Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the "Speaking Card" text featured, thank you.

A/N: Don't say anything, I just posted a chapter. This oneshot is a little reprieve. I didn't write it out of inspiration, or the need to write something, but to spread a cause. Please read and join me in this cause.

Day of Silence

Wednesday April 18

Naruto walked through the doors of Konoha High, ignoring the hoards of teens that filled the halls. He had a smile upon his tan face, making his whiskered cheeks poof out slightly. His blue eyes gleamed brightly. His blonde hair fell in his face, untamed as usual. He wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes. What set this day apart from all the others was that today, Naruto wore a rolled up bandana around his mouth, hiding it. The bandana was black as well, and written in white ink it read "Silence". This little fact caught most people's attention as they stared at the blonde, all wondering the same thing.

Turning his attention to a small group standing against the lockers, Naruto waved. The group consisted of his friends, including; Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino, Temari, Lee, Neji, Hinata, Shino, Chouji, Tenten, and his best friend Gaara. They too wore black shirts and jeans, with black bandanas tied around their mouths that read "Silence" in white ink. All smiled and waved back, none making a sound. Once he had joined his friends, they began to make the trek to their first hours, which happened to be in the same part of the building.

Walking through the crowded halls, they attracted attention, much more than usual. Naruto and his friends weren't exactly popular, with the exception of Neji, Hinata and Ino. Whispers followed them as they walked, all asking the same questions. Naruto and his friends continued despite this, not saying a word. None of them would speak on this day, no matter what. This day was…

Day of Silence.


Sasuke sat in his normal seat in his first hour, English. It was nearest the door in the front. The stoic Uchiha wore a pair of black jeans and a navy shirt. Black arm bands wrapped around his wrists. He sat, head cradled in his hands, boredom seeping in. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his long dark locks which were perfectly spiked into his signature "duck butt" style. Resting his head back in his hands, he glanced around the room.

Only about half the class had showed up, it was only five minutes till the bell. Sasuke slightly cringed when he spotted a small group of his fangirls off in the opposite corner, giggling and stealing glances at him. Among them was a pink haired girl named Sakura, most popular girl in the school. Why you ask? Because she was a horrid bitch who clawed her way to the top. Quickly taking his gaze back to the door, he hoped they hadn't seen him. Looking at the clock, he found only two minutes had passed and only a few more students had arrived.

Looking back at the door, waiting for his entertainment to arrive. When the blonde did walk through the door with Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata and Gaara, he noticed something off. They were quiet. That wasn't right, the blonde was always loud, no matter the time. What was wrong with him? Sasuke continued to contemplate this as Naruto and his friends walked up to the teacher, Kurenai-sensei. Sasuke watched as they all held up white cards to her, still silent. After a moment, Kurenai-sensei nodded and signaled for them to sit.

Sasuke watched curiously as Naruto came over and took his seat next to him. Noticing he was being watched, Naruto smiled, his eyes turning to crescent moons. It was then Sasuke noticed the bandana wrapped around the blondes' mouth. Reading what was written on it, he became confused. Turning his attention back to the front, he contemplated what could be wrong with the dobe.

"First, he comes in not making any noise at all… It's somewhat normal for his friends but not for him. Then he shows some weird card to the teacher and now he has a bandana that says 'Silence' over his mouth… What is with the dobe today?

Glancing over at the still silent Naruto, Sasuke came to a decision.

'I'm going to figure out why you're so quiet today dobe, I promise that.'


First hour inched along until finally the bell rang. Naruto and his friends were the first out of class, still silent. Sasuke made a move to follow the blonde, walking out the door and in the same direction, when a pair of dangly arms prevented him from moving. Sasuke scowled, knowing exactly who had stopped him. He didn't even need to turn to see that it was…

"Sasuke-kun! Walk with me to class, please?"

… Sakura.

Sasuke suppressed a growl, how dare she keep him from his mission?! Breathing heavy to compose himself, he answered.

"No Sakura, walk yourself to class."

Sasuke didn't even need to look to know that now she was pouting, while trying to come up with a way to trick him into walking with her.

"No Sakura!" He said more sternly.

When he no longer felt her behind him, he knew she had left. Returning himself to his mission, he realized he only had about a minute to get to his class, which was not with the dobe. He silently cursed his luck and ran to his second hour.


Third hour brought Sasuke together with his dobe, and luckily for Sasuke, for the rest of the day. He sat in health class, before the bell, watching Tsunade-sensei write the lesson plan on the board while her assistant, Shizune-sensei, got all the assignments for the day together. A minute before the bell, Naruto walked in with Ino, Neji and Temari. It hardly surprised him that Neji and Temari were also dressed like Naruto. They walked up to Tsunade and presented her with the same white cards. She seemed to pause to read them, before remaining silent herself.

"Well, I guess I can't stop you, alright." She then grabbed Naruto and held him in a Noogie. Everyone in class chuckled slightly, with the exception of Naruto, Neji and Temari. Everyone knew that Tsunade viewed Naruto as her adoptive son, so this behavior was not unusual. Sasuke knew if it weren't for the fact that Naruto lived with his history teacher, Iruka, that Tsunade would be his guardian… along with Jiraiya-sensei, their theater teacher.

Naruto made his way to his seat, two rows away from Sasuke. When his blue eyes met the obsidian of the Uchiha's, he smiled and gave a wave. The action caught Sasuke off guard. He had expected the smile before first hour, that's how their arguments always started. This, however, was not. This gesture was almost friendly, not that Sasuke really minded. Deep in his mind, afraid to admit it himself, he knew that he and Naruto were to some level, friends. This fact fueled Sasuke's need to know why the dobe refused to speak.


Sasuke followed Naruto to fourth hour Theater, not minding that he would not be there early. When Sasuke walked up along side Naruto and spoke to him, Naruto merely smiled and cocked his head to the side. Not understanding, Sasuke gave the usual insult and walked ahead.

That lead to where he was then, sitting in a chair in the theater, a small clipboard serving as his desk top. Naruto walked in with Chouji, Lee and Gaara. They walked up onto the stage and presented their cards to Jiraiya-sensei. Jiraiya's face was stoically grim as he read the cards. Then he narrowed his eyes and shouted at the four boys.

"This is preposterous! You cannot be silent in the theater!" He ranted on and on.

"Alright gaki, you win. Just go take your seats." Jiraiya caved in.

As far as Sasuke knew, Jiraiya had been the only teacher to put of a fight against whatever it said on those cards. He knew the teacher of Naruto's second hour would never think of doing what Jiraiya did. Iruka cared about Naruto too much. This thought gave Sasuke an idea. If he wanted to know what Naruto was doing, he should ask Iruka. Smirking to himself, Sasuke decided to skip part of lunch to speak with the history teacher. Glancing at Naruto, he found the boy lost in thought. Nodding his head a little, he decided it was worth missing lunch.


Sasuke stood outside the door to Iruka's classroom, but the scarred man was no where to be found. The door was locked, lights off and none of the other teachers had seen him since he took break during third hour. Sasuke was puzzled but let it go, knowing he still had time to make it to lunch. With that thought, he ran for the lunch room.

One look at the menu told Sasuke he didn't want anything for lunch that day. Sighing, he decided it was for the best. He walked out into the cafeteria area, glancing around for the dobe. He spotted him and his friends eating together. For the first time all day, Naruto had the bandana down. Sasuke wanted to go over and ask the blonde why he was silent himself but was stopped by Sakura yet again.

"Sasuke! Come sit with us!" Sasuke didn't move, so Sakura came to him. "Urg, those freaks? I swear, I thought Ino was cool but now? No way. Not only is she not fashionable but she's walking around with a bandana over her mouth… How gosh is that? Not only that, they all are. They're freaks I tell you. Though for Naruto, I say it's an improvement. For once he's quiet." She trailed off. Sasuke lost interest when she began speaking about the blonde.


Math with Kakashi-sensei was as uneventful as usual. The pervert just sat at his desk the entire hour, reading his porn, while the class did an assignment out of the book. Nothing important. Naruto didn't even bother to present his card to Kakashi, knowing he wouldn't have to speak anyway.


The bell buzzed as everyone entered the gym from the locker rooms. Sasuke watched as Naruto, Lee, Kiba, and Shikamaru walked out, changed into their gym cloths yet still wearing the bandanas. The walked up to Gai, their teacher, and presented him with their cards. Amazingly, Gai read the cards with a stern look, as if he were replaced with a normal person. That, however, did not last long.

"YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN EVEN MORE BRIGHTLY FOR YOU PROTEST IN SILENCE FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS RIGHT!!!!" He shouted as everyone sweatdropped. Lee, on the other hand, was crying so hard, he had soaked his bandana.

Continuing to watch them, Sasuke's curiosity only grew… 'Their silence is a protest? A protest of what?'


Seventh hour chemistry with Orochimaru-sensei… oh how Sasuke dreaded that class. He swore that the snake like man eyed him every class. The mere thought sent unpleasant shivers down his spine. Sasuke, again, watched from his lab table in the back, as Naruto, Shino, Tenten and Gaara presented him with their cards. Everyone watched as their sensei almost exploded.

"No, you will not be silent in this class. I care not that you are protesting, you will not be silent. Now take your seats and remove those ridiculous bandanas… You're supporting no one by doing this…" He trailed in his chilling voice.

Naruto and the others went to their seats, but did not remove their bandanas. They sat in silence. This, of course, angered Orochimaru.

"How dare you disobey me?! I am your sensei, you will do as I say!" He was about to continue but an unidentified student interrupted him.

"But sensei! Don't you molest little boys with that 'I'm your sensei' crap?"

Orochimaru's eyes widened and his jaw clenched as he fell back in his seat. Stunned silent.

"Heh, I wonder what sensei is protesting?" asked Kankuro sarcastically, elbowing his brother, Gaara, in the side.

Noticing his sempai's sudden silence, Kabuto, the assistant teacher, emerged from the chemicals closet. After poking the pale man several times, Kabuto laughed nervously. Scratching the back of his head while adjusting his glasses, he turned to the class.

"Well, it seems Orochimaru-sempai is unable to teach today… Please take out your text books, I will take over the lesson momentarily."

Sasuke smirked and patted himself on the back mentally, finally finding use for his strange talent of voice throwing.


The release bell rang, allowing the stampede of students to begin. Having all of his things with him, Sasuke made no side trip to his locker. Instead, he headed to Naruto's, hoping to catch the dobe and finally get some answers. To his luck, the dobe had just waved his friends off, and was then putting stuff in his oversized orange backpack. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke stomped foreword.

Naruto heard him coming and looked up to greet him, smiling. He gave Sasuke a little wave before returning to packing his bag. Sasuke's eye twitched slightly. He had had enough, he wanted answers and he wanted them now. By this time, Naruto had finished packing and was turning to leave. Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to face him.

"Ok dobe… Tell me now why you've been so quiet… this is unnatural! I want answers… and don't say you can't talk because of that stupid bandana… I know you better than that!" Sasuke practically yelled in the vacant hall.

Naruto looked at Sasuke a moment, before something seemed to register in his mind. His blue eyes widened with what seemed to be realization and understanding. Nodding his head, he held up one finger, telling Sasuke to hold on, while he dug through one of his pockets. After a moment, he pulled out that white card and presented it to him. Sasuke took it from him so he could see it better.

It read,

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is cause by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that by ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices your are not hearing today. What will you do to end the silence?"

Sasuke handed the card back and stared at Naruto a long moment. By this time, Naruto and pulled down his bandana, allowing his smile to be seen. Placing a hand to his forehead, Sasuke chuckled.

"You dobe… You should have shown me that earlier." He stepped up to the shorter boy. He stroked one set of whisker marks as he continued."I know how I can end this silence." He whispered as he captured Naruto's lips in a kiss.

The End

A/N: Day of Silence is Wednesday, April 18. If you wish to join, go to dayofsilence(.)org

There, you can find all the information about this day, as well as the "Speaking Cards" like Naruto's. Naruto's speaking card is the real deal… I did not create it. I already stated this in the disclaimer so, don't report me!

Once you have a speaking card, during the school day, you present it to each teacher. This card tells them that you are to be excused from speaking on this day.

Please join us in stopping the silence…