A Pretty Good Day, by hauntful yay

A boy with dirty blond hair sat balanced on the railing, eyes roving but kept carefully blank. His posture bore that of the tired traveler, but untidy hands rested firmly on the polished wood surface. Potentionally a customer, but not this one. From inside the window, the owner of the hot springs turned away disgustedly.

The Kid was dirty as hell, and if he should fall backwards into his creek of warm water, he and his customers would be doomed. Not that they already weren't doomed—the boy had a bit of a reputation. As bad as it was that he scared customers away, though scared wasn't quite the word, the kid also had a custom of being a non-riddable pest. Previous owners of businesses all over Konoha had tried to boot the kid out, but once the kid set his mind on a place, he wouldn't move. Or if he did, it was only to come back later. At least the Kid, by custom, only stayed a week at a chosen establishment, so the poor owner was only moderately doomed. In theory. The owner's head shook resignedly.

Meanwhile, the boy outside had gotten his eyes fixed on his falls. Many didn't have falls in their springs; that's why his was so well-to-do. He had a creek as well—though he couldn't really claim credit for that. Worn over by generations of generations of water, the rocks beneath the falls made a smooth pathway of underwater stone that was truly amazing to behold. The whole area really was amazing—not that he'd agree with the boy out there so enraptured in them. Though in fact, if the boy didn't look around soon, there wouldn't be any more falls to stare at. Unless of course he pulled one of his famous escape acts…

The boy didn't pull one. From years of training, though unconscious, the owner could judge intentions as only one experienced could. The special uncertainty of a young child, whose parents were on the way, the practiced nod of a good customer, the swagger of a troublemaker. And these men, who had approached almost cautiously, were thugs. Behind the Kid now, the owner was torn. This was THE Kid, but still just a kid. Still, he'd get his customers back… and the Kid would probably run now. He was used to being a pest—he'd be fine. But as the man nodded to himself, he gazed apprehensively at the even now unmoving boy.

Still locked on the falls and the mood of the incredible glade, it was surprising to the boy when he flew backwards into the clean springs. He wasn't actually planning on dirtying the beautiful water, whether the dirt was washed away or not by the moving stream. He did respect trade, after all. And the man with the wide eyes from inside the window had not gone after him too bad. Frowning, the Kid sighed as he went sailing into the hot springs with a dull splash. Rolling himself carefully out of his balled form, he floated skillfully on his back. And thus Naruto was left fingering his new bruise and drifting wearily downstream.

--

Naruto awoke later being intensely glared at, and he almost grinned at the familiar sight, with exceptions, naturally. Unlike the usual, this one was a kid. A fairly dark-looking kid too, especially with the glare and all. He told the kid this. The kid glared harder. Naruto did grin then, and brilliantly.

"Hello!"

"…Humph."

The black-haired child with hair of an amazingly looking fluffiness turned away, nose in the air. Sauntering while sitting down was difficult was hard to do, but porcelain features did it, and spectacularly. Naruto did his best not to laugh out loud, but ended up doing it anyway. It was hard not too—impossible not to like this kid, who acted like he was an immature 20-year old. Looked to be about five, actually. And by the squint that was being aimed his way, this five-year-old who acted like an immature 20-year-old was about to speak.

"WHO, are YOU?"

"I--" Naruto made sure to capitalize his words, "am ME. And YOU—" he giggled quietly "—are most likely from a rich family, from a hard household, and from an outstandingly stuck-up clan… Nice to meet you!"

The boy returned to his default frown as he processed this.

"My clan is not stuck-up."

Naruto remained smiling as he absorbed the accuracy of his previous guesses, and what the kid had not deemed to retaliate against. Rich, you could tell immediately by the kid's clothes. The black eyes glaring at him and the kid's disposition gave the second guess away, with a being of Naruto's knowledge. A slight quirk was added to Naruto's present smile as he laughed internally at his cockiness. Finally, on closer inspection, he actually already knew this kid's clan. The way he held himself and the fan on the back of the blue shirt was a dead giveaway.

"The Uchihas? Yup. But okay."

Sasuke was getting tired of frowning. Relaxing his face, he inspected the newcomer closely. The inspectee lifted a hand automatically to his matted hair, and finding it wet, the smile grew a bit dimmer. Sasuke considered this very carefully, and peering into the squinted blue eyes, found the memory file he was looking for.

"… Uzumaki. The hated child, the Kid. Why did I have to rescue you from the lake?"

At this, Naruto's smile fell. Sigh. Another possible friend made enemy who had heard of him. Though not really unexpected—the rich kids studied this stuff. Should have known when the Uchiha first started scrutinizing him. Still, returning to the question echoing in the kid's eyes, why was he wet?... Hm… oh yes, the hot springs. Very pretty falls, those. Naruto looked up, searching for them. He couldn't have drifted too far… ah. That was… pretty far. Explained why he had blacked out, though.

Sasuke followed the kid's eyes straight up to the top of a waterfall a few miles away. He had come from there?! Wha—Sasuke watched the Kid through slitted eyes. He wasn't that amazing. He couldn't be. Yet the kid was alive, though scraped up, and opening his mouth to speak.

"Hm… looks like I was surviving again. You never did tell me your name."

Sasuke growled. Surviving again? What a stupid answer. "Sasuke. I'm leaving."

So he did.

However, he came back after a few minutes, cause the darn Kid was still in his spot, and he had been reflecting and all that. Stupid kid.

"I'm Naruto," the stupid kid said, when Sasuke had come storming back in and had sat steaming on the end of the dock for a few minutes. "And I'm hungry, so I'll be back in an hour or so. It was really nice to meet you!"

Sasuke scowled, and Naruto smiled.

--

Altogether, it had been a pretty good day, Naruto concluded. He did get punched, but it was light, and had disappeared quickly. And he did fall down a waterfall, but he was feeling fine now. Plus, he'd met Sasuke. He hoped he'd meet him again someday. Probably a doomed fellow. Need some help later in life. Wouldn't be waiting for him at the dock either—Naruto would liked to have stayed a while longer, just because he was making some progress with a first friend, which was awfully important—but food came first, and he hadn't exactly eaten in… oh, two days, was it? And falling down waterfalls drained his energy like none other. Still, Sasuke. Fun guy. Duck-butt hair, interesting as a five-year old could be, the teensiest less-than-easiest childhood. Had some hope. So munching on some stolen, some begged-for food, Naruto wasn't surprised to find no one waiting for him. He had abandoned the kid, after all.

But eight years later, he still grinned at the scowl.