When I was younger, I liked to sit down near the river banks where the water flowed from the east. I would sit there for hours staring at the other kids as they played with the water, never going near enough to touch the water myself. My parents told me to stay away, telling me that it's unhygienic and dangerous for me to go in as the flow of water could get very fast sometimes.
I remember wanting to step into the river so badly, I almost cried sometimes. I always did wonder why I felt that way. So, sometimes I would wait for the sun to set as the people would gradually disappear. I would take a few steps towards the river, seeing how far I could go before I started to run away. No matter how close I got to it, in the end, I would always run away.
The beginning of my academic year at Konoha Art College was uninteresting and common, to be frank. I suppose it was the kind of thing that happened to everyone. Meeting new people, beginning classes, having a pile of homework, it's the kind of thing everyone goes through. The other students appeared to be enthusiastic about the semester and everyone is eager to prove themselves and their so called 'talent'. With that in mind, I decided to act that way as well. I read in a book that it is better to follow the same kind of mentality as the majority than to try and change everyone, as people tend to dislike being told that they're wrong. Pretending to be eager, I entered almost every competitions and extra-curricular activities that was posted on the notice board. Yet, nothing seems to be of any worth. It's not that I don't want to enjoy the experience, it's just that I don't feel anything about it. I ended blending in quite well, with nobody ever doubting my fake enthusiasm.
Which is okay with me. It's always a bother when someone confronts me about feelings, considering I don't have any.
I walked with a few bags barely filled with groceries in my hands and entered the apartment building. An old, two storey building with cheap rent, thin walls, and no toilets. It feels more like a house with rentable rooms than a proper apartment. It is at a convenient distance from college, only 15 minutes away by foot, 7 minutes by bicycle and 10 minutes if you ran the entire time. Considering I am accustomed to waking up early to take walks ever since I was a boy, I always ended up early for classes, which my teachers say is good habit. The apartment is 20 minutes away from the bath house by foot, and the convenience store is just across the street, along with a few other shops and a cheap ramen joint. The residents are all students, which means it's always noisy. Almost everyone in here are inefficient in the way they spend their money and always end up broke by the middle of the month. This prompts everyone to pool their money together and buy cheap big meals and eat together as they cried and grieved about their poverty at least once a month. They call it a 'beautiful brotherly meal'.
I closed the door behind me and proceeded to take off my shoes to place them at the shoe rack, directly to the right of the entrance. I then took the wooden stairs to the first floor. The cheap apartment has no elevators. Though if it did, it would probably be broken anyways, judging by the kind of people that lives here. The apartment is quite dark, as the electrical wiring is constantly faulty. The ground floor and the first floor both had four rooms that are all inhabited.
Reaching the door to my room which is the first room along the short corridor, with the old and worn-out plating written "101" on the faded green door, I went inside and kept my grocery away. After I was done, I sat in the middle of my apartment, staring at the clock.
"It's only 6 o'clock…" I said quietly to myself. Contemplating what to do, I looked at the old books in my shelf. Ones that I have read a hundred times over. Looking into my wallet, I wondered if I should invest on getting the "Women Who Love Too Much" book that is on sale at the local bookstore. Then again, if I saved more money, that means I could afford more baths per month. Keeping my wallet back, I got up again, wondering what to do, with not much choices at hand.
Each apartment had the same layout, if you stand in the middle, the small kitchen would be behind you, directly to the left of the door. The cupboard is built-in to the wall to the left, the window is to the front, facing the rising sun and there is a big shelf to the right and a small television set sits to the right of the window. The floors are covered by six tatami mats. I bought a small grey colored table for myself that I placed in front of the book shelves, so that I could eat and read easily. Glancing at the wall clock that sits above the shelf again, I made up my mind.
"Maybe i'll indulge in the public baths more often this month."
"Hey, Sai!" I heard my name being called as soon as I reached the ground floor. With a perfected fake smile, I turned to the familiar sight of my flat-mate, Uzumaki Naruto, who lives directly across my room, with his bright choices of colours as clothes and even brighter yellow hair. I read in book about colours that bright colours are supposed to exert a lively, bold spirit, which is suitable for an attention-seeker like him.
"What can I help you with?" I asked him, remembering to watch my tone and talk as politely as I could. He let out and exaggerated sigh.
"Do you have any more ramen cups with you? I'm kinda struggling through this month…" He said with downcast eyes, tilting his head down. He's already holding a pot of hot water in his hands, suggesting he already knows that I had just brought a few cups earlier. I suppose he was trying to gain my sympathy with his actions and words.
"It's just the first week of the month. What did you waste your money on?" His head snapped up and tears started to well in his eyes.
"I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO BUY THIS MONTH,OKAY? SCULPTURES CAN'T SCULPT THEMSELVES, IF THEY COULD MY LIFE WOULD BE EASIER BUT THEY CAN'T AND I CAN'T-" he continued to whine with exaggerated motions and held out his right hand, which was bandaged.
"Look, just look at it!" I immediately looked as his hands.
"It's bandaged…?" I said slowly, not sure what he expected out of me.
"I ACCIDENTALLY HIT MYSELF. THEN I NEEDED TO BUY A FIRST AID KIT AND IT HURTS AND I CANT MAKE ANY ART THINGS TO SELL AND I JUST, I JUST"
I'm assuming this is one of those "emotional breakdowns" that a lot of books wrote about. I read that it's usually the result of accumulated emotions that finally bursts at the slightest push.
"I'm…hungry." he said, pleading with his big blue eyes. His stomach started to grumble, perfectly on cue. His hands held on to the kettle tightly, trembling slightly.
"I'm….always….so…..hungry…."
"Well…" I said, pointing towards my room. "I do have some extra cups with me left. Let me get inside to take one for-"
"THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU'RE ALWAYS THE BEST, I'LL GO GET THEM MYSELF, GOODBYE" was all I managed to hear before the walking vomit of colours walked past me and disappeared upstairs.
"Just take one, okay?!" I tried calling out to him, to no avail. When it comes to ramen and free food, that guy will pull off whatever degrading stunts to get them. Putting those two together will no doubt mean that he'll take half the box away. Why he loves instant ramen so much, i'll never understand. I don't really like them, I only buy them because of their cheap price, and how it seems to be a staple food for poor college students. Naruto always seems to find a way to get into everyone's rooms whenever he was hungry, even when it's heavily locked. Nobody knows how he does it as nobody could ever catch him in the act. Overtime, people began creating odd stories about it, like the story of how he turns into a small fox and enters through the windows in the rooms. The oddly quite large number of foxes around the compound inspired the story. There's also talk about him learning some form of ninjutsu to be able to enter the rooms with ease. I find it amusing how people create ridiculous stories in an attempt to make life more interesting.
Sighing, I walked outside and saw Uchiha Sasuke walking towards me. I looked at him and he glanced my way with his intense, icy, pitch-black eyes only to immediately avert his gaze as if he wasn't looking at me in the first place.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun." I said with a smile. He grunted and walked past me, directly to the apartment without so much as looking at me. The immature boy who shuns the world for no proper reason, i'm glad he decided to not waste my time by talking. Talking to people like him is always tiring to me.
I shrugged off his coldness and continued walking. Hearing loud chattering, I looked upwards and saw that my room's window was open and the enthusiastic cries of "Meat! Meat! MEEEEAAAAAAT!" could be heard. That sounded like Inuzuka Kiba's (resident meat enthusiast and dog lover) along with amazed cries from Rock Lee (martial arts enthusiast with a really unpleasant face) and "meat" chants coming from Akimichi Chouji(a fat guy with a passion for food). I assume they have found my grocery items. Naruto must've let them in. Looking at my wristwatch, I sighed again. I should probably head in before they eat everything in my apartment again. So much for a trip to the bath. "Shouldn't Shikamaru be there to keep them in line…" I thought to myself. Nara Shikamaru, a surprisingly prodigious arts student who is unfortunately as lazy as he is talented. He's probably still sleeping or is too lazy to deal with them right now.
With these kind of flat-mates it's hard to find free time for yourself. After being stuck in a tornado of classes and assignments at college, I have to come back to deal with a whirlpool of hungry college students stuck in poverty. This has been how it is for a while now. The hectic day-to-day life of an arts student. I wonder what it was that I was thinking when I suddenly decided to study arts in college.
I went closer to my room and saw that the door was wide open. Coming closer, I could see all of my flat mates talking enthusiastically as they inspected my kitchen, gathering food and acting as if they've never seen a full refrigerator in their entire lives. The leader of the idiots, Naruto, who was supposed to only take a cup of ramen, was cheerfully handing out my bag of meat to Kiba, who took it with tears in his eyes, muttering "No, no tears. Not now. Not yet." as he clenched a fist, holding back his emotions. I wonder why food is so important to these students. I get hungry too, but I never act the way they do. Maybe I should find a book about this…
"Lee, did you get everything?" Naruto asked him loudly, knocking me off my thoughts.
"Yes! I brought the worcestershire sauce from Kiba-kun, barbecue sauce and mayonnaise from Chouji-kun, some vegetables from myself, some salt, pepper, soy sauce and soba noodles and of course, the everlasting food for youths, the succulent meat from Sai-kun! " Lee said, pointing at the meat in Kiba's arms. "Stop hugging it, Kiba-kun! It's not very hygienic to do so!" he said and grabbed it away from Kiba, who was stunned to find out that he's no longer holding anything, placing the bag on the kitchen counter. It's amazing how they still have not noticed me standing at the entrance as I tapped my feet loudly. I assume stupid people often take their time to notice the things around them? Because they're so intellectually inferior?
"I don't think we need mayonnaise for the barbecue, Lee." Kiba remarked, pointing at the white bottle after recovering from his initial shock.
"It's really great of Sai to buy all this meat for us to share." Chouji said as he rubbed his stomach hungrily. Everyone else agreed in unison. "I thought he was just a weirdo but it turns out he's pretty awesome!" I cocked and eyebrow at his remark. A weirdo? What would make him think that? Nobody has ever called me a weirdo before...
"Your mind changes so easily about people, huh?" Naruto asked him as he inspected the bag containing the raw meat again.
"Naruto-kun, I do believe everyone has their good sides. Sai-kun is really generous." Lee countered. I don't think they're aware that they're stealing my food.
"Despite being a complete robot? Do you see the way he smiles? Creepy. I swear I have nightmares about it." Kiba replied, sitting on the table. Wait, what is this? I've never heard such negative remarks about me before. My smile is….creepy? Maybe I should practice them in the mirror more often. There are a lot of websites that helps and encourages people to have a better smile, i'll look it up later.
"Kiba-kun! Sai-kun is not a robot!"
"Alright! It's all set! Let's get the barbecue grill out and set it up!" Naruto cheered loudly as the others cheered after him.
"Oh, Sai-kun!" Lee finally took notice and the look of guilt seeped into his giant, perfectly round and emotive eyes. Kiba immediately got off the table with a scared look on his face.
"Thank you so much for the meat! It's extremely kind of you! I swear I will return this kindness someday!" Lee said as he walked towards me and grabbed my shoulders.
"The power of youth swells within you!"
"Hello, Lee-san, Kiba-kun, Chouji-kun and…..Naruto-kun." I said as I smiled at Naruto. He wiped his forehead slightly and nervously smiled back. I couldn't help but wonder if they're finding my smile creepy now.
"Of course you wouldn't notice me." Aburame Shino said as he got up from beside my table to join the rest of the idiots.
Why? It's because my clothes are the same colour as your table, thus creating a camouflaging effect. I thought as much." he said calmly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Of course not, Shino-kun. It's because you're utterly forgettable."
"W-what?" Shino remarked and it seemed as if he was taken aback. This isn't good, he does not enjoy my truthful remark. Okay, how do I counter this?
"Utterly forgettable to people that has bad memory." I said quickly. Maybe I should've thought about that better. "I have a pretty bad memory." I continued, laughing. Smiling would always help to liven up the atmosphere and help people get out of uncomfortable situations. It doesn't seem to make Shino-kun look happier. Time to steer the conversation away…
"Now, Naruto-kun, what are you doing with my bag of me-"
"Naruto! The hell are you doing!?" Kiba shouted suddenly. I looked to my right and saw Naruto at my window, one leg out and with all the food gathered in his arms. He can't be serious.
"You're going to die if you jump!" Chouji shouted. "But then again, maybe not, this apartment isn't that high. But you'll definitely get hurt! But then again, maybe not if you're lucky. Hmm, we should see how this goes…"
Lee started to run towards Naruto, reaching his arms out.
"Sorry guys! I guess i'll eat this by myself, then!" he said and jumped out of the window. Everyone rushed there and looked down, only to see Naruto, safe and sound, running away triumphantly.
"Naruto-kun…he really is a ninja isn't he?" Lee asked, looking amazed.
"Who knows…" Chouji remarked, looking as amazed.
"Son of a- Naruto! Come back here! That bag is mine! Mine!" Kiba shouted, turning around and running out of my room. Chouji turned to him and shouted "Every form of food in this house is mine! Everyone knows that!" before running after them.
"Guys, Sai-kun has told Naruto-kun that this meat is for us to share! What about the beautiful brotherly meal?" Lee called after them, with tears in his eyes. "This should be the meal of the month…." he said as he followed suit.
"If this means i'll get free food, I suppose I will give chase as well." Shino remarked before running out.
"…but it's my bag of meat." I said quietly, running out of my room as well. Naruto does not know how much pain he's going to get for causing me this much unnecessary trouble.
I ran down the stairs, as I am a naturally fast runner, I easily reached Shino.
"We should share the food. Why? It's because i'm hungry too. I can come up with a plan for the bot…." Shino said to me when I passed him and continued on as his voice fades away behind me.
Forcing myself to sprint, I nearly outran Chouji who was surprisingly quite far ahead of Shino in such a short time, given his excessive weight, until his facial expressions began to change as his stomach started growling loudly. A cold chill suddenly passed through my body. I watched in slight horror as his face started twisting into a deep frown, making him have the face of, the face of…
The devil himself.
He suddenly dashed forward, running with an extreme amount of speed, leaving me flabbergasted behind him. I know that this will not end well.
This has only happened twice in the past, every time anybody takes food away from a hungry Chouji, he'll switch from a decent guy to the demon himself. Every time it happened, someone would end up in the hospital and a part of a building would get smashed. I honestly thought that people would learn from experience. It seems once again, I expected a bit too much from my intellectually inferior flat-mates.
Knowing that Naruto is too stubborn to give up my food, he'll try to fight Oni-Chouji. Which would get him swiftly killed without would actually make my job easier. I caught up with Lee who worriedly looked at me. His eyes could sometimes disturb me in the worst ways.
"Chouji-kun is….!"
"I know. We have to get to Naruto-kun before he does." I said hurriedly.
"But how? We don't know where Naruto-kun is going!"
"I think I do." a person as predictable as Naruto would most likely go to a place of someone he's close to that has a barbecue grill. "Follow me." I said and gestured to Lee to follow a different path. Oni-Chouji can smell the scent of flowing blood, as such he is directly following Naruto. Lee and I are taking a short-cut to the destination in hopes that we would meet Naruto there. Well, that is if Oni-Chouji has not killed him yet along the way.
"Where are we going, Sai-kun?"
"The apartment complex near the campus!"
After ten minutes of running, we arrived there at the large apartment complex. Tall, old buildings with a fresh coat of white paint. Very much different from our older and wooden apartment. Lee and I started running towards the elevator before we saw Naruto running in our direction, looking extremely pale and horrified.
"Help me! Chouji is going to kill me! He knocked out Kiba! You should've seen it! It was…so… horrifying….so….so…." Lee and I glanced at each other. Looks like we got our someone that ends up in the hospital…
"Throw the meat at him then! Do it, Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted back at him.
"But, the meat! He'll probably eat it raw!" Naruto shouted as he hugged the food in his arms tightly.
"He'll revert to Chouji as soon as the meat is in his arms!" Lee shouted again. "We'll try to convince him to share the meat with us then!"
"You don't know that!" I am honestly annoyed at the thieving idiot that does not want to be saved.
Suddenly, Oni-Chouji landed behind Naruto from seemingly out of nowhere, cracking the ground with his sheer force of brutality, with a look that says "I'm ready to add 'another someone that ends up in the hospital'." Naruto fell down due to the impact of the landing and struggled to get up again. Oni-Chouji reached his arms out as he walked towards Naruto. He tried to crawl away, whimpering as he did, his hand still grabbing the bag of meat. Lee and I both shouted for Naruto to get up and run. I believe he's going to die soon. I suppose I should feel sad?
"Naruto-kun! Trust me, just throw the bag at him and he'll stop!" Lee tried again. I ran towards Naruto to try and save him, feeling extremely annoyed at the idiot who is willing to risk his life for a bag of meat. Oni-Chouji grabbed Naruto's leg and was preparing for the kill as Naruto screamed in horror.
I saw pink strands of hair flowing in front of me out of nowhere. I could detect a faint scent of strawberries as the short hair lightly touched my face. I stopped in my tracks immediately.
The person in front of me apparently kicked Naruto out of the way and punched Oni-Chouji's face so hard, he went limp and passed out immediately.
"Shannaro! What the heck is all this commotion about?!" the girl shouted with a clenched fist. Emerald-green eyes. I've never seen those kind of eyes before, it's strange. Like Lee's eyes.
"S-sakura-chan…" Naruto stammered, looking at Chouji who was lying flatly on the ground. I blinked twice to confirm myself of this girl's amazing strength.
"Sakura-chan, you're so amazing! As expected, the famous cherry-blossom crash!" Lee cheered, his odd eyes oddly sparkling. It seems that the both of them are familiar enough to this girl to call her name so casually. A group of people started to form to see what the commotion was all about. The pink-haired girl walked towards Naruto and grabbed his t-shirt to lift him so that they could see eye-to-eye.
"What did you do now!?" she shouted at him.
"Not now, Sakura-chan! Kiba's in danger!"
"K-Kiba? What happened to Kiba?" Her face immediately changed from an ugly scowl to a genuinely surprised look.
"Oni-Chouji got him! He got him!" Naruto said as he got up. "We gotta go save him!"
"Well, where is he?"
"Follow me!" Naruto ran as the girl followed him. "I'll follow you too, Sakura-chan!" Lee ran after them. I looked at the crowd of stunned people and bowed apologetically for the commotion as I ran after everyone else. It seemed like they were cheering and shouting "Cherry-blossom crash!" over and over again. I've never heard of it before, is it supposed to be well-known?
When we reached Kiba, a large crowd had gathered in curiosity. The ambulance had arrived and was already preparing to transfer Kiba to the nearest hospital. Naruto and Sakura-san ran through the crowd towards the ambulance to ask how he is. The paramedic told them to visit him in the hospital as he is in a critical condition. Lee and I stood outside the encirclement of people.
"It's really bad, huh…" he remarked. I nodded in agreement. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Naruto jumping and waving at me to come to him. I nudged Lee to follow me and we uncomfortably passed the crowd of people. It seems that Naruto and Sakura-san had volunteered to help clean up the site. I saw a few splatters of blood on the ground that kept me thinking. I looked at the pink-haired girl squatting in front of me, cleaning up the scene. How in the world could that girl defeat the thing that caused this to happen?
"Wait, where is Shino-kun?" Lee asked loudly. Naruto shrugged.
"Probably went home. Was he even chasing me?"
"Yes, he was." I replied. Lee stood on his toes and squinted at the crowd.
"Ah! There he is! I bet he was the one who called the ambulance. I'll go see him." Lee said and ran off. Naruto looked at me. "I bet he's just trying to get out of having to clean this place up." I smiled at him and proceeded to take a mop that he handed to me.
After a while, when the site was clean and the crowd had long disappeared, all five of us grouped together. Shino was still shaking and holding a paper bag to his face as Lee continued to console him. Apparently, he was the one who stumbled upon Kiba's body that was in such a manner that it was impossible for him to fully describe without throwing up. Sakura-san returned the food to me and apologized in Naruto's behalf after hearing about the entire incident and giving Naruto a lot of well-deserved punches. How violent and unattractive. Although he did deserve the punches.
Lee and Shino decided to go home and relax after the long day. Naruto and Sakura-san decided to go get something to eat.
"Sai-kun, are you coming along?" Lee asked me. I looked at him and looked at Naruto and Sakura-san talking in the distance instantly arguing with each other. I wonder how close they are…
"Sai-kun?"
I looked back at Lee.
"Yes, I am."
The sun was half-way sunk. The sunset hues bathed Konoha in it's dim light. Looking at the sky, I started to count the clouds as we walked. I stopped myself immediately and tore my eyes away from the sky. I haven't counted the clouds for a long time. The last time I did was when I was in middle school. I tried to push my thoughts away, but I know that counting the clouds is my childhood habit. Every time I felt unsure and disappointed, I would naturally react that way. Why am I feeling… unsure? Immediately shooting my feelings away, I felt completely normal again.
"That Sakura-chan…." Lee suddenly said aloud. I turned to him and saw that he was blushing.
"She's really something, isn't she?" he said and smiled to himself. With the sound of Shino vomiting into his bag, I found myself looking up into the sky again. Seeing that the amount of clouds in the sky is only but a handful, I automatically started counting them all over again.
Well, there you go! My first fanfic in this account. I hope you enjoyed it :)
The story is loosely based on the 90's ballad song Cosmos by the wonderful japanese rock/pop band Spitz. It has really beautiful lyrics and melodies and vocals that will tug at your heartstrings, give it a listen if you have the time.
English isn't my first language, so please notify me if there are any misspellings or any grammatical errors! Thank you. The pairings for this fic are not yet determined, i'll just go with the flow so please be open-minded and not hate on any pairings! No matter how crack it seems in canon. But it's a fanfic so like yeah, my rules here, hehehe. I hope you'll go around for the ride and thank you for reading.
I'llshutupnowokaybyethankyou. Cheers!