Chapter 2 - The Paintbrush

The park. Any artist (well, a lot of them anyway) would say that the peaceful aura and beautiful surroundings could give anyone inspiration. They could relax and really think about things. For Naruto...it wasn't right.

He was sitting on a bench, sketching the fountain in front of him. It was almost complete. But he had to say...it wasn't any more...emotional than any of his other work. This wasn't going to work...

Truly...what was Iruka-sensei thinking? He knew...he was the best in all of Loki High when it came to art...but he wasn't cut out for this! He painted...because he could...that's all. So Naruto just...couldn't understand what Iruka saw in him...

He sighed, packing his art supplies up, lightly closing the box that held his paintbrushes, and then stood up to leave.

WHAM!

Two bodies hit the ground. Naruto opened his eyes and spotted a somewhat dazed looking boy on the ground across from him. He had black hair that wasn't short but was far from long. His eyes were half closed, but he could see they were black as well.

The boy wore a deep blue, short sleeved shirt and white shorts. He had on black and deep blue inline skates and had headphones around his shoulders. If it weren't for...Naruto didn't know...but something told Naruto this wasn't just any punk kid...

He inwardly gasped when he felt heat in his cheeks. When had that happened? He jumped up half way, so that he was on his knees, and started to scramble his things together.

"Hey." the boy's voice made him pause.

It was partially deep, but held so many emotions that Naruto couldn't name them all. The main one at the moment? Anger...

How was his voice so much like...

Naruto gasped silently.

...A work of art?

"I said 'Hey!' And I know you can hear me." he repeated.

Naruto scurried faster than before to gather his dropped items, which had spilled everywhere in the fall.

"You know, you could at least apologize for running into me-" Naruto felt the oncoming of an emotion he'd never felt for too long before.

Annoyance. Anger.

"-since it was mainly your fault." the boy had a firm glare on his face, arms crossed, as he became silent. Naruto stood up, his things back in place. "Now I'm late."

Twitch.

The boy inhaled sharply as he backed a step away, Naruto's hand a mere inch from his neck.

"The hell?" the dark boy asked softly. Naruto blinked, his eyes turning from slightly red to their full blue color before he backed away.

He stared, shocked and horrified, at his own hands before running off, his bag around his shoulder. The dark boy blinked confusedly after him.

'Why didn't he say anything?' he turned to put his headset back on and continue when something caught his eyes. 'Hm?' Reaching down, he picked it up carefully.

-

"Hey Sasuke! What's that?" a boy, who much resembled a dog, asked as he walked up during break.

His name? Inuzuka Kiba. His purpose in life? Care for dogs, adore Hinata, and make Sasuke's life a living hell.

"Nn." was all Sasuke said in response, ignoring the doggish boy as he continued to stare.

He was leaning back in his chair, perfectly balanced on the hind legs, with his feet on his desk and a paintbrush in his hand. One arm was back, his left hand behind his head. The other was held out in front of him, holding the paintbrush at a reasonable distance.

"A paintbrush? Aw, I didn't know you could draw!" Kiba teased the school hottie, grabbing the paintbrush from Sasuke's hands.

"Hey." Sasuke grunted angrily, sitting up and glaring at the dog lover. "Give that back."

"What's this little mark mean, huh? Pretty weird brush, bad boy. Where'd ya get it? Steal it from a kid you beat up?" Kiba taunted, so wanting a fight it was obvious. Sasuke merely glared until someone squealed.

"Is that a Loki brush?" she asked, taking the object from Kiba's hands as if it were made of glass.

Name : Hyuuga Hinata. She is part of a family that owns most of the parks, movie theaters, and casinos in town. Multimillionaire who dressed as a commoner. That's Hinata alright.

"You know where it's from?" Sasuke asked, now interested.

Hinata nodded.

"Loki Art School, known for producing some of our town's greatest artists. They usually don't go anywhere, giving up on their art soon after leaving school, but some of them have done great things." she sighed content-ly. "It's beautiful halls, large rooms, and wonderful art galleries. I wish I went there..."

She seemed sad as she handed the brush to Sasuke. Both boys were kinda surprised though...Hinata didn't usually talk this much...

"I often go there to examine the newest additions. Some of them have a lot of talent really." she smiled softly. "Especially one kid. He's always painting...Every time I visit...he's painting." Kiba twitched. "His art is beautiful too. I wish I could get him to talk to me about some of the paintings...but...in the 2 years he's been there, that I've seen...he's never spoken once."

Sasuke's gaze snapped from the brush to Hinata, now hanging on every word she said.

"I think he may be a mute...or maybe...he's sad?" she began to become like the Hinata they all knew, stuttering and prodding her fingers together as she spoke, rocking on the balls of her feet. "I don't...think he has very many friends...s-so I...might..." she blushed and ran off, Kiba hot on her heels.

Sasuke looked from the door she'd left through, to the brush, and back again many times.

"Hm..." he went back to staring at the paintbrush.

-

Shyly peaking around the corner, the black haired Hinata stopped breathing.

In the room at his easel, as always, was the blonde boy who never spoke. She felt heat rise to her cheeks as the blush took over her face. He was just so...captivating...

'I wish I could be that bold. To paint what I wanted...to even do what I wanted!' she blushed some more for no real reason and scurried away from the open doorway, back down the hallway. 'Ahh! I can't even talk to him!'

Naruto cocked his head slightly over his shoulder to look at the door. The girl had come back again...just like every Tuesday...

He turned back to the easel in front of him. It was still just a sketch, but it was beginning to really be something...And for once...he wanted to finish it. Mainly for the reason that he really didn't know what it was yet, even though he'd already drawn it in light pencil.

O.C. #2 : You guys want previews?