Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: short drabble I wrote because of intense writers block. any comments you are willing to give would be greatly appreciated.

Yamanai Kizu

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Sasuke had noticed that small shift in his eyes, no matter how suddenly it had appeared. There was something that drew him to those sky-blue eyes, but he himself wasn't even sure what it was yet.

It had been like any other day. Wake, go to the bridge to train, go home, practice, etc. It went on as an endless cycle, the only unpredicted part of his day being the loud mouthed idiot at his side. Today wasn't like those other days.

He had ran across Naruto on his way back from training. The blond had been slumped over on the ground, staring at the grass as if it would reveal all of the worlds mysteries. His eyes looked a bit pink around the edges, and when he had called to the boy, he had jumped, startled at the presence he hadn't sensed coming.

Now the two of them where silently walking together, down the dusty roads of Konoha in the direction of Naruto's favorite eating spot. No words had been exchanged, but the Uchiha could see the raging battle behind the blonds eyes.

Before he knew what hit him, Naruto plastered a giant fake smile to his face and picked up his pace, gaining on the darker haired boy.

"Hurry up Sasuke-teme, the last one there is buying!"

For the first time, those words just didn't seem to fit. They seemed forced, as an inexperienced actor would sound to a bunch of professionals. But his smiles grew, gaining experience and his body falling back into the script that kept him sane.

"Oi, dobe, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, stepping out of his role for a moment. His eyebrows where raised in confusion as his dark eyes studied the boy in front of him.

Naruto deliberately turned his back to the Uchiha, and then with a second thought, he turned his head around to stick his tongue out at the boy. Sasuke shook his head at the action, but went along with it for the moment.

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"One miso ramen!" A loud voice shouted as he took a seat at the counter. A shorter darker haired teen followed, taking the seat to his right.

"And you?" The store owner asked, directing his question to Sasuke.

"Nothing." Was the only response.

There was silence between the two boys, while the sounds of water sizzling could be heard in the background. The silence slowly dragged on, pushing itself down upon the two occupants.

"Ano sa, Ano sa…." Naruto tired, but couldn't quite come up with anything to say.

"What happened earlier." The Uchiha asked. Though to Naruto, it wasn't a question that had free choice of response. It was one that demanded an answer, an answer he knew he was eventually going to have to give.

"Sometimes, the power of loneliness is more unstoppable than you think." Naruto said, his eyes downcast. Silence reigned until the deafening sound of footsteps stopped in front of the counter.

"Here you go." The owner said as he placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of the weary eyed teen.

The steam rose from the bowl, clouding the otherwise sunny features of Naruto. It was quite ironic, Sasuke thought. Here was a boy who, to the rest of the world, was the symbol of light and happiness, being clouded over by such dark thoughts. These weren't the kind of things he wasn't meant to feel, he was supposed to be happy, carefree.

But as the steam kept rising, making the boy's features more blurry to the eyes of the Uchiha, he had to think it wasn't all that unreasonable. As Sasuke sat there and watched the boy slurp noodles into his mouth, he also had to think they weren't that different. On the outside they played the parts of light and dark, but on the inside, it was all to familiar.

Sasuke closed his eyes, slowly taking in a breath, " Sometimes, that unstoppable force can be triumphed over with the simplest of measures."

When he opened his eyes again, Sasuke found a pair of soft blue ones staring back. He could see beyond the lies now, and he felt scared of this new sensation. Things were going to change, and then one day, the callous shattering of that fragile mask would be no more.

XXX

please R&R.