Hello! So, this came from a random burst of inspiration and I found that when I started writing it, I couldn't stop. Lol. This is my first story I've written (that isn't porn) in a looooong time. I hope I do this story justice and give it a nice finish. Welcome to chapter 1. )
Please let me know of any spelling errors!
Chapter 1
The only times Sasuke can remember crying were when his mother died and his older brother left.
He can distinctly remember the day his brother, hair in a low ponytail and sadness in his eyes, had packed his brown suitcase with his few personal belongings.
He gave Sasuke a hug by the doorway of their then two story house, and told him with promise in his voice,
"Goodbye Sasuke, I'll see you soon"
Then he walked out the door and into a black sedan that'd take him far away.
He received handwritten letters from his brother every Monday but they stopped coming a few months after he'd left. Sasuke tried writing back but the mailman kept returning them.
'Insufficient address', stamped on each one.
A year later, Sasuke resigned to the belief that Itachi ran away.
Leaving him behind.
X
Not all mornings were particularly special.
Except this one was on the verge of becoming one.
Sasuke woke up 5 minutes before his alarm went off. He pressed 'Cancel' on his phone and gave into a yawn as he stretched.
Blinking out the sleep, Sasuke grabbed his towel and stepped into his sandals then walked over to pick up his toothbrush by his desk lamp.
He opened his room door just a crack, revealing a short hallway, and stayed silent.
He forced his hearing range to somehow expand; to penetrate into every wall in the apartment.
The routine water gushing from down below; old Mrs. Gutter was washing the dishes.
The distinct pounding from next door; wacko Mr. Romando working on his birdhouses.
And the cars driving by outside, people hustling to make it to work or anywhere else.
At least he didn't hear any heavy stomps or glass bottle clatter within the apartment, he was relatively safe.
Stepping out of his room, he hesitated for a moment on closing the door behind him when another door down the hallway opened sharply.
"Move it."
A deep baritone voice etched with command ordered and Sasuke pressed his back to the opposite wall to let his father walk past. Down and out of the hallway, Sasuke's father, Fugaku, went into the kitchen. The sound of cupboards opening and closing and glass clattering could be heard.
Sasuke slowly and quietly let out a deep sigh,
'Of course...'
Then made his way into the bathroom.
Sasuke did his business, brushed his teeth, and showered.
Grabbing his towel to dry himself off, he ignored the fading bruises on the side of his ribs and his bottom left eye.
Wrapping the towel around his hips, Sasuke slipped back to his room to change.
X
At around 8 years old, approximately a year after Itachi left, Sasuke learned to be organized.
Which is why his room was never a mess.
Since it wasn't all that big to begin with, his bed took up about a third of the room. His desk squeezed in between the wall and his bed, and his built in closet held his folded clothes, hanging jackets and sweaters. A small bedside table with two drawers was squeezed in the closet. He didn't decorate much in his room, except for a single picture frame on his desk.
Sasuke made sure to change quickly, black jeans and a t-shirt with the fading words "Muse" on the center and a white collared button up shirt over it. He gave his damp black hair a once-through with the towel, and then made his bed.
He heard footsteps make their way to the other bedroom of the apartment which made Sasuke pause a bit, stilling his movements.
He moved again when he heard a door close after them.
Sasuke grabbed his backpack and slid in the homework he had finished the night before.
Tying his shoes, he grabbed his cell phone and home keys and went to walk out of his room when he heard his father's room door open.
Sasuke paused before turning the doorknob, waiting for the footsteps to fade into the bathroom and the door close behind them.
Sasuke made his way into the kitchen, debating on eating a quick breakfast or buying something from the liquor store a few blocks down.
Eyeing the cereal box atop the refrigerator, he spared a glance to the bathroom door where the sound of a starting shower was heard. He decided on eating cereal and went to fix himself one.
Making a mental note to buy more milk after pouring the last of it into his bowl of cereal, Sasuke failed to stay alert enough to hear the sound of the bathroom door open and quick, heavy, footsteps following in their wake toward the kitchen.
He felt a large hand grab him from behind his head and slam him face forward to the fridge.
The impact made him see flashing white as his forehead collided with brute force from his father's strength.
"Stop using up all of the hot water, you little shit!"
His father growled as he held him against the fridge. His grip on the back of Sasuke's head tightened and he gave a final push before letting go.
Sasuke shakingly knelt slowly as his vision twirled and he kept his eyes shut while his hands instinctively went to his head.
It ached.
"You live under my roof, I pay all of the bills and yet you have the audacity to use up all of the hot water as you like, you brat!"
Fugaku vented as he stormed back to the bathroom.
"Keep it up and I'll have your ass out on the street!"
He slammed the door behind him.
Sasuke stayed kneeling before the fridge, waiting out the dizziness until it turned into a dull ache. He lightly felt his forehead, checking for blood, but fortunately only feeling hot skin.
It began to feel a bit tender. A nasty bruise would most likely show up by the end of the day. For now, it'd look like a red spot on his forehead.
'Fucking great'
Placing a hand on the edge of the countertop, Sasuke stood slowly.
Gathering his balance, his knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge and tried to will away the oncoming headache by massaging his temple with his free hand.
Blinking a few times, Sasuke grabbed his untouched cereal bowl, tossed the contents into the trash, and left the bowl in the sink before he made his way out the apartment door.
Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he gripped the handrail as he made his way down the steps. He closed his eyes a few times whenever another head pounding resurfaced.
The weather outside was sunny and sadly there were people milling about in the street.
Putting one of his hands into his jean pocket, he inwardly hoped no one would look his way.
He already had it tough explaining to teachers about his appearance. Now put together a fading black eye and an obvious red spot on his forehead, no one would buy the, "I fell and hit myself on a stair," excuse.
Sasuke ruffled his fringe, making it cover his forehead as best as he could.
All the while during his walk to school, he kept his gaze downwards and bit the inside of his quivering bottom lip.
If anyone were to look at his face, they'd see pure unfiltered rage.
Just another special day.
X
The stares, he could ignore.
The whispers, that too.
But the questions, he couldn't avoid them forever.
"Listen Sasuke, if something's going on after school, perhaps at home, I'm all ears. I can help you if you just ask."
Iruka.
Always Iruka.
Nothing could get past him.
Even during testing, no one could cheat even if he was facing the board. It was like he had eyes at the back of his head.
Sooner or later, he'd track down the lies he'd been told and uncover the truth.
Except he'd been at it with Sasuke for 2 years now and discovered nothing.
Not that the man didn't try.
There were countless of times social workers showed up at Sasuke's household.
Each time they left, his father would beat him in places that were hidden when he wore clothes.
If anything, Iruka gave him even more trouble.
Iruka, his middle school homeroom teacher, would notice the way Sasuke would sit gingerly at his desk, never slouching, and avoided bending over to pick up a fallen pencil. He'd also wear long sleeves during the summer.
At his father's suggestion, Sasuke got himself into a fist fight with one of the schools' delinquents. Him and his gang of friends beat Sasuke and left him bruised for days; social workers were finally able to place a finger on what was wrong with Sasuke.
Anger management issues.
That sent Sasuke to a good load of classes he had to attend every Thursday and Saturday.
His father also had to attend a few parenting classes but they weren't mandatory like Sasuke's were so he never went; since there was never any negligence nor physical abuse evidence found.
Not like Sasuke would've ever expected him to. It was laughable.
So now he had 'prone to violence' on his school record and for a good long month, Sasuke had avoided staying home as much as he could. He'd take walks and stay at the local library for as long as he could before going home and falling fast asleep.
After Sasuke finished his quota of anger management classes where he always zoned out and avoided the 'heartfelt sharing talks', he refocused with a fervor on his studies.
But even though Sasuke studied his ass off and kept his grades in the high A's and B's, Iruka never bought that Sasuke had anger issues and that the reason he always showed up with bruises was because he got into fights with other kids.
He was too smart for that.
And Iruka, having gone through struggles himself growing up, knew how to spot the signs. He couldn't help reaching out a hand and calling out for the other to take it.
But Sasuke never took bait.
Glancing at the classroom clock overhead, Sasuke finished packing up his books,
"I gotta get to class."
He made his way past the empty desks, seeing as how Iruka always talked to him in private whenever the rest of the students walked out.
Iruka crossed his arms as he leaned against his desk.
"Sasuke, you-"
"Iruka,"
He interrupted and steeled his voice,
"I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own damn business for a change."
Iruka watched in silence as Sasuke walked out of the classroom.
Not really shocked at being told off.
Wasn't his first.
Sighing, Iruka gathered his attendance book for the next class. He was a middle school english teacher mostly. Homeroom teacher for only one class. Making sure he had checked all of the present and absent students, a head of bright yellow hair popped in from the doorway.
"Hey Iruka!"
X
He got some stares.
But they never lasted long by the time Sasuke met eyes with them.
They always looked away in slight trepidation and embarrassment at getting caught.
He was used to it really.
And he mentally cheered that at least it was Friday and he'd have a full weekend off from his peers' stares.
The only thing for him to think about would be where he'd be spending most of his time during the weekend other than at home.
Normally, if he found out that his father would be off on some business sales trip, he'd stay home but he hadn't found evidence of that yet so he spent most of his lunch break thinking of where to go.
The rest of his break went to dealing with a certain bright blond nuisance.
"What the hell happened to you? You look like you fell flat on your face."
"Fuck off, Naruto."
"Did you get a soccer ball kicked to your face?"
"Fuck. Off."
"Yeah, I'd try to hid my face too with my bangs but my hair isn't long enough."
"NARUTO."
Sasuke gave Naruto a steely glare despite Naruto having grown an immunity to them.
He sat crossed legged eating the rest of his cafeteria sandwich. His wild yellow hair swayed with the soft breeze that blew every now and then. His white collar shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the bright orange t-shirt he adorned underneath. And his blue jeans held a small tear above his knee.
They both sat on the grassy field; the area most commonly used for running laps during p.e. and soccer practice. They sat at the far edge close to the school's fencing.
Sasuke liked sitting alone, sometimes leaning against the fence and reading a book or studying for his next quiz.
But wherever he went he could never shake off Naruto who could find him in less than a heartbeat.
It was like he had his personal stalker. And no one wants a personal stalker.
Sasuke inwardly sighed and looked at the time on his phone.
10 minutes till the bell.
He stood, closing his social studies textbook and placing it inside his backpack.
Naruto follow suited and took a final bite into his sandwich as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. Brushing off any dirt from his jeans, he walked in toe with Sasuke toward the school building.
Fellow students milled about, a few in their cliques and others with their small group of friends.
Naruto waved at someone, one of his many friends, Sasuke was sure. The boy had a knack for creating friendships wherever he went. Even if they were one sided.
They made a quick stop at the Dean's office so Sasuke could turn in his contract.
Ever since he got 'violent prone' on his record, the school wanted to make sure he wouldn't further 'ruin' his future so they placed him on a contract for the rest of the school year. It was a slip of paper that kept track of his attendance and in-class behaviour. His teachers needed to sign after each class and he had to turn it into the Dean at the end of each week.
Sasuke placed his slip into a slot the Dean had on his desk.
The Dean, a 40 something man wearing black slacks with suspenders and a dark blue collar shirt, sat at his desk filling out some forms or other. Looking busy.
He gave Sasuke a once over. Raising an eyebrow in question to Sasuke's suspiciously reddening forehead.
Sasuke ignored it and walked out of there.
Naruto gave the Dean a two fingered salute and followed Sasuke to their shared class.
"Sooo, did you do the algebra homework? Cuz I totally did, y'know? I just wanted to make sure my answers were right and all."
Without breaking stride, Sasuke deadpanned Naruto sideways,
"I'm not letting you cheat off my homework, moron."
Naruto made a face,
"Yeah and like I said before, it's not cheating, I just wanna check my answers, you bastard."
Sasuke didn't buy it.
"Your brain doesn't have the capacity to solve such complex math problems."
He kindly pointed out.
"And your brain can't handle dealing with emotions, you emotionally constipated asshole."
Sasuke smirked,
"Tch, like I'd want to told that by someone who came to school puffy eyed for crying all night over a stupid tv show."
Naruto's face grew a dark shade of red; either from embarrassment or indignant. Sasuke speculated it might have been both.
"Ben's death from Scrubs is nothing to joke about! You'd've cried too if you watched it!"
He argued.
Sasuke scoffed,
"No, I'm just not a crybaby like you are."
Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance,
"I'm not a crybaby! You just have a heart made of steel."
He seethed with narrowed eyes.
Sasuke rolled his eyes,
"Yeah, that's exactly it."
Used to their banter, Sasuke eyed the walls of the building's hallway.
Glass casings filled with trophies from past competitions. A sport Sasuke didn't care for. And photos of past overachievers on bulletin boards. A few of them were vandalized.
He didn't notice the way Naruto's eyes lingered on the sight of his fading bruise beneath his eye nor the shift to his fringe attempting to cover up the darkening spot on his forehead.
Sighing loudly and folding his arms behind his head, Naruto spoke jokingly,
"Man, since my parents are gunna be gone this weekend, I think I'ma throw a party. The biggest party anyone has ever seen."
Sasuke kept his gaze to the walls of the hallway, walking toward the stairs that'd take them to the second floor of their next class.
"A party, huh?"
Sasuke muttered.
"Yeah, it's gunna be legendary. I'm gunna invite everyone and have good music playing and good food and drinks and everything."
Sasuke began climbing the stairs with a fantasizing Naruto behind him.
"There'll be no rules, AND I'll invite Sakura to come too..."
At this, Naruto's cheeks flushed a bit.
"Yeah because she's the one."
Sasuke muttered lowly.
"What?"
"Nothing, forget it."
Sasuke replied, erasing the image of a short haired timid girl in his mind.
Naruto shrugged and paused in step,
"You'll be invited too, I guess."
At hearing Naruto pause, Sasuke turned.
"'Cause you're my friend and all."
If it were any other time, any other place, Sasuke would have rolled his eyes, turned back around and walked away saying, "You loser" as a retort but Naruto's face lacked a smile.
Naruto may be all things but he wasn't stupid. Despite his bright exterior character, that didn't mean he was dense. Not all the time.
People always judged him based off of first impressions and Sasuke learned in the long run that wasn't always wise.
On occasion, Naruto could get serious. Not a, "I won't lose" type of serious where he'd be pumped up, but a type of serious that rivaled his older brother.
At that moment, the look on Naruto's face, particularly his eyes, spoke quietly,
"You can confide in me."
Sasuke looked away and climbed a step before stopping.
Neither moved.
"...You can check your answers."
Naruto blinked.
"...I'll come to your stupid party."
With only the back of Sasuke's head to look at, Naruto grinned and slightly chuckled.
"Alright!"
The bell rang and the hallways began to fill up with other students.
Naruto and Sasuke made their way to their classroom and Sasuke went to sit at his desk. Glancing over, he saw Naruto wave 'hello' to an approaching redhead and engage in a mainly one-sided conversation outside the doorway of the classroom.
Sasuke scoffed as he attempted to will away a smirk and took out his social studies textbook and his sheet of algebraic homework.
X
"Hey! D'you wanna play with us?"
Bright blue eyes, a shock of yellow hair, and a goofy grin.
Sasuke looked at the small outstretched hand towards him, noting the dirt stains from playing around the park.
Looking behind the boy, he saw a group of kids their age kicking around a soccer ball on the grass.
Beside him, he heard a familiar voice.
"Go on and play, Little Brother."
Sasuke turned his head upwards towards the person that spoke. His sight momentarily blinded from the sun, he squinted his eyes.
A taller figure than him, hair in a low ponytail, and a familiar smile. But he couldn't see his eyes.
Sasuke opened his mouth to ask something,
"I don't even know them."
That wasn't what he wanted to say.
A small grin.
"Little Brother, how else would you make friends?"
Sasuke's head turned sharply to the boy in front of him. His hand still in the air between them, outstretched toward Sasuke, waiting for his answer.
His mouth moved without him thinking about it.
"I don't wanna be friends with a moron."
Sasuke blinked as he saw for a split second hurt register in bright blue eyes. The goofy grin fell and before Sasuke could breath, the bright blue eyes turned into anger and the boy yelled,
"You jerk!"
Sasuke's body twitched awake.
Lifting his head, it took him a moment to realize he fell asleep during his self study class. His final class for the day.
His teacher, a man with silver hair, an eyepatch and mouth mask covering his face sat at his desk reading an orange book. Rumors had gone around saying it was porn.
The classroom had groups of 4 desks pushed together. Two and two facing one another.
Sitting up, Sasuke eyed the clock on the wall overhead.
'At least I didn't sleep for long.'
Then he eyed the homework he was last working on before he had knocked out.
His other 3 desk partners consisted of a pink haired girl, a timid short hair girl and a boy with his hair in a ponytail.
Said boy was currently enjoying a nap. His desk empty of any textbook or worksheets.
Shikamaru was his name. And when Sasuke first met the guy, he wondered how he was able to get into a self study class. Self study classes went to the students that held high gpa's and gave them an extra hour to do their honor class's homework. But this guy was always seen napping or staring at the clouds. Rarely doing his schoolwork.
It was a mystery to him.
"Uhm,"
A soft voice spoke across him.
Sasuke looked at the short haired girl, Hinata, in question.
"Are you okay... Sasuke?"
She was writing in a journal with a literature textbook opened on her desk. Light eyes held a sliver of concern to which Sasuke minded a bit.
He leaned back into his chair and picked up his pencil, continuing where he left off on his science homework.
"I'm fine, Hinata. Just do your homework."
Hinata blinked and gave him a small smile then resumed her work; not minding the response. She knew Sasuke's personality.
Sasuke worked on the questions on his paper while emerald eyes looked at him from time to time across the table.
The noise level in the classroom was kept at a minimum. Hushed voices in case they were muttering formulas to themselves or talking to another peer.
The sound of a book sharply slapping close got everyone's attention and they looked at their teacher in question.
"Well, I'm sure everyone knows by now but if not, this is just a reminder,"
Sasuke's teacher began to state.
"Semester report cards come out in two weeks and if anyone in my class earns an A in ALL of their classes…"
The students leaned forward in anticipation.
"I'll be giving them two free movie tickets to see any movie they want."
The students talked amongst themselves in low voices.
"And I'll also provide 30 dollars so you can buy yourselves snacks at the theater or eat out anywhere else."
The voice level rose within the classroom and many were pleased at the announcement. Many saw this as an opportunity for a free date and others sought to save the 30 dollars for their future.
'Two types of people…'
Sasuke thought as he saw his teacher smile underneath the mask. A single upside down 'u' curved eye being the telltale sign.
The bell rang and everyone packed up their belongings and began making their way out of the classroom.
Sasuke was placing his homework into his backpack when his pink haired desk partner came up to him.
"Sasuke, I…"
She began.
Sasuke shrugged on his backpack and looked at the girl, taking in her green skirt and white collared t-shirt. Pink lipgloss on her lips, light blush on her cheeks, nervous emerald eyes looked at him before shifting away. Her posture yelled 'shy' even though that was the exact opposite of her personality.
"What is it, Sakura?"
Sasuke asked and kept his gaze on emerald eyes that had to gather courage to look up at him.
"Well, I was, uhm… I was wondering..."
Sasuke watched as she struggled to say what was on her mind.
"Erm, I mean… I was thinking, if you, uhm..."
Seeing that it was taking too long for her to speak, Sasuke began to walk away.
"Sakura, I gotta go, see you Monday-"
"No wait!"
Sakura interrupted, placing a hand on Sasuke's forearm, stopping him.
He eyed the hand on his arm and Sakura quickly removed it once she realized what she did.
"I, uh!..."
He watched as Sakura's head fell dejectedly and then her posture straightened after she took in a deep breath.
"I wanted to ask if you'd like to go and see a movie with me when I win the tickets!"
Sakura said in a confident tone.
Sasuke's eyebrow rose in question.
"'When' you win?"
Sakura's face shifted from bashful to certainty.
"I've always studied for every test and I've never had a grade lower than a B. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting straight A's this semester."
Sasuke had to admit that Sakura was one of the first he noticed academically when he began to refocus on his studies. When you want to be number one at anything, there can only be one.
Taking into account that this side of Sakura was much more preferable: confident but not cocky, Sasuke turned back around to walk out the classroom but paused before the doorway.
"We'll see who wins the tickets, Sakura."
And he left the room. Leaving a stunned Sakura in his wake, staring at the doorway where he last stood. Her face broke into a smile and she walked out of the room, feeling a hundred times more confident than when she initially spoke to Sasuke.
'It's on, then…'
She thought last as she stepped into the hallway.