Walking a Different Path

By: Jolly

A Naruto Fanfic

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Author's note

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Hey everyone! Welcome to my second fanfic! Don't worry though; I haven't given up on Mystic Eyes. I'm simply taking some time off from it to do some research on a few things and possibly go back and do a rewrite. I'll let you know when I know.

This is NOT a NaruHina focused fanfic. This is going to be a SasuSaku fanfic at the request of my wife. ^_^ (Despite my dislike for the canon Sasuke and Sakura, I've always thought it'd be interesting to see what would happen if they actually got together.) So whether you're a diehard fan of them or you're a fan of seeing them die hard, you can all thank/blame her. ^_^ (j/k Sweetie…)

I'll be portraying Naruto's darker side a lot more in the relatively few times we see our blond hero throughout the story.

If you're interested in beta'ing any of my stories, please let me know. I'm kind of on my own right now in the proofreading department. (^_^;)

So without further adieu; I give you chapter one of Walking a Different Path.

Enjoy!

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Outside the Konoha Ninja Academy, a small crowd began to disburse after watching what had become a daily ritual for two students.

"Dobe. What makes you think you'll ever be anything other than the Dead Last? You've never beaten me in a fight, and you never will," said the raven-haired boy with contempt.

His blond opponent, who was attempting to get back on his feet looked up at him with scorn. "Teme. I'll beat you, yet! I'm gonna be Hokage! Only the best ninja in the village can hold that title, so I'm going to beat you! Dattebayo!"

Naruto knew deep down that he couldn't beat the Uchiha prodigy, but that never stopped him from challenging the boy on a daily basis.

"Hn… Whatever," Sasuke said as he began to walk towards the gates to the Academy.

Naruto got up and dusted his cloths off before shoving his hands in his pockets and began making his way to his run down apartment, muttering under his breath. However, before he even made it to the gate he was confronted by a voice from behind him.

"Why do you even bother? You know you can't beat him. Honestly, why do you insist on challenging Sasuke-kun?"

The blond turned around to see the pinkette looking at him with her hands on her hips and giving him an annoyed look.

Naruto had never truly liked the girl, but his 'crush' on her came part and parcel with his 'idiot mask'. Usually he would throw on a cheerful smile and chatter incessantly at her or ask her out on a date, but the fact that she was once again being derisive, especially right after getting beaten, pushed his temper over the edge. His expression turned cold and hard.

"I have my reasons and they're none of your business, Sakura-chan," he said with a slight sneer.

She froze where she stood in absolute bewilderment.

'Where did this come from? He's never acted like this before!' Before she could even think about knocking the blond into next week or giving a sharp retort, he continued on.

"And since we're being honest, what makes you think you'll ever get your precious 'Sasuke-kun'? All of you fan girls constantly treat him like he's a piece of meat the way you fight over him like a bunch of dogs. Do you honestly think he wants to be with any of you?" he scoffed.

Sakura had the presence of mind to get angry at the poorly veiled insult. "What are you trying to say, Naruto?" she asked clenching her fist in front of her threateningly. Normally this action would have invoked the boy's flight/cower response, thus ending the conversation in her favor. But nothing was normal about the blond today.

'Screw the mask… I've had it with this crap!'

Naruto grabbed the raised wrist and pulled the pinkette down to his level so that she was eye-to-eye with him. The action startled her so much that she could do nothing but gape at him like a fish.

"And here I thought you were the smart one in the class. I guess I'll just spell it out for you. You can consider this the one piece of advice you'll probably ever get from me: If you want that teme so damn much, try treating him like a human being, not some festival prize you can take home and put on your shelf. Better yet, try actually training every once in awhile. As you so casually rubbed in, Sasuke is the best in our class. What makes you think he'd be interested in having a weak girlfriend? You think your looks are going to win him over? I may be the 'Dead Last', but even I know he's not a shallow person." Leaving the conversation at that he pushed the girl away from him, letting go of her arm as he turned.

As he walked away from the stunned girl, he left her with a final parting shot without turning around. "Oh, and that whole thing with me being your personal punching bag? That just ended."

With that, he disappeared through the gate, leaving a confused Sakura standing in the training field alone.

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Author's Note

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Short, I know. But this is just chapter one!

Let me know what you think!