoto answered. "He'll be off to bed soon enough."

"I'll help you, mom!" Sasuke volunteered.

"Sorry Sasuke," she laughed. "I need your brother for this."

"Okay…" he muttered.

After he got ready for bed, Mikoto said goodnight and closed his door and went downstairs.

"Itachi?" She called. "How late will you be out tonight?"

"Just an hour or so, mother," Itachi answered. "The Hokage has a lot of help this year for the Secret Santa Program."

"I'm glad you're giving your time to help out," she smiled. "I just hope you get enough sleep tonight. No doubt your brother will be up bright and early to play."

"Of course," Itachi smiled in response. "I'll only be delivering presents to about 20 houses."

"It's nice that the Hokage has set up this program for orphaned children to receive gifts at Christmas," Mikoto said.

"Yes, well, wish me luck that none of them wake up and see me," Itachi laughed.

"Ha! Like that's going to happen!" Fugaku interjected. "You've got the fastest shunshin no jutsu in the clan! Even if a kid was waiting for you they'd miss you with a blink!"

"Thank you father," Itachi said. "But I think you exaggerate. Shisui has beaten me many times before in a race."

"Go out and have fun, Itachi, we'll probably be in bed when you get home," Mikoto ushered him out before his father could argue over track records.

"Thank you, mother," Itachi answered. "See you in the morning."


Late Christmas night, Mikoto woke abruptly, hearing a noise downstairs. She had heard Itachi come in hours ago, so she knew it wasn't him. Sliding out from under the covers, she picked up a kunai from the dresser and walked silently down the stairs.

There was a long shadow created by the firelight, and she saw the spiky, unkempt hair of her younger son in the glow. Putting away her blade, she entered the room.

"Sasuke, you know that if you're standing there in front of the fire, Santa won't be happy to see you awake," she said, smiling. "Not to mention he'll catch on fire."

"I'm sorry, mother," Sasuke smiled at her joke. His mother knew he hadn't believed in Santa for quite some time. "Did I wake you up?"

"It's alright," she answered. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Just thinking…" he replied, staring into the flames again.

"Sounds like you've been doing a lot of that lately," she said softly. "What's been on your mind?"

"Well…" he started, as though he was deciding whether to say or not. "There's this girl at school. Sakura Haruno."

"I think I know who she is. Your classmate with pink hair, right?" He nodded. "She's very pretty."

"I guess so," he turned away, face flushed. "She asked if I wanted to walk with her after school, but I just made an excuse and ran off."

"Why did you do that?"

"I don't know."

"Were you afraid of her?" She teased.

"No!" He responded indignantly.

She laughed. "Of course not."

"It's just," Sasuke started. "She's always looking at me and stuff. A lot of the girls in class do, but she's… different."

"She likes you, Sasuke, there's nothing wrong with that," Mikoto answered, laughing softly. "You're a very handsome boy."

"Don't say that," he looked away again.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I forgot you were all grown up and I can't say that anymore," she said, hugging him. "Would it be so terrible to give little Sakura a chance?"

"… I guess not," he answered.

"I think so too. She seems like a nice girl. It'd be a nice thing to do at Christmas. And you know, if you keep turning her away, eventually she'll start to like someone else. It'd be a shame to lose a girl like her, hm?"

He didn't answer, so Mikoto let him go and led him to the stairs. "Go back to bed now. If you don't get some sleep, you'll be too tired to play with Itachi tomorrow."

"Okay," he said, running off to bed. "Good night, mom."

"Night, Sasuke."


The next day, Naruto was running through the streets, greeting everyone and showing off his presents.

"There is too a Santa! Look what I got!" He called to Shikamaru and Choji at the playground, sporting his new bright orange jumpsuit and a shuriken holster with a few new shuriken inside. "It's not being Hokage, but it's the next best thing!"

"Hey guys!" Kiba called, with his puppy Akamaru behind him. "Look what I got! I finally got a puppy! Now I can train him to be a nindog and we'll learn all my family's jutsu!"

"I got a ton of chocolate!" Choji beamed. "But I ate it all…"

"Already?!" They all answered.

"What about you, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"I got a game called shougi," he answered. "I don't quite get it yet, but I think it's the kind of game I'll like."

"Okay, cool, see you guys later!" Naruto ran off again.

Running through the streets, he passed a lot of his classmates, and kids from classes ahead of him.

"New training weights?! Wow, these are even heavier than my last set! Thank you Gai-sensei!!!"

"You're welcome, of course, my Lee!!!"

Weirdos… Naruto thought.

Up ahead he saw Iruka, who called him over.

"Hey, Naruto!"

"Hey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto waved. "What's that?"

"Your present!" Iruka said, holding a gift.

"Oooh! What is it? What is it!?" Naruto asked, taking the present.

"You won't know until you open it!" Iruka laughed.

Naruto tore open the wrapping paper, revealing a basket with six different kinds of instant ramen, a new bowl, and gift certificates to Ichiraku.

"Alright! Thanks Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled.

"No problem, Naruto. Merry Christmas!" Iruka said. "You wanna go get lunch? It's on me."

"No way I can turn down free ramen!" Naruto beamed.

"Heh… ramen again?" Iruka sighed.


"Thanks so much for teaching me how to do that trick Nii-san!" Sasuke said as he and Itachi walked home. "I wonder if I'll ever use that trick in battle! I mean, who would think that after they dodged the shuriken, it would shoot the blades back at them?"

"Hn, that's the idea," Itachi smiled. "I'm sure you'll make a great ninja someday."

"Hey Sasuke-kun!" They heard a voice calling. Across the street, Sakura stood waving to them.

Sasuke waved back politely.

"Who's that?" Itachi asked.

"A classmate," Sasuke answered quickly.

"Aren't you going to go over there?"

"How come?"

"She looks like she could use someone right now."

"How do you know?"

Itachi smiled. "Come on, Sasuke. It's obvious she likes you. You know if you keep turning her away, eventually she'll start to like someone else."

Sasuke looked at him suspiciously.

"It'd be a shame to lose a girl like her, eh?"

The suspicion deepened.

"Were you listening to mom and me?" Sasuke asked.

"Get over there," Itachi pushed Sasuke along, then called in a louder voice, "See you at home, Sasuke, have fun!"

Sasuke continued across the street, trying to act natural even though he'd just been "betrayed" by the one person in the world he thought he could trust.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," Sakura blushed. "Was that your brother?"

"Uh, yeah," Sasuke answered.

"I've heard he's an amazing ninja," Sakura continued. "It must run in the family, right?"

"Hn, I guess."

An awkward silence fell between them, until Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore.

"Sakura," he started, "did you want to take a walk through the park?"

Her eyes widened and she smiled brightly. "Okay! Let's go!"

The two of them walked into the park and took a path through the woods. All the trees were incased in ice, and the entire park was shimmering. Sakura talked on and on about her family's extensive Christmas traditions, and Sasuke chimed in now and then with stories of his own.

Eventually they wound up sitting on the dock out over the frozen lake, just talking.

"It sounds like you have a lot of fun at your house on Christmas," Sasuke commented politely.

"I guess…" Sakura mumbled.

"You guess?"

"Well," Sakura flushed and turned away. "This year I just couldn't get excited about Christmas. I mean, last year I found out that Santa wasn't real-"

"Really?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Well yeah- oh!" She covered her mouth as if she'd just given away a secret. "I'm sorry, I mean, if you still think he's real-"

"Of course not," Sasuke scoffed. "I just didn't think anyone else thought so. Everyone was really excited about Santa in class."

"Yeah," Sakura said thoughtfully. "Christmas has always been a disappointment to me. I don't want toys and other junk like that. I've always wanted something more."

She continued to surprise him. Sasuke had never heard of a girl who turned down presents at Christmas. Or any other time, for that matter. What made her different?

"I don't know if I ever really believed in him," Sakura continued. "I mean, every Christmas I asked for the same thing, and he never gave it to me."

"What did you want?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Oh! Um… it's nothing, really," Sakura said hurriedly, turning away again to hide her blush.

"No, tell me," Sasuke said, smiling. It was the first time Sakura had ever seen him smile.

"I… I just wanted to spend a Christmas with you," she forced out, hiding her face with her sleeves.

"With me?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

"Mmhmm," she nodded behind her hands.

He smiled again, thinking back to what his mother had told him. It may not be quite his thing, and he may not understand it all yet, but he was willing to give Sakura a chance. She was definitely different than anyone else.

Sasuke took one of Sakura's hands in his own and stared across the lake as she looked up.

"Then maybe there is a Santa Claus," he said.

She smiled as well, still blushing. "Maybe."


Thanks for reading everyone! Have a Merry Christmas!