Disclaimer: I do not and have never and sadly never will own Naruto
Note: First fanfiction...please be nice...BIGGER NOTE I have been asked to rewrite the first two chapter, and I agree...they're not particulary good and I seem to be losing alot of people on them...so I will be editing them...NOW!! and PLEASE...THIS DOES GET BETTER SO BARE WITH ME...THE PLOT HAS NOT YET BEGUN...bows THANKYOU!!
He sat alone and practically out of sight. His posture hunched and his eyes down, it was almost as if he didn't want to be noticed. He sat alone at a desk in the far corner, away from others. Away from the taunts and jeers, from the added pain. For he was ignored. The desks around him were empty and he was isolated, sitting in his own little corner. There was barely any light hitting him, and any that was merely cast shadows across his work. He was trying hard to work but his mind was wandering. Curious he glanced at the others. They were having...fun.
This boy was Uzumaki Naruto...and he was sitting. Alone. He was leaning forward so his face was hidden, but had he not, he would have given the room a view of his tanned face with three scars on each cheek. This didn't detract from his looks however...he was extrememly good looking...he had blue eyes that seemed almost too large to belong to a boy, but they did and no one could deny Naruto was a boy. His blonde hair fell forward slightly and he swept it back behind his ear with a sigh. Fifteen more minutes...only fifteen more minutes of maths and he could escape. He smirked thinking of walking out of school and heading home to a nice staemy cup of ramen and a cup of coffee. Mmmmm...he could practically smell it already...
'...and that is how Pythagoras works. Naruto? Would you care to help me explain question 3B?' his teacher Iruka asked, cutting through Naruto's coffee-filled thoughts. He shook his head, plastering on a fake grin. He scratched his head sheepishly.
'Sorry, kinda lost you there at the bit about Pythigamy...,' he said sounding apologetic. Inwardly he sighed. He knew the answer, but Naruto Uzamaki wasn't supposed to. They all thought Naruto Uzumaki was an idiot, but to be honest Naruto Uzumaki didn't give a shit. He would have shrugged at that moment save for the fact that he would get evn more strange looks from his classmates...
'Pay more attention Naruto or I'll have to have you in detention,' Iruka said turning to face the board. Someone turned round to face him grinning.
'Naruto can't pay attention, he's too much of a freak to do that,' he said. Everyone laughed. Naruto felt his heart clench painfully but instead put on a smile. He was used to this...
'yeah, well someday you'll see how great I am! All of you' he said grinning stupidly.
'Shut up you faggot,' someone jeered. Naruto felt his grin falter, but survival instincts kept in glued in place. He was used to it. It was part of his routine...
He got up, had coffee and breakfast and made his way to school...he entered the building and was tripped over, glared at, beaten up and ridiculed...all because of one stupid twat...
'Naruto, please be quiet and get on with your work,' Iruka called, not even turning round. Naruto could hear sniggers and sighed dejectedly. He picked up his pencil and began to work when he felt something hit his head and bounce off. A few more sniggers. I saw it was a piece of paper scrunched up to form a ball. Uncurling it he saw a note. Go and die you freak it said. Oh...how original...he'd only heard that, what? Five hundred times? He sighed and crunced the paper into his fist. He honestly didn't understand why they did this to him. Did it make them feel any better? And Naruto...Naruto knew he was lying...it did hurt...but he couldn't let them know that...couldn't give them the satisfaction...so he acted like it DIDN'T hurt when it DID.
The bell rang startling him out of his thoughts and causing him to drop his book on the floor by his desk. The thud was barely heard because of the bell, but the action was seen none the less and laughter filled his ears. He bent down, his face red and picked it up as his class left, leaving him alone. Putting the book into his bag he looked up and saw Iruka looking at him. Naruto panicked and grinned widely to reassure him he was fine.
'Er...I've gotta go now Iruka BYE!!' he said waving erratically and leaving before he could say anything. Iruka looked at him leave, feeling a strange sense of sadness hit him. He shrugged it off. The boy was Naruto and Naruto was never sad. He smiled and shook his head for believing otherwise and sat down to begin marking.
As Naruto left the class room he felt himself fall forwards. Before he could shout he had landed on the floor with a dull thud and was lying there winded. He heard sniggers above him.
'Watch where you're going freak,' he heard someone say. As he turned his head to see he felt a hand grab his shirt and pull him up. Then about five hands were dragging him off. He struggled and started to kick out, to escape.
'God he's feisty' someone said. Naruto turned to face him, still being dragged. All he saw was that he had black hair and a piercing as he was suddenly backhanded. He felt himself fall and with a clang his head collided with the lockers. A blinding pain hit his and he fell to the floor. His jaw felt the impact of someone's foot and tasted the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.
He could feel some trickle out between his teeth, but didn't care as his head was throbbing so badly. He blindly lashed out at the attackers' ankles, and heard a grunt, but the victory was short lived as someone grabbed his shoulders and hefted him up holding his arms behind his back. He looked up, blood dripping from his mouth and started at the boy, arm poised to strike.
It was Kiba. He tried to plead with his eyes, while struggling in the grip. Kiba almost faltered, his expression softening for just a second. Then, it was replaced with a hard and steely glare. He swung his arm back and hit him with a left hook. Naruto swore he could see stars. He groaned and looked up, but was hit back by a boot. His head swung back and hit the floor, shoulder cracking. As he lay there he could hear a dull ring in his ears. As they continued to lash out, to kick him, to pound him, he lay there. He disconnected his mind from his body and thought. What had he done? What had he done to deserve this? His last thought before losing consciousness was whether he'd be able to go to Rave Crave, whether he'd lose his job, his lifeline.
Blood leaked into his shirt creating a sick dark red pattern. He cracked his eyes open and he winced at the rush of pain his body was experiencing. He sat up slowly holding his head swaying slightly. He licked his lips and felt dried blood along his mouth. One word came to mind...shit. He felt the vibrations from his phone and reached down timidly to see who was calling. Caller ID: Gaara. Shit. How was he going to hide this?
Gaara. He'd known him for his entire life and he was like a brother to him. The red haired boy was his best friend and would always be. He remembered how they met...
7 years ago:
The little boy sat alone, tears streaming down his face, across his scars. They forgot about him. They said they'd find him, in hide and seek; they said they'd count to one hundred and find him. It was the rules. Naruto scrunched his face up as he sat on the pavement, gravel leaving little bumps along his legs. He rubbed his eyes, trying to stop crying. He should have known they were lying, known they'd leave his in the end. They always did. He hiccupped one last time then stood up and wandered dejectedly down the road. It was getting dark, but no one was expecting the seven year old home. So he carried on at a slow pace. Tired, physically and emotionally, he headed in the direction for his flat, hoping it wasn't broken into again. Someone had once thrown a rock through one of his windows and he'd had to make do with some brown tape to cover the cracks. It was hard to do as he'd had to stand on a chair and the tape gummed his fingers up. It was hard enough stealing tape from his school, but actually using it! Naruto shook his head at the memory. Maybe his flat was perfectly fine. Maybe he was just thinking negatively. He looked around, noticing that during his brief moment of nostalgia he'd wandered down a wrong street. Trying not to panic he turned round to retrace his steps, but even as he headed back, the sky was growing black. Naruto hated the dark. It was always to the dark that he woke up, not to a loving family. Not to a hug. The dark was all he had after a nightmare. The dark to him was the symbol of cold lonely nights, and for that, he hated it.
He quickened his pace and turned the corner that led back to the park where he had been hiding, but found he collided into something. Naruto screamed, and tried to run from the monster, but ended up falling backwards. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact, but it didn't come. He opened his eyes and in the dim light of a nearby street lamp saw that the monster was in fact a boy. The boys pale arm was wrapped around Naruto's t-shirt, preventing him from falling. Naruto looked up into surprisingly green eyes and almost gasped. They were the same eyes he saw every night as he looked sadly into his cracked and dusty mirror. But the feeling vanished as the boy of around nine let go of him like he was contagious and carried on walking, brushing past him.
'Wait!' Naruto called, grabbing the strangers arm. The boy leapt back, suddenly eyes blazing, and stood in a defensive stance.
'Why are you talking to me?' he said venomously. Naruto opened his mouth but no words came out. He stood there gaping like a fish. The boy eyed him warily. Naruto looked to his feet, finding his courage. Then he spoke.
'Your eyes,' he said stepping forward. The boy flinched. 'They're the same as mine. You're lonely,' he said reaching out.
'SHUT UP!' the boy screamed leaning back. He looked so angry, Naruto nearly ran, but he stopped himself at what he saw. A flicker of fear. And of hope.
'How do you know? You don't KNOW ME! You know NOTHING about me!' the boy screamed grabbing his head and curling in on himself. He stood there panting for about a minute. There was silence.
'What's your name?' Naruto asked timidly. The boy looked at him like he was crazy.
'You said I know nothing about you right?' Naruto questioned. The boy just stared. 'Well...tell me something. What's your name?'
The boy just stared at him for a moment, almost to see if he was serious.
'Gaara,' he said quietly looking away. Naruto smiled.
'Cool! I'm Naruto,' he said. Then he stood just smiling. He was actually talking to someone.
'Er...' he began. Gaara looked up at him questioningly. Naruto looked down at his feet sheepishly.
'This is gonna sound really weird, but...canibeyourfriendplease?' he said hurriedly.
'What?' Gaara asked looking intimidating and yet confused. Naruto took a deep breath.
'Will you be my friend?' he asked, pouting up at Gaara, eyes wide. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he stared at Naruto like he was mad. Naruto sighed heavily.
'No...Never mind. I understand. I guess I'm not supposed to have friends. I'm sorry,' Naruto said sounding so deeply depressed before turning and walking away.
'WAIT!' he heard Gaara shout. His brow furrowed. Why was he calling him? He turned to face Gaara, his face blank.
'What?' he asked sadly. The nine year old looked sheepish.
'Why do you want to be my friend? No one likes me. They all avoid me. I'm a freak,' he said in a monotone. He seemed to be new to the concept of conversation. Naruto shook his head.
'I don't listen to what people say. They all hate me too. They say I'm a monster...but I'm not' he added, worried that the boy would flee from him like all the others. The boy's eyes narrowed.
'You're lying. You just want to hurt me,' he said angrily. Naruto shook his head hurriedly.
'NO! I wouldn't do that! They hurt me too...so much. They just ignore me. I'm just a freak to them!' he said. Unbeknown to him he'd subconsciously started to cry during this sentence. Hot tears ran down his small face and he buried it into his hands, trying to stop sobbing, but failing. Then he felt a light on his shoulder, and an unsure voice telling him to stop crying. That was when he made his first friend. Ever.
Naruto followed behind his..first friend...he resisted the urge to giggle hysterically. He'd made a friend. A friend! With red-hair...okay that had nothing to do with it, but he'd made a friend! Naruto almost skipped behind the older boy...Gaara...that was his name...he'd just become friends with Gaara..and Gaara was taking him somewhere. 'Er...Gaara?' he asked the boy timidly. The other boy turned around sharply as if forgetting Naruto was there, but he quickly recovered...
'Er...yeah?' Gaara replied, sounding like he wasn't all too used to talking.
'Where are we going?' Naruto asked timidly.
'Er..I'm going home,' Gaara said quietly.
'Can...can I come?' Naruto said, lokking down at his feet. He looked up with bright eyes and saw the boy look confused.
'Er...,' Gaara said awkwardly. Naruto continued to look up at him.
'I...I guess so...,' Gaara said after a little while. Naruto smiled happily.
'That's good,' he said, half jogging to Gaara and slipping his small hand into the slightly larger one. Gaara tensed immediately and yanked his hand back as if it had been burnt. Naruto was confused...
'Why did you do that?' Gaara asked angrily. Naruto saw something flash in his eyes akin to fear but ignored it and took a confused steo forward, his face scrunched up cutely.
'I...I just wanted to hold your hand,' Naruto said sadly, ducking his head. He'd obviously done something wrong...again...he didn't want to lose his first ever friend.
'Hold...my hand?' Gaara asked, sounding confused, looking at Naruto then at his hand. Naruto nodded.
'Yeah...,' he said. Gaara looked at Naruto and Naruto nearly crumbled under the intense stare, but held on. He was his first friend...
'Why?' Gaar asked him suddenly.
'Why what?' Naruto asked...Gaara was really confusing him.
'Why did you want to...hold my hand?' Gaara asked, looking at his hand, turning it round like he had never noticed it before.
'Because..' Naruto thought...whay did he want to hold Gaara's hand.
'It's what friends do,' he said nodding, pleased with his answer. Gaara's eyes widened.
'Friends?' he said, testing the word. Naruto smiled, nodding again.
'Yeah, friends...,' he said...a sudden thought gripped him...what if Gaara didn't think he was a friend...that's why he reacted that way...
'You...want to be my...friend?' Gaara asked, looking questioningly at Naruto.
'Yeah!' Naruto said grinning.
'So...you're my friend now?' Gaara asked. Naruto nodded happily...maybe Gaara did want to be his friend!
'And friends...hold hands?' Gaara asked, now sounding shy. Naruto nodded.
'Yup,' he said, and with that, slipped his hand into Gaara's and smiled up at him brightly. He saw something in Gaara's face change, and suddenly the taller boy was...smiling...with teeth and all. It was...it made Naruto feel so happy...he'd caused that smile...it was him...
Present:
Naruto was currently lying on the floor in the dark somewhere and bleeding profusely though his white shirt. His phone was vibrating and he hissed as he reached slowly into his pocket and eased it out with difficulty. Hissing, he flipped it open against his leg.
'Hey Gaara!' he said, trying to appear cheerful.
'Hey Naruto. You okay you sound a bit off…' Gaara replied sternly.
'No I'm fine. Just a bit tired you know hehe' he said, trying to laugh it off. Now he was awake 'Naruto could make out that he was in a cupboard. Great, he thought.
'Naruto? You there?' Gaara's voice brought him back to reality.
'Of course I am! Whodyathink Iam panda eyes?' he said, chuckling, his words slurring together with the pain. Naruto could see the black dots tearing away at his vision and tried to fight them down.
'Naruto...are you drunk,' Gaara asked...Naruto could hear the beginnings of anger in his voice.
'Never again,' Naruto groaned, proping himself onto his elbows.
'Look, Gaara, can you pick me up?' Naruto asked.
'Why?' came the quizzical voice. Naruto settled for the truth.
'I kinda got the shit beaten out of me,' he said . He couldn't be bothered to twist the truth...he was too tired and his head was throbbing. But even with a headache, he could feel the tension coming from the other line.
'Who was it?' Gaara's said icily. Naruto was glad the anger wasn't at him.
'I don't know. Got knocked out,' Naruto replied hastily. He could hear a cracking on the other line.
'Quit gripping the phone so hard Gaara. I'll be waiting by the entrance. Can you hurry only I'm bleeding…'
Naruto heard a click and tone. Naruto chuckled to himself. Gaara was probably already in the car. He sat up. Great. Now to get out the cupboard.
tbc
R&R PLEASE...OR CLICK NEXT CHAPTER BUTTONEITHER WAY PLEASE KEEP READING!!
with chapter er...two now which involves alot of pissed off Gaaraness...yey!
NOTE: Please give this fic a chance...it DOES get better...
NOTE: if you've already read the fic as far as it goes and are just checking the new beginning...is it an better? I joined the two chapters together and added more detail because I seemed to be losing a load of readers after the first chapter.