EDITTED ON MONDAY, MARCH 24TH FOR MINOR CORRECTIONS
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sama so I claim nothing that has to do with…that.
A Single Act of Kindness
A Young Sasuke and Kakashi One-Shot
The whispers surrounded the young child as he again tripped on what appeared to be nothing but his own feet. By now his clothes were tattered and hung loosely on his thin form as if he had been wandering for weeks through forest and brush, rather than just a few days wandering the streets of Konoha. Dried tear streaks stained his cheeks as he took in a shuddered breath and half-heartedly clambered back onto his sore feet.
He knew what people said, he knew what people thought. He was all alone, and no one had even bothered to try to help him. They all knew what had happened to his family, but nobody had any sympathy left for a young boy; fearing what had transpired just days before.
The boy hesitantly took a step forward, not being exactly sure of where he was headed. He had nowhere left to go; his family was gone and the only remaining member, besides himself, had long left him alone to survive. Or die, if the path he was taking would continue on as it was.
The faces that passed him were full of pity. But again, no one bothered to aid the boy.
"Out of my way!"
The shout came from the boy's side; he barely had enough time to look up in shock to see a spark of blonde hair zip by as he was pushed roughly to the ground. Feet thundered by as the child clenched his eyes shut and hissed quietly as pain shot up through his legs.
But he wouldn't cry; his eyes remained dry when he opened them.
Expecting for no one to again help him up, the boy let out a shaky sigh and used his knee as a perch as he tried to push himself up off the ground. A soft cry passed through his lips as he found himself falling again and quickly closed his eyes. Seeing as he was expecting to come into contact with the hard, dry earth, the soft feeling of hands steadying his body and holding him close came as a shock to him.
When the boy looked up at the one who had helped him, curiosity immediately sprung up within him. The man had spiky silver hair that seemed like it was being held in such a position by his established Konoha ninja headband. The headband hung loosely over the man's left eye leaving only the right eye exposed. As the boy's eyes traveled further down, his eyes came in contact with a dark, navy blue cloth that covered the man's nose and mouth; revealing only the general shape of what was hidden underneath.
"Are you alright?"
The question startled the boy and caused his eyes to travel back up to the man's solely visible eye. He expected to see pity there, or even concern, but he could find no emotion swimming within their depths. Hesitantly the boy nodded and the man gently set him down on the ground. When the man stood up and carelessly dusted off his pants, the boy latched himself onto the man's leg and clenched his eyes tightly shut.
"P-Please don't go…" The plea came out quietly as a whimper as the boy tightened his grip on the man's pants. He didn't know what to expect; already the man had broken his mold of how people would treat him from now on, now that his family had been destroyed.
The man sighed inaudibly as he bent down and lifted the boy up. He awkwardly held the kid to his side as he gave the boy a once over. He had no injuries on him that he could see, beyond the few scratches that graced the boy's legs, and allowed his gaze to rest on the boy's eyes. He was able to read all the emotions that were trapped there; the fear, the pain that he refused to show. The man was slightly impressed when no tears reached the boy's eyes that steadily held his own.
Without a single word being spoken between the two, the man started on his way again to continue on what he had been doing that day, like he hadn't just picked up a stray child off of the streets.
He knew of the stares that came immediately after from the villagers, which he had expected rather quickly. The whispers he could hear with ease, no matter how quiet they believed they were being. It just wasn't like him to pick up a random child off of the streets, whether he knew them or not, whether he knew the child's family or not.
He knew he wasn't known for random acts of kindness, but on that day…he felt that a miracle needed to happen, and happen it did. If he could relieve the boy of his pain, even if it was only a little bit by simply showing him kindness and taking him in for a few days while he found a place for the boy to stay that was far more suitable, then he would do it.
The boy deserved that much at least.
A/N: No idea where this came from. I tried rewriting this in beyond so many ways, but then I gave up and just decided to go with this. Yah yah I know it's short, but deal with it.
Read and review please! Flame, criticize, whatever! Just review :)