Hey guys! I'm back! This is a new story based off of AI, or Artificial Intelligence directed by Steven Spielberg. I hope you guys like it. I know I shouldn't be starting another fanfiction, as I have a multitude of others I have to finish. I will finish them; I just need to come up with ideas. In the short period of time I was gone, I came to a conclusion. My fanfictions have absolutely no plotline, and absolutely no sense of reality. I really, really hate them. Hopefully this one shows how much I've improved.
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"But in the beginning, didn't God create Adam to love him?"
[Professor Hobby, A.I.]
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A Fake Reality
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Artificial
The ticking of the clock was slowly driving him insane, constantly reminding him of the embarrassing occupation he'd been forced into. For obvious reasons, no one knew Sasuke Uchiha was employed. He had just let any nosy acquaintances (because he'd never call them friends) think his parents still took care of his every need. Except for Shikamaru, of course. Shikamaru was the one who had helped him find the job, and worked alongside him on most nights. No one had noticed his recurrent absences from outings, all according to plan. Even without his job, he rarely attended the outings. Surprisingly, his group of so called 'acquaintances' still invited him. "It's your good looks." His mother would always say. To which Sasuke would always reply, "Even you've realized nothing else about me is appealing." Guilt tripping, his mother would comment on the phenomenal grades he'd achieved while at University. The sad thing was that this exact conversation took place at every family get together. Returning to the hoard of paperwork he'd been given, Sasuke let out an impressive sigh. His family name regularly got in the way of his emotions, so this one sigh was no doubt a moment for the history books. He heard a car pull into the parking lot, and his curiosity peaked. Cars generally weren't a topic he was interested in, but it would always surpass paperwork. The car wasn't one he recognised. Then again, he probably couldn't name a car if his life depended on it. It was a dingy blue, and unmistakably old. The engine rumbled in protest, but the car stood at a standstill in front of the entrance. The glass windows were fogged from yesterday's snowfall, blurring the faces inside of the automobile. Sasuke couldn't deny the feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. Tick, tick, tick, tick. The backseat door facing him hastily opened, and a body was carelessly tossed into the bank of snow. In a matter of seconds, the car had gone just as fast as it had arrived. Tick, tick, tick, tick.
"The person's not standing up." Sasuke commented dryly to the empty room. For every passing second, that feeling of dread grew stronger, pinching and prodding at his insides. Sasuke's body eventually stood up, reached for its coat, and walked out the door, all the while ignoring his mind's protests. The snow audibly crunched beneath his shoes, and a cold draft bit at any exposed skin. As he approached the snow bank, a frown made an appearance. He couldn't say he was worried, as he didn't care for anybody other than his own family, but he definitely felt something strange. A strand of yellow stood out against the sea of white. What he saw when he stood over the huddled shape was something he hadn't been expecting. A blonde man, with a small stature, but not particularly scrawny. His cheeks were flushed from exposure to the cold, and his eyes were closed in feigned innocence.
"Excuse me?" Sasuke kneeled on the ground, flinching when the snow soaked through his jeans. He reached a hand out to the blonde. In response, the blonde stirred slightly.
"Hello?" The Uchiha asked. He couldn't make any medicinal observations. Sure, Sasuke was intelligent, but he did not have a medical degree. Ocean blue eyes fluttered open, groggily staring at the raven.
"How do you feel?" Sasuke called. He didn't exactly know what to do in such a situation. It wasn't every day that someone got tossed into the snow outside of his workplace. As the blonde slowly came to his senses, Sasuke took the time to mutter a string of curses beneath his breath.
"W-who are y-you?" The blonde asked, voice cracking. There was something that irked Sasuke about the way the blonde spoke. It had a deep undertone to it, but the emotions in his voice... they were too animated. They weren't realistic.
"I'll answer that when I get you inside." The Uchiha finally decided on bringing the stranger inside to thaw out. He pulled the blonde towards him, letting out a sigh when he was met with a brief struggle.
"Just give it up. You'll die if you stay out here." Sasuke muttered. After minutes of insisting, Sasuke managed to haul the stranger to his feet. With an arm wrapped around the blonde's waist, the two took their precious time in getting to the doorway. The stranger was unexpectedly light, surprising Sasuke when he felt the pronounced muscles beneath the soft material of his T-shirt. The Uchiha had left the door half open for this exact reason. He half-carried, half-dragged, the blonde onto the lone sofa. The material was a shocking purple, contrasting with the brighter hues in the room. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"W-who am I?" The blonde spoke with more confidence. Sasuke frowned lightly. Maybe whatever had knocked him out had also knocked out some of his memory. The raven reached into the blonde's front pocket, coming out empty-handed. He proceeded to rifle through all other pockets before coming across a worn leather wallet. He flipped it open, scanning briefly for any form of identification. He found a picture first, but ignored it in favour of his driver's license.
"You're Naruto Uzumaki, male, age 22, born October 10, 1988." He read off of the plastic card. At least he's old enough to drive, Sasuke thought.
"I need more than that." Naruto whispered hoarsely. He held onto Sasuke's arm with the grip of a person about to pass. Limp and weak.
"I don't understand, Naruto." Sasuke's tongue memorized the feeling of the name passing through his mouth the minute he said it.
"Who am I?" Naruto said in exasperation, wrapping his other arm around Sasuke's.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand!" Sasuke repeated, caught up in the urgency of the moment.
"My favourite colour, food, animal, movie, band, my friends, parents! Simple details like those!" Naruto urged, tugging at Sasuke's sleeve. His face was rapidly losing the bright pink and fading into a sickly white.
"I don't know who you are, Naruto. I have no idea how to help you!" Sasuke yelled. His heart was beating with the speed of a humming bird.
"Please." Naruto dragged out the lone syllable, a whine polishing his distress and showing it off in a display case.
"Uh, okay..." Sasuke's mind couldn't quite comprehend the utmost importance of what he was about to do. He was about to shape somebody's life the way he'd wanted it to be, he was the author of a story.
"Your favourite colour is," Sasuke paused to look at the blonde's attire. Orange, orange, orange. First question, check.
"Orange."
"Favourite food..." Sasuke began. He frantically looked around the room, looking for evidence of a fast food place. Alas, there it was. Shining in all its glory, a bowl of Ichiraku's Ramen placed precariously at the corner of the table. He had recently come into contact with his middle school teacher, Iruka Umino, and had taken a liking to his favourite restaurant.
"Ramen," Sasuke added, "Preferably Ichiraku's."
"Animal..." Sasuke glanced down at the blonde who had noticeably calmed down. His eyes were glazed, staring at the ceiling in an almost unseeing manner. He searched the blonde's pockets again, finding a keychain, a yellowed movie ticket, a packet of gum, a cell phone, and an iPod. He examined the keychain first. It was an orange frog.
"Frogs. You like frogs."
"Your favourite movie is... Artificial... Intelligence?" Sasuke said, reading over the movie ticket. It dated back nine years... No normal person would keep a movie ticket in their pocket for such a ridiculous amount of time, would they?
"Band..." Sasuke trailed off. He took the iPod into his hand. It was an iPod Touch, meaning the blonde was obviously up to date with modern technology. His cell phone provided more proof. This piece of information only made the movie ticket more suspicious. He scrolled through the 1,364 songs, went to the most played, and found a variety of songs from one band.
"Marilyn Manson." The bastard that had corrupted his whole generation. **
"Your friends..." Sasuke paused as he read over Naruto's list of contacts. To make sure, he checked his own phone. There they were, every friend who was on Sasuke's list was on Naruto's list. He was too shocked to be amused at the sheer irony of it all.
"Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Ten-ten, Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara, Chouji, Temari, Kankurou, Neji." He listed off, briefly out of breath when he reached the end. The frown escalated on his face when he realized he couldn't answer Naruto's last question. He had no clue who the blonde's parents were. He checked the wallet, and wasn't shocked when the picture he'd seen before came fluttering out. There was a feisty looking red-head, a tall blonde with fierce blue eyes, and a small baby cradled in the red-head's arms. Sasuke took a chance and guessed that the red-head was Naruto's mother, the older blonde was his father, and the baby... was Naruto himself. He checked the back of the picture for names, but only found a date. July 23, 1989. Sasuke was turning one on that day. Mere coincidence? He didn't think so.
"Who are you?" Sasuke whispered, narrowing his eyes in unconcealed confusion.
"That's what you're supposed to be telling me!" Naruto startled Sasuke out of his mindscape. The blonde had snapped out of his apparent trance in Sasuke's mental absence. The blonde wore a grin on his face, but to Sasuke, it was obviously fake.
"Stop that!" Sasuke reprimanded. A sudden bout of anger had him struggling to stay in his seat and not demanding answers from Naruto.
"Sorry." Naruto tilted his head awkwardly to the side, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The warmth of the gesture flooded Sasuke's whole being.
"You're so weird!" Sasuke muttered. Taking a deep breath, he shrugged away Naruto's hand.
"I have to go." Sasuke said, briefly glancing up at the clock.
"No, you don't." Naruto replied almost immediately.
"Yes I do." Sasuke said.
"No..." Naruto drawled.
"Uh, yes." Sasuke's tone left room for no more discussion.
"Please don't go?" Naruto whimpered. The blonde was used to begging for things, and his technique was flawless.
"I... I really do have to go. Shikamaru's going to take over my shift..." Sasuke frowned. Shikamaru was going to be arriving any minute now, and he was going to ask about the blonde.
"You can use the phone to call someone. So they can pick you up." Sasuke said dryly. He noticed the wary expression on Naruto's face.
"Erm, I can't." Naruto deadpanned.
"Why not?" Sasuke asked. He glanced desperately at the clock. Two minutes.
"I can't tell you that." The blonde absently twiddled his thumbs, vaguely aware of the glare Sasuke permanently had on his face.
"Why do you have all of my fr... acquaintance's phone numbers on your phone?" Sasuke questioned. His feet were starting to ache from having stood for so long, but he refused to go anywhere near the blonde.
"Can't tell you that either." Naruto said shortly. He ran a hand through his hair in an almost mechanical gesture.
"Sasuke?" A voice called from the doorway. Both men turned to face Shikamaru. He was wearing a dark over coat, a pair of dark, slightly baggy jeans, and a red T-shirt.
"Shikamaru." Sasuke nodded in greeting. Shikamaru briefly glanced over at Naruto, surprise clear on his face.
"N-Naruto!" He struggled to find words.
"Do I know you?" Naruto's lips stretched into a warm smile, but not reaching his azure blue eyes.
"You don't remember?" Shikamaru held his gaze, as if communicating a double meaning.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Sasuke asked in bewilderment. He didn't let it show on his face though.
"No... I don't remember." Naruto answered. Shikamaru couldn't repress the disappointment burning him.
"He's the idiot who lived across the street from me when I was ten." Shikamaru said.
"How come I've never met him?" Well, Sasuke was certainly in a curious mood.
"You were invited," Shikamaru began.
"But didn't bother to come." Sasuke finished for him. Shikamaru nodded gravely.
"I found him unconscious in the snow bank outside." Sasuke informed Shikamaru. Shikamaru shrugged, letting the new information sink in.
"I know." The lazy man nodded. Sasuke raised a brow, forcing Shikamaru to enlighten them. He stuck his hands in his pockets, "I told you not to get involved with them, Naruto."
"Involved with who?" Naruto frowned. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stepping out of the door way. He made sure to shut the door tightly behind him, in an attempt to preserve the heat.
"They knocked you out." Shikamaru deadpanned. It seemed like he was trying to spark recognition again.
"Involved with who?" Sasuke asked again. He was losing his patience, not only was he being ignored, he was interested in who this mystery blonde was.
"Just... just these people." Shikamaru said in what seemed to be poorly contained disgust.
"That was rather vague, Shikamaru." Sasuke sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck in irritation.
"It's a gift." The lazy man said, straying further away from the question.
"Naruto?" Sasuke turned to the blonde who had taken the time to get comfortable. He was practically one with the blanket.
"If I remembered, I would tell you." Naruto's voice was muffled beyond recognition from the soft cotton of the blanket.
"Alright... Shikamaru, can I speak to you in private, please?" Sasuke beckoned towards the employee's only room at the back of the office.
"By all means, lead the way."
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"So, who is he?" Sasuke asked casually.
"You'll find out soon enough." Shikamaru replied. He leaned against the wall, flinching when it made contact with a recently acquired bruise.
"Do I even want to know?"
"Probably not." Shikamaru grinned. Sasuke did not hold back when his hand pulled back into a fist and made impact with Shikamaru's face.
"Asshole, I'm glad you're having so much fun." Sasuke snarled.
"Oh, I'm amused, alright. I've got to get back to work. If you're too deranged to attend to Naruto, I'll do it. He can stay at my apartment... although I'm not sure if he remembers." Shikamaru gently cradled his rapidly bruising eye. He can't say he didn't deserve it.
"Hn."
"Okay. I'll see you later, Sasuke. Say bye to Blondie, will you?" Shikamaru gestured towards the door.
"The freak can live without a good bye." Sasuke muttered. He opened the door, ignoring the blonde's wandering eyes. Looking up at the reflection in the window, he didn't miss the blank expression on Naruto's face.
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So what do you guys think? Leave a review, if you please! I won't update for another week to two weeks. I'm guessing some of you have already figured out what/who Naruto is? Anyways, love you guys!
** I figured this was a very Sasuke-esque thing to say. I love Marilyn Manson.