useless drabbleness. .

naruto (c) kishimoto


Kakashi sighed as he gazed at the three papers before him. His students had long since disappeared, gone their own separate ways, but he still sat here, gazing sorrowfully at the pictures they had each presented to him.

The mission had been to create a self-portrait. A seemingly easy, silly mission. Useless, Sasuke had deemed it. And yet, these pictures spoke like a thousand words, and a thousand broken, beautiful words they were.

He was surprised by how much thought and effort his students had actually put into it…

Sakura's was the most innocent. It was a painting of a single flower… brilliant and bright against the stark white background. But the flower… within the blue shadows of its petals, the silver-haired man could pick out strange beings- monsters and fears (Kakashi couldn't decide whether this made Sakura seem like more or less of an adult.) There was another thing… the flower was the blue that screamed out 'Sasuke!' It was disturbing actually. Did her world really rotate so much around him?

Sasuke's was revolting, but so well crafted that it was almost elegant, like finely woven silk. Detailed, and probably worked on for hours, it was a pool of red; black and red and blood. Kakashi felt a shiver run down his spine as he ran his eyes over it one more time. Sasuke's self portrait was a picture of Itachi… with a sword thrust through his heart. How could one be so focused on vengeance?

Naruto's was the worst. Just one glance at it, and you could feel the pain and remorse felt by the artist…and yet at the same time, the hope. It was a black slate. It looked as though he had intricately painted every drop of darkness into it, with the tiniest of brushes. Except… there was a picture in the black. It was a sun… drawn like the spiral of Konoha, spreading its light over the black. Kakashi winced as he once again found the angry fangs of a fox, hidden among the lines of the sun.

He looked up in surprise at three approaching figures. He could easily pick out the bright orange of Naruto… the damp blue of Sasuke… the vibrant pink of Sakura. He could easily the large, goofy grin of the fox-boy, the uncaring, bored look of a certain Uchiha, the annoyed blush of the fore-head girl.

I guess, he mused, looks can be deceiving.


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