Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I profit from it in any way. But if I did… -evil grin- All credit goes to Kishimoto Misashi for creating the most kickass anime of all time. (And for my wonderful brain which supplies me with endless plot bunnies).
Chapter 1 – Pry and Care
He pretended he didn't care. The taunting, teasing, cruel remarks- it was as if it had fallen on deaf ears. And as he trudged the steps to leave school, someone pushed him against the rail, which he had to grasp to keep from tumbling. His books had already fallen out of his hands, skidding down the concrete steps and pages getting scrunched as they made impact with the ground.
He didn't care.
The boys gave a high-five to one another, snickering like they'd just witnessed a comical event occur. He crouched in his place and retrieved his Physics book, then grabbed for his Human Anatomy and Literature textbook as well. And as he stretched across the railing to grab his Foreign Language book, a tanned hand came into view. He refrained from wincing, a silent sigh escaping his mouth.
He hadn't even retrieved his books and they were back. They were ready to do more.
But it didn't matter.
It shouldn't.
Because he didn't care.
At least, this is what he kept telling himself.
He didn't have to worry about this tomorrow. He could endure it till he went home.
The tanned hand grabbed the text book before him, but before he could even begin to understand what was happening, the boy spoke-
"Here you go, man." He said.
The crouched teen looked at the book and raised curious eyes to look at the boy offering it to him. Charcoal eyes met dazzling blue. He was weary for a moment. It had to be a trick, he thought. This boy was going to give him his book then smack the others right out of his hand. He could already tell the type of guy this boy was. Tanned skin, blue eyes, blond hair, and a stocky stature. He was one of the jocks at the school.
Naruto Uzumaki.
He reached his hand out, eyes downcast as he grabbed the book from the blond boys' hand. Then he descended the steps to grab the other four that had fallen.
"Whoa, hey." Said Naruto. "Those all yours?" he questioned. And to the bullied teens shock, Naruto jostled down those steps and retrieved his books.
"Calculus, Literature, Psychology," muttered Naruto. "I didn't know we had Geology at this school." He said offhandedly. "You must be one of those really smart guys, huh?" he asked.
No one's ever spoken to him aside from his teachers. He wasn't sure if it was a trick question. Was he supposed to respond?
"The names Naruto Uzumaki." Greeted the blond.
He already knew his name. He was a newly transfer to Leaf Heights High School. He was a big fish from the small town he came from. He even made the school newspaper the week before he arrived.
"Sasuke Uchiha." Muttered the raven haired boy in a whisper, eyes still downcast as he made to grab his books from Naruto.
Someone might as well know his name, he thought.
But when Naruto pulled the books away, the little lump in his throat threatened to tighten. He would like to imagine that this boy could at least pretend to be nice. Pretend to be different from the others that made his life at school a living hell. He would have been able to fool himself that someone important cared before he-
"Nope." Said Naruto, interrupting his train of thought. The stocky teen stretched his hand out to retrieve the other books from Sasuke's hand. "You already have a full backpack, man."
Sasuke nearly jerked when the other books left his hands.
"I'll carry these for you, buddy." He said, flashing Sasuke a wide grin.
Sasuke blinked in confusion, eyes shifting to the side to see if someone were about to jump over him and clobber him like last week. He didn't have time to investigate his surroundings, however. Naruto had come from behind him and was lifting the backpack from over Sasuke's shoulders. He wasn't trying to pull the backpack off. He just simply lifted it by the nape to get a feel of how heavy the bag was.
"Damn man. What do you got in there?" chuckled the blond. "Feels like you robbed a library."
The corner of Sasuke's lip gave the tiniest lift as he fought from showing that the comment humored him.
"C'mon." said Naruto, head jerking as in indication to start walking. "You a walker?" he asked.
"Yes." Said Sasuke, looking over at the blond who was holding his heavy textbooks. "I can hold them." he said.
"Nah, I got'em, dude." Insisted the blond. "It's nothing."
The blond was only three inches taller, but had to weigh an additional 20 pounds more than Sasuke. It seemed that all sport players at the school were at least 5' 10".
Sasuke didn't know what to say while they walked side by side. He never spoke to the kids at school so he wasn't sure what topics were popular. And as he was beginning to feel nervous in the presence of the blond, Naruto saved him by striking up a conversation on the pretty girls at school.
"My mom always warned me on the dangers of falling for a pretty face," began the blond, "but damn it's gonna be hard. All the cheerleaders here are smokin' fine."
Sasuke decided that the manliest thing to do was nod his head and agree. He didn't really think about it before, but the girls at the school were pretty and though they've never spoken to him before, they were nice.
When they reached Sasuke's street, the teen prepared for a departure note. Maybe something like, "It was nice meeting" or "let's meet again in another life." He mulled over his choices before the blond interrupted his thoughts yet again.
"So man," he started. "I know I don't know you but you seem like the first cool guy I've met since coming here. Let's hang out tomorrow?" he asked.
Sasuke struggled with the synapses in his brain. But as he struggling for some sort of response to decline the generous and tempting offer, the door to his house opened and his mother stepped out.
"Sasuke-chan." She greeted.
Sasuke greeted his mother in Japanese. "Tadaima." He responded.
"Oh." She said to the blond standing next t to Sasuke. "Are you Sasuke's friend?" she asked.
Sasuke was going to correct his mother and tell her that he's just a fellow schoolmate who walked him home, but to his surprise, again, the blond spoke in his steed.
"How are you Ms. Uchiha?" asked the blond. "My name's Naruto." He greeted, teeth shining a pearly white as he grasped the mother's hand.
"Naruto-kun." She greeted with a pleasant smile. "I'm Mikoto Uchiha."
Sasuke reddened on the Japanese honorific his mother used to address the blond boy. It was customary in Japan, but unheard of and different in the states.
"I would say, '¿Cómo estás?' but I'm pretty sure that's the wrong language." Said the blond with a sheepish grin.
Sasuke's mother giggled at the comment. "No, I'm not Spanish," she responded. "But I have visited Spain quite a few times, so 'muy bien' to your question."
"You understand English?!" Naruto expressed happily. "That's awesome because I don't think I can carry a conversation in a different language anyway."
Sasuke noticed his mother's dressed up attire and the jingling keys in her hand.
"Kaasan," he started, asking if she were going anywhere. The exchange was in a language Naruto could not understand, though it sounded really cool to hear.
"I'm sorry I have to leave like this, but I have an important meeting to attend to." She directed this to Naruto. "Dinner is on the stove. Naruto, feel free to eat as well."
Naruto's stomach rumbled at the offer. "My stomach thanks you." He said with a widening grin. "But my mom is also expecting me home soon so I have to get going."
"Another time then." She told Naruto.
Naruto nodded, and just when he was turning to drop off Sasuke's books in his house, Mikoto halted him in place and rested both hands firmly on his shoulders. "Please take care of my Sasuke." She requested.
Sasuke's face flushed at the demand his mother asked of this teenage boy that he just met.
Naruto didn't quite understand the request, but nodded his head anyway. "I will try my best." He assured.
Sasuke bid his mother a farewell, saying 'ja ne" as she stepped into her black Mercedes and drove away. Naruto was still standing on the front porch, hand waving goodbye to Sasuke's mom, when a fuzzy orange cat came slinking through the door. Sasuke was about to make a run for the feline when Naruto beat him to it.
Using one hand to balance the towering books that belonged to Sasuke, Naruto swept his hand over the kitten, scooping the fuzzy creature from underneath its belly. "Gotchya, Mr. Speedy Gonzales."
"Thanks." Said Sasuke, accepting the kitten from Naruto. "We only just got her and I keep forgetting she likes to explore."
"Oh. Sorry kitty. You're a Misses." He corrected.
Sasuke opened the door for the blond and the two walked into Sasuke's house. He set his heavy backpack down on the floor and ushered the blond to do the same with his textbooks.
"I'd like to chill but mom is gonna freak if I'm late. Let's hang tomorrow." He said, shuffling to the door and throwing a 'later' over his shoulder.
Sasuke just waved, barely able to give a proper thanks before the blond disappeared in a flash.
"Meow." Mewled the kitten.
Sasuke brought the fuzzy kitten to eye-level; surveying the innocent look the stray kitten was giving him. He stoked the small creature over the head, unsure of what to do about his original plan for the day.
"His name is Naruto Uzumaki." He told the purring kitten.
And for the first time since he's transferred to the school, Sasuke was looking forward to going to school tomorrow.
Author's Note: Even though I have two other Naruto stories I have been working on for months (yet have not posted a single chapter of), I felt compelled to get on the computer today and start typing this plot bunny out. Enjoy! ^^