...More than the outside...
"Oh, Sasuke-kun~! Don't let that Ino pig flirt with you so much, I'll put her in her place!" Sakura shouted sweetly toward her all-time, biggest crush-Sasuke Uchiha. Meanwhile, Ino was beside him, flaunting herself in the most vile way, well, at least to Sasuke. He kept a calm composure, trying not to offend them when he cooly brushed them both off, trying to avoid the flirtatious looks he was getting from the more bold girls, and the admiration he was getting from the shyer girls. Either way, they all scanned his body, taking in every one of his features as though it was a fetish. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there, and fast...but the whole situation was so awkward, he couldn't seem to get out of it as easily as normally.
"Who're you calling a pig, bill-board brow! Sasuke," Ino's angry yell softened to speak flirtatiously to Sasuke, as she continued on saying "don't listen to her, come with me, I wanna-"
"No you don't!" interjected another one of Sasuke's fangirls, earning a glare from another. "What did you just say, you...you..." it seemed the other couldn't begin to think of an insult to call the other women, as she was also hitting on poor Sasuke.
Just when Sasuke thought things were going to get messy, he was rescued by none other than-
"Hey Sakura, Naruto here!"
"Oh...hey Naruto." She said flatly, wanting to get closer to Sasuke...it seemed that when Naruto arrived, all the girls stopped arguing and started working together, as they were so irritated by Naruto's presence, they agreed that he was more annoying than each other.
"Ew, Sakura, why are you even talking to him?!"
"Yeah, get rid of him, we don't want him interfering with the prize here girls." The prize was Sasuke, obviously. What am I, an object they can just win?! Do I even have a say in my own feelings, here?
"Oh...Naruto..." Started Sakura, "you should go. Sorry." She looked a bit guilty, as Naruto's bright, sunny gaze was cast down when she tried to excuse him. When he looked up at her to see if she really wanted him gone, he was met with the hateful glares from the other Sasuke fans. He stepped back, not feeling so up beat...he was put down by this sudden change in mood.
"Well...alright then, Sakura..." Naruto said with a sad tone. "See you, then..." He began to turn away from his crush, knowing that the hateful stares were all following behind him, making sure he was really leaving.
"Well well well," began another girl, with the same 'girly' tone as before, "Sasuke, how'd you like to-"
"Wait, Naruto!" called Sasuke, seeing his way of escape. Naruto turned, shock written all over his face. Sasuke went running after him, knowing that it was the only way to get away from the girls.
"Oh man... now look what he's done! Sasuke's leaving now!" shouted one girl.
"I wanna beat that kid to a pulp sometimes, but this time it's a whole other level!"
"I don't know what's worse, Sasuke leaving, or Naruto being around!"
"I wanna kill that kid! Grrr!"
Sakura went running after Sasuke, Ino close behind. Many girls began to chase the two boys; some in pursuit of hitting Naruto for taking away Sasuke, and some after Sasuke seeking a date. Either way, both the boys were running for their very lives.
"Hey Sasuke..?"
"Yeah."
"...why do they go after you so much, but don't look twice at me?"
Sasuke glanced at the sullen boy beside him, a questioning look in his passive eyes.
After the little...'encounter' with the women, Sasuke and Naruto went sprinting into the forest, and eventually resided at a tree trunk, panting. They were both aware of being hunted down, and although for opposite reasons, both outcomes were equally as fatal. Sasuke wasn't expecting such a question from the always-prideful Naruto, but better yet, he didn't expect to find himself answering.
"That's always been a mystery to me." He stated bluntly, a calm grin on his face.
Naruto looked up in surprise. Sasuke- he doesn't know why they like him..? He doesn't know why they DON'T like me..?
"But-" started a shocked Naruto, "But, you're so good with girls...they all think you're so hot and stuff!"
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, blushing slightly at this statement. "I don't know why they do, they just DO, okay?!"
Naruto looked down, slightly shocked by Sasuke's defensiveness. Sasuke saw the discouraged look on his face, and sighed.
"Look Naruto, I know you're into Sakura and all that, but don't think that just because she's your type that she's mine, okay..? I'm not into that."
Naruto again stole a glance at Sasuke's thoughtful eyes, not quite understanding what he meant. If he doesn't like it, then why doesn't he just tell her to go away?
"Well, if you don't like them then...I don't get it."
"You don't get what, Naruto...what is there not to get?"
"How can so many people like you, when you're not even looking for their attention? How can it just COME to you like that?" Naruto said with a dropped expression.
"...I guess...I guess it's because I'm a Uchiha, or something." He said, looking away. "I don't like that attention they give me."
"HUH?!" yelled Naruto, getting closer to Sasuke who leaned away from his face, "How can you not LIKE that kind of attention! All they want to do is be with you, they like everything about you and look up to you, and yet you don't appreciate that?! You could be like me, and have everyone hate you yet you don't like how all the girls in the village think you're the coolest guy in the world?! What the heck is wrong with you, Sasuke?!"
"YOU'RE WRONG, NARUTO!"retorted Sasuke, raising his voice, "You don't know the HALF of it! They don't like ANYTHING about ME, they just like what they see on the outside, they like what they hear about my clan... they don't like me for ME, they DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!" he yelled more to himself than to Naruto. Naruto was shocked (yet again), his eyes widening with this sudden opening up of Sasuke's true self.
It showed more than Naruto cared to see, truthfully... Naruto didn't quite understand just how alone Sasuke was feeling all this time, and the girls of the village weren't helping much. Sasuke claimed none of the girls knew him, who he REALLY was...and he was right. They saw what they saw on the outside, they judged him based on the fact that he was a Uchiha...all of Sasuke's old friends were dead... and yet these girls dared to pretend like they loved him, that they could be with him...that they understood him.
Naruto's head dropped in the sudden display of irony, and he let out a nostalgic sigh.
"..Huh, so we're both misunderstood by everyone around us, eh, Sasuke..?"
Sasuke turned to him, not understanding where he was going with this.
"They all hate me for reasons I can't begin to explain... I thought that was horrible, and I even envied you because they all talked about you like you were some god, or somethin'. I thought you were some attention whore...I felt so sorry for myself because everyone looked down on me, and looked up at you...I was thinking I was the one who was being misunderstood. But meanwhile, this attention you're getting, is all just fake...I honestly don't know what's worse, people who think they hate you, or people pretending to love you."
The two of them distantly looked up at the sky, a comfortable silence settling in to fill the emptiness they both felt inside.
"And hey, Sasuke..." started Naruto, a shiny look in his eyes, "you lied."
"Hn..?"
"You said that you didn't know what they saw in you, but then you said that they liked you for your looks, and for being a Uchiha. You said you didn't know!" Naruto pouted sarcastically, a goofy look about him.
"I know what they're looking at, but I don't understand what they see."
Naruto put a hand to his chin, as an attempt to look like he was processing what he was saying. "OH! You're saying you don't get what they see on the outside, why they think you're so good-looking..?"
"As loud as ever, Naruto, but still, yeah...you're right."
Then the two mused on what it could possibly be that made Sasuke so unbelievably handsome.
Sasuke decided it was time to break the silence. "Well, I don't know what it is...but, either way, I don't want to date just anybody anyway."
"Why's that?" Asked a curious Naruto.
"...what's the point, if it's not the one."
Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "The...one..?"
"Naruto, if you think that Sakura's the one who you TRUELY love, then by all means, go out with her...if she likes you, that is...but I don't know anybody who I really...er, love, per-se. What's the point of just playing around with a bunch of women who you're not committed to, anyway? That's like...so lame."
"Sa-sasuke..."
"Naruto, Sakura's not my type. She's pretty, I guess...I don't know, I've never thought about it really. But if you really want to know my opinion, even if she were my type, I still think you'd be better for her."
Naruto was at a loss for words. Sasuke was being sincere, here... and Naruto liked what he was saying.
"Thanks, Sasuke..."
He looked at the less-than-popular guy beside him, a small frown on his face... normally Naruto would have thought it was his ordinary, passive self, but it was clearly staged. Sasuke was smiling on the inside, he just knew it.
"Hey, Naruto...let's agree not to say anything about this, okay..?"
Naruto completely understood; the entire conversation was very open, and although Naruto was more open about his emotions than Sasuke, he still was embarrassed that he asked about Sasuke's ability to get girls, and was even MORE embarrassed that he basically admitted that Sasuke was cooler...no doubt Sasuke was embarrassed about how much he opened up, as well...
And to Naruto, keeping these secrets for one another was another step to increase the strength of their bond.
"Yeah, I agree with you." Naruto said, with a soft voice. The two boys looked at each other for what seemed like a few seconds, but was equal in power to an eternity- as an eternity would be the time needed for most Ninja to truly understand each other the way that Sasuke and Naruto did, in just a second.
"And really, Sasuke, whatever it is that they see in you- I mean, like about you being so sexy and stuff- it's probably really great because they can overlook that stupid chicken-butt haircut of yours! There's something REALLY great about you, Sasuke, because anyone who still likes a guy after seeing THAT stupid haircut...well, you gotta know that you've got a great quality about 'ya, Sasuke!" Exclaimed Naruto in a non-thinking rush, giving Sasuke a thumbs-up.
"...Wow, you are SUCH a LOSER!" angrily claimed Sasuke, frowning at the idiotic Naruto who just insulted his haircut.
"Oh, so I give you a compliment and you call me a loser, is that how it works here?! I'm sorry, I didn't realize that THAT was how manners worked!" Retorted Naruto, clearly not understanding just where he offended Sasuke.
"Okay, okay guys, that's quite enough..." Kakashi said, coming out of nowhere to step in. Both boys snapped to attention in shock, then feeling the heat rise to their faces at the fact that Kakashi probably heard their ENTIRE conversation...knowing him.
"Wait..." started Naruto awkwardly, "did you just hear-"
"Every word of it." Kakashi responded with a casual smile.
Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other, knowing that their unexpected private conversation was heard by their sensei. They knew what they had to do.
"Uh, guys..? What exactly are you doing, Naruto..?" started Kakashi, seeing Naruto form a hand sign for shadow-clones, and Sasuke rise from where he sat.
"Shadow-clone Jutsu!"
"Ah, wait, why are you guys attacking me, you know I'll just beat you to a pulp!" exclaimed Kakashi, not realizing that the Sasuke and five Naruto's that stood in front of him were ALL clones... and that the REAL Naruto and Sasuke were off, running through the forest away from the embarrassment that was sure to be if their Sensei ever tried to confront them about their personal talk.
And they were laughing all the way...both understanding just what was so funny about the entire situation...
That if nobody had such misguided perceptions of them, they'd never have the true understanding of one another that they had now.
Perhaps...there's always been more than what's just on the outside.
...More...than the Outside...
Fin.
A.N, ok, I know, corny and what-not...but I had this idea at 12 am one night and so I got up and wrote it...I can't really edit because it disturbs the (sort of..?) flow of the writing...hehehe, it's really poorly written, I know, but I think I got my point across about Sasuke being misunderstood. That's what's important, here.
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~jmtothemusic 3