Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Other Disclaimer: This is based off of the movie "The shape of a voice" by Ooima Yoshitoki.


Sasuke Uchiha had everything except a mother and father.

He had his older brother Itachi, his cousin Shisui, his Uncles Madara, Obito, Kakashi and Izuna. He was not lacking in affection—as the baby of the family, he was more often than not sought out for a good cuddle. They lived in a relatively large condo in the middle of the city and his Aniki ran a beauty boutique with his best friends Kisame, Deidera and Sasori beneath it.

Sasuke Uchiha was at the peak of his life in primary school.

He was a gifted child, at the top of his grade, surpassing even the creepy Aburame boy who never failed to get a solid 100 on his test scores. He had good friends—Karin Uzumaki (he wasn't so sure if she was his friend or an annoyance yet), Neji Hyuuga and a couple of older boys held back a year, and were a little rugged, a little badass and totally cool.

Not that he would ever tell them.

So when their teacher, Umino Iruka, told them they would be receiving a new student, he ignored them in favor of looking out of the window.

"Everyone, this is Sakura Senju."

Sasuke let his gaze slide towards the new student. Something warm and new churned in his gut as he stared at the pixie-like girl that stood in front of the class, biting her lip nervously.

There was a tall man standing next to her, who had gray hair and very interestingred eyes, who was looking at the class as if they were an offence to human kind.

He met his eyes briefly and Sasuke felt a twinge of fear as something akin to recognition and anger flitted through those narrowed eyes.

"Please introduce yourself to the class, Sakura."

Sasuke watched as the girl did nothing. She simply stood, blinking too-large, too-innocent eyes at them a nervous smile playing on her pretty lips.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Their teacher flushed when the gray-haired man nudged the girl—Sakura—and brought his hands into some kind of…motion?

"S-Sorry, Senju-sama." Iruka-sensei whispered.

The man glared more. "Do not forget a second time, Umino-san."

Their teacher nodded furiously.

Their class watched in curiosity as the girl pulled out a large pad and flipped it open to the front page.

HI I AM SAKURA SENJU.

The class whispered between themselves at the sign and Sasuke frowned. Where they getting a retarded person in their grade or something?

Karin snickered cruelly and Neji looked as if something had just shit on his face.

The girl only flipped the page, looking up at the man for reassurance.

I AM DEAF.

His mouth opened, eyes bugging out a little and he watched as Karin turned an embarrassed shade of red. Neji looked a little less severe, but the same haughty look was still in his eyes as he watched the pink-haired girl.

She flipped the page again at the older man's soft smile.

I HOPE WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS.

"Great. Now that we all know each other, you can sit in the free seat Sakura." Iruka-sensei said kindly, taking the girl's hand and pointing at the free seat.

The free seat that was in front of Sasuke, coincidentally.

The strange man signed—that was the word for deaf people's language right?—something to the girl and she nodded, the short strands of pink dancing across her shoulders.

He left soon after, with a glare sent in their teacher's direction.

Iruka-sensei swallowed with difficulty.

She moved with grace and elegance, something Sasuke only remembered seeing in Itachi and his mother before she died and quickly took her seat, pulling out the pad and paper.

Sasuke watched the soft-looking girl get comfortable, the smell of jasmine and sunlight filling his lungs and he wondered if her hair was as soft as it looked.


It began the day after she arrived.

It only stopped when she left.

Sakura, Sasuke found out, was a sweet girl. A sweet, innocent, naïve girl.

She had never been subjected to the cruelties of a primary school classroom, and was often found looking at the interactions between normal (Sasuke stressed this in his head—because the stupid girl was not normal—at least that was according to Karin and her friend, Ino) people with a curious sort of interest.

She never failed to pay attention in class and the first time she beat Sasuke in grades, he, along with all of their class had been shocked. She was smart (stupid, he stressed when Karin sneered as the pretty girl passed) elegant and always kind.

Sakura always helped the little kids on the playground, often playing with Konohamaru—the school prankster—Moegi and Udon. Sasuke watched her as she smiled brightly, twirling around in the playground, her floral skirts flying about her skinny legs.

She reminded him of spring and happy things.

He was content to leave her be, only to bother her when she got a question right at his wrong, and never really bothered to smile or even look at her.

But then, Karin had started The Bet.

"What d'you think about the Stupid Girl?" The girl sneered, looking over to Sasuke with a smitten expression before turning back to Neji and their older friends Takeshi, Gorou and Hideyoshi.

"She's intelligent. But too naïve." Neji said immediately, before turning back to his book on Ancient History.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Ugh, she's so useless. How can her parents let a retard like her into any school?" Gorou snickered and Hideyoshi grinned before throwing a rock over to a reading Sakura, narrowly missing her head.

The girl jumped and looked around wildly, as if expecting someone to be in front of her and asking something.

Sasuke pitied her hopeful expression.

It was like watching a freak show.

"Yeah, Gorou. I know what'cha mean. The girl's too—"Takeshi's nose scrunched up.

"Stupid?" Karin offered.

"Annoying?" Hideyoshi said.

"Retarded." Sasuke declared.

They all nodded, even Neji who didn't look like he was joining the conversation.

They all watched her for a minute. The bright smile that took over her face as she flipped the pages, her soft pink hair dancing in her (greengreengreen) eyes and the way her lips moved to the words on the page.

"Let's make a bet." Karin said, suddenly excited. A gleam entered those burgundy eyes and Sasuke felt his attention stir to life.

Karin, while annoyingly obsessed about him, was one of the few who could make him interested in what she had to say. She had a kind of ruthless brutality that he found in his Uncles when a trial had gone badly.

"What are you thinking of?" Takeshi asked. The older boy had a cruel gleam to his brown eyes and suddenly, Sasuke regretted ever saying anything.

For some reason, he didn't really want the girl to be hurt or anything.

Still, he wouldn't look like a pussy. He'd follow through.

"Yeah, Karin, what have you got in that noggin' of yours?" Hideyoshi's lip curled into a sneer.

"How long," Karin adjusted the red glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose, "Do you think she'll hold out against us?"

The boys looked at each other and then each smiled, a thrill of discomfort going down Sasuke's spine.

Still, they were his friends. They wouldn't do something horrible.


Sakura was tormented for nearly six months.

Hideyoshi tripped her in the halls, spat in her food and warbled incomprehensibly as if to remind her that she was dumb, stupid, useless.

Karin smiled and took down the wrong notes from Iruka-sensei's lectures, giggling behind the girl's back when she got bad test scores and a look of frustration crossed in those pretty green eyes.

Takeshi would rip the notebook from her hands and throw it far across the playground and constantly took her things and placed them in places where she could never find them. Apparently, she had lost six left pairs of shoes and a pretty bracelet.

Gorou would yell at her and laugh when she jumped at the vibrations in the air, before hitting her ears hard, not bothering to care when tears appeared in her eyes. He shouted at her and told her, slowly, that she was stupid and an idiot and a retard. What kind of parents let their family retard go to any school at all?

Neji didn't do anything cruel, per se, but he also never helped her up or smiled or gave her any solace when she looked up at him with doleful eyes and a pained mouth.

No one else ever helped her either. The students were in fear of the terrible group that mocked their pink-haired classmate. No one would ever lift a finger to help her and no one else would even look at her when she asked for help.

Later, when thinking back, Sasuke wondered how on earth Iruka-sensei didn't notice.

But, the final push came when Sasuke stepped up to play.

Sakura had always been kind to him no matter what. She had always smiled and tried to help him with the questions he had difficulty with, even going so far as to clean off his desk every morning.

Karin had gotten suspicious. "Why is she so nice to you, Sasuke-kun? Is it 'cos you're helping her or being nice? You know that's not what The Bet is about, idiot."

His friends had told him that he had to do it too—because they were friends and—why wasn't he retaliating against the nation for allowing stupid people in school? They were adamant that he proved himself.

So, reluctantly, he decided to do something.

Specifically—the earplugs that helped her discern loud sounds, like incoming cars and crashes—taking them away.

He waited until she made her way to her desk, patiently watching as she put her blue notebook on the desk and lined up her pencils carefully, before folding her hands in front of her and waiting for class to begin.

And then—before she could notice that someone was closer than normal—his arms reached up towards her ears and pulled.

A sharp shriek cut through the air and Sasuke felt a lick of shock go down his spine.

She had never reacted like that before.

Karin and Hideyoshi looked delighted until Gorou paled and Takeshi pointed out the thin stream of blood trailing down her neck and staining the collar of her white shirt.

Neji's mouth fell open, his newest book slipping out of his fingers and thudding on the desk.

Sakura's shoulders trembled and a soft sob was pulled out of her. Her hands were covered in sticky red blood and Sasuke felt something similar to—shock, sorrow, guilt, anger—go through him.

Suddenly, Iruka-sensei was there, hushing the girl and patting her back, getting a worried-looking Ino to bring her to the infirmary. What shocked the class more was that Sakura kicked Ino's shin, grabbed her bag and ran out of the classroom, her sobs echoing in the corridor.

Ino began to cry and Iruka turned hot, heavy eyes towards her. "Do not make a sound, Yamanka-san."

The blonde girl shut up and limped back to her seat, her fingers rubbing at her leg.

"Are you happy now?" Iruka spat at him.

Sasuke recoiled.

His teacher eyed the six of them with so much distaste that even Hideyoshi was cowed.

"Are you happy?" He repeated savagely.

Sasuke looked away.

No, he wasn't.


Sakura didn't come back to school.


Hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you all think :)