A Different Kind of Perfection
Sorry for the long delay. School is always hectic and family is NUTS.
Chapter Two
The midday sun beat down on the small village of Hikutatsu. There was a large amount of the canvas covered wagons going by, possibly about twenty or thirty. Large, muscular oxen pulled them along and in the back of the wooden transportation were women and children, along with cargo. The men who drove the oxen were strong, with bulging muscles and many had family in the back of their wagons. There was one exception to this, though.
A certain wagon lumbered along behind the rest. There was a man that was a little past middle-age walking along side the one ox that pulled the smaller wagon behind the rest of the caravan. His brown hair was cut close to his head, with a few white streaks, and wrinkles lined his mouth and eyes. He wore a simple yukata, with a pair of trousers underneath, and sandals on his feet. On the ox, there sat a woman, who was the wife of the man. She was only slightly younger, and her black hair was fading to gray. She was in yukata, riding side saddle on the wide ox.
"Oi! Boy, your eyes still open?" the man asked aloud, looking towards the wagon. There was a rustle inside and then a young child, about seven or eight, popped his head out from inside the wagon. His unruly blonde hair stuck out in all directions.
"Yeah, ojii-san!" the child replied, grinning widely. He ducked back into the wagon and then everything inside the wagon was silent for just a split second. And then he hopped out the back, even though the vehicle was moving and landed on the dusty road. He was slightly tanned and he had bright blue eyes that brought out his blonde hair. He wore an orange shirt that had no sleeves and was striped, with a dark blue sash tied around his waist. His trousers were also dark blue and he had no sandals on his feet. There was a piece of rope tied around his forehead.
"Naruto-kun, what did ojii-san tell you about jumping out the back of the wagon?" the older woman up front asked, but her face was made up into a smile, despite her gentle scolding. The boy called Naruto grinned and dashed up to where the ox was trudging along. The man looked over at the kid and his eyes were met by Naruto's pleading puppy ones. He sighed deeply.
"Go on child. Do not disturb the oxen though! The men were mighty sore at you for making them stampede like that last time," he warned before the little boy nodded and dashed off ahead of their wagon. The man sighed and put on a soft smile. The little boy was a trouble maker. Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything drastic, today.
Naruto was an orphan. He was the only one in the traveling group that didn't have a mother or a father. They had died years ago, in an attack. Since that time, he had been living with the two people he called 'ojii-san' and 'onee-chan,' or 'uncle' and 'auntie.' They had been taking care of him since he was only two years old, and he knew them as if they were his real parents. They had lost their only son in an accident when he was trampled by a stampede of oxen. Now, they had Naruto to take care of. The problem was, most of the people in their group disliked the boy. He was always getting into trouble, doing things he had no business doing. Only one other child in the group seemed to tolerate him, and that was the one that Naruto was probably going to go see. A solemn child named Sasuke.
Naruto weaved in between the smaller clusters of people, and he received quite a few glares as he went, but, being the happy-go-lucky carefree child that he was, he ignored them. Finally, he reached the wagon that he had wanted to go visit. There was a dark blue, red, and white insignia on the side of the wagon, the symbol of the Uchiha family. Naruto skipped up behind the wagon, where dust was being kicked up by the wheels of the wagon and the oxen, but he then hopped up onto the back of the wagon. The Uchiha mother was inside and so were her two sons, Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi was thirteen years old, and more serious than his younger brother. He liked things to be done correctly. He was also an excellent fighter, something that was often marveled and appreciated in the group. Sasuke, with his strangely styled hair was serious as well, but let go and had fun with Naruto most of the time.
"Naruto-kun, how are you?" the boys' mother asked. She was a pretty woman, and her smile was dazzling. "You have not come and visited in quite the while." Naruto smiled sheepishly and plopped down on the wooden planks.
"Ojii-san keeps me busy, Uchiha-san," he explained, sticking out his tongue in a playful manner. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was staring at him with his hands behind his head as he listened to the younger boy speak to his mother. "Ah, can-
"Yes, Sasuke may come out to play, Naruto-kun," the mother interrupted gently, smiling at the boy. "Is that what you were going to ask, little one?" she asked, and received a nod in an answer. Sasuke stood from where he had been sitting, and reached into a nearby bin. He brought out two wrapped packages and then went over to Naruto, handing him one.
"Here. Now, let's go," Sasuke told the boy bluntly, hopping out the back of the wagon with Naruto waving and then following close behind. They walked out from behind the wagon and Naruto opened the package. There was one of his favorite treats inside; a sweet roll with powdered sugar and peach filling inside. A smile was put onto his face and he thanked Sasuke quickly before biting into the pastry. Naruto had to admit that Sasuke's mother made the best sweets ever. Sasuke was eating his as well, as they walked off the dusty road onto the grass. They knew where the traveling group was probably going to end up settling in this town, so they didn't have to stay near the bunch. As they walked, their sensitive ears picked up on something.
"Oi, Sasuke. Can you hear that?" Naruto asked, as the melody got slightly louder.
"Yeah, dobe, I can hear it."
It was the sound of a voice, a child's voice from the looks of it, and it was beautiful. The two boys knew that if just had to be a girl, because a boy's voice didn't sound that high and melodious. They crept to the trees, where the voice got louder, and peeked out from around them. About thirty feet away was a young girl, her beautiful pink hair tied back into a messy bun and wearing a kimono that was quickly becoming soiled. She worked in the rice paddies with her small hands pulling on weeds. She didn't look any older than them, and the boys noticed that her face scrunched up into a grimace every time she bent over. Was her back hurting her?
At the moment, Naruto ruined the beautiful scene. He burped loudly and it caused the young girl to look up in alarm and stop her singing. When her emerald eyes landed on the boy's startled faces, they widened, and she plucked a few more weeds hastily before scampering away. Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto, who looked back at him sheepishly.
"Idiot."
