Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Sorry about the italics and the bold letters that are glued together, I'm sort of not used to how things work here yet so… yeah. Anyway I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: enter Sasuke!
The day had come; they had finally joined the academy!
It had been two months since they joined.
Naruto and Sakura looked at the large building and saw many kids in the schoolyard, "wow we're finally training to become awesome ninja!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, the girl nodded happily but then spotted a platinum blonde with short hair, waving at her and she waved back, "Ino!" she cheered, running towards the girl and they hugged; Ino was the girl who had boosted Sakura's confidence when they were a bit younger and was Sakura's first friend since the incident with the bullies "how are you?" she asked, ignoring Naruto who ran after her and stood behind her asking who the girl was, "I'm great! I've heard that someone yet again, played a prank on one of the vendors" Ino replied, eyeing the pink haired girl with an accusing stare; Sakura chuckled nervously, "yeah, I wonder who that could be… so any news?" Sakura changed the subject and the blonde nodded and grinned, "Yeah! I've heard the girls' gossip of a new student lately! They say he's very cute!" Naruto watched as Sakura and her friend gossiped about this boy; Ino said that he was from the famous Uchiha clan and so on; Sakura rolled her eyes, "yeah sure, he sounds like a mister-know-it-all, I bet he's not all that great!" Sakura said, huffing.
But paused when her eyes landed on a person not too far away; thick black spiky hair, skin as pale and perfect as porcelain and those eyes… pure onyx shimmered like pools of ink.
Naruto and Ino looked at the direction Sakura was staring at and Ino got a love sick expression, Naruto grimaced at what the girls were swooning over, they were staring at a boy who was reading a book, the symbol on his back similar of a red and white fan.
So? Big deal.
"Is that?" Sakura asked and Ino nodded, "the Uchiha boy…" Ino gasped, "Whoa…." Sakura mumbled, "So, what's so great about him?" Naruto said but the girls ignored him, "I think I'll go talk to him" Sakura said and walked towards the boy, "ha! Good luck, I've also heard he didn't talk much and didn't like being around girls who ask him out like that" Ino stated and Sakura sighed, not knowing that Naruto scrunched up his nose at the words 'ask him out'
"No Ino, I'm not going to ask him out! I'm just going to talk to him!" Sakura said, walking over to the boy, Naruto went to follow but Ino grabbed his arm, "ah-ah-ah! Let's see if Sakura has a chance to even speak to the Uchiha, she'll tell us later come on!" Ino said and dragged him along, "What?" Naruto yelled as he got dragged away.
Sakura walked over to the raven haired boy, "um… hello" said the girl, the boy glanced up and his face scrunched up in distaste, great… another fan-girl.
Father and big brother said that he should stay away from them because they said that girls can turn dangerous if provoked.
"Hi…" he mumbled, trying to be nice even if his annoyance clearly showed, his mother had told him to be polite to everyone, "What's your name?" she asked, the boy didn't answer for a few minutes, Sakura waited patiently but soon getting a bit irritated as the seconds ticked by while he said nothing, finally he answered, "Sasuke Uchiha" he answered, Sakura smiled, "Hello Sasuke-san, I'm Sakura Haruno! Nice to meet you!" the girl grinned and stuck out a hand for him to shake, the boy was surprised that she wasn't giggling like an idiot when close to him, she was slightly different…
He took her hand and shook it, "yeah, nice to meet you too…" he nodded, smiling slightly at the girl. His parents always told him that first impressions are very important; he noticed a small blush on the girl's cheeks as they shook hands and let go, "um… why are you all alone here? Don't you want to play with the other kids?" she asked, gesturing to the boys playing ball not too far away, the boy closed his book and got up, "I have no time to play games, I need to get stronger and smarter if I'm going to surpass my brother!" he said and Sakura pouted.
"But when you grow up and become a strong ninja, you won't have much time to enjoy the time you have as a kid anymore, Iruka-sensei told me that, he also said that you should enjoy life as it is while you still can, I'm not sure about what he really means… but I think he means kids should play; it's healthy for a Childs development he says" she took Iruka's pose as she said that, mocking the man. Sasuke pondered for a second, thinking on what she said, "So do you want to play with me and my friends? Just for one day and if you don't like it I won't bother you again about it" Sakura asked, the boy thought about it, smiled and nodded, "ok, but just for a day." He said and followed the pink haired girl, "Hey! Ino! Naruto! Sasuke wants to play with us!" she yelled at the friends as they arrived, the blonde girl practically had hearts in her eyes, "really? That's great!" she said but Naruto crossed his arms and said nothing, "cool, you wanna play tag?" Sakura asked, "Yeah!" the blonde girl chirped and the blond boy nodded "ok! Wait, does he have to play too?" Naruto rudely imputed and Sakura frowned, "yes he will" leaving no room for argument, she then grinned and poked Sasuke's nose, "you're it!" she yelled and the children scattered as he tried to catch one of them.
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"Wow… that was so much fun!" Sasuke breathed as they all gasped for air, "yeah! Ha-ha! That was so cool, right Sakura-Chan?" Naruto laughed as the girl nodded, "Yeah! Hey Ino what do you think?" Sakura said, "I think it was really fun!" she giggled, "See Sasuke? I told you it was fun!" the pink haired girl bragged and giggled, "We should do this again some time, maybe tomorrow Sakura" the Uchiha muttered as the bell rang, starting class; the kids got up, "thank you" he said, making Naruto scowl at the blush blooming across Sakura's cheeks, "you're welcome Sasuke-kun!" she giggled and Naruto huffed as an unknown feeling blossomed in his chest.
She never called him with a 'kun' at the end of his name! So why did she call the Uchiha boy like that!
"Hey! What about me?" Ino pouted, the raven haired boy looked at her too, "yeah, you too" he smiled and the blonde girl squealed in delight as Sasuke started walking away to class but the three stayed behind, "isn't he dreamy?" Ino swooned, "yeah, he's pretty nice, isn't he Naruto?" Sakura sighed dreamily as she turned to him, "I don't see anything so great about him! He's just another boy! Why are you so hyped up about him?" Naruto grumbled causing Sakura to furrow her brows in confusion…
Why is he mad?
"Come on it's time to go to class!" Ino ran and the two followed.
A week later the kids gathered more friends that accepted Naruto and didn't taunt Sakura for her abnormally huge forehead, they went by the names Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba; they played and laughed, Sasuke was happy he had friends by his side and Naruto was practically leaping in joy but kept Sakura his closest friend, he was very annoyed with Sasuke and they fought often so they nicknamed each other.
Sasuke was the 'teme' and Naruto was the 'dobe'.
They had even met Sasuke's brother once, considering Sasuke had been ranting about his friends for days at his brother but met the genin for a very short period, like about a minute before he had to go on some mission.
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A year had passed.
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One afternoon after school, Sasuke was gathering his books to get ready but Sakura had walked over to him, "Hello Sasuke-kun!" she chirped and the boy nodded in return with a smile on his face, "Naruto and I are going to get ice cream, you want to come?" she asked and the boy thought for a moment, "well, a few minutes late wouldn't hurt" he said and followed the girl outside, seeing the blonde waiting for them, the two scowled at each other, "Teme!" Naruto mumbled as they walked side by side, "Dobe!" was Sasuke's answer, "guys, when will you ever stop fighting? Can't you get along?" Sakura sighed, the boys glared at each other.
"Me?" hissed Sasuke,
"Get along with him?" Naruto growled,
"Never!" the two boys chorused and Sakura sweat dropped as she watched them growl at each other like rabid dogs; Naruto's and Sasuke's platonic relationship wasn't the best, to say the least they disliked each other, they only tolerated one another and not get into a brawl because of their friend, Sakura.
They finally reached the ice cream stand, "hello children, what would you like?" asked the cheery man who was selling the goods, "chocolate ice cream!" chirped Sakura, "vanilla" said Sasuke and the man gave them the ice cream cones as they each paid their own; that left Naruto, "Cherry!" the boy shouted happily but as the vendor spotted the boy his cheerful façade melted into a glare, "we're closed demon brat!" the man hissed as he slammed the stand shut.
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There was a moment of silence as Naruto looked down while that oh so familiar pain climbed its way back in his chest…
Sasuke was shocked for one thing; he had never seen someone refuse to give ice cream to a kid, why did that man refuse the Dobe? The boy was confused and looked at Sakura, silently asking for an explanation.
The pink haired girl looked down at her untouched ice cream, even after all this time she still didn't know why everyone shunned Naruto… she looked at her blonde friend, her heart aching when she saw him looking like he was about to cry.
Sakura looked at Sasuke and the boy nodded; a silent agreement passing between them.
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Naruto looked up in surprise when he saw something in his peripheral vision, he looked at his friend and rival to see them handing out their ice cream to him. Sakura smiled, "here Naruto, don't pay attention to that mean person, you can have mine" she said, "yeah, here Dobe… just to prove that vanilla is better than cherry" said Sasuke as he handed his own to the blond.
It was at that moment Naruto had never felt more grateful to have these two beside him, unshed tears brimmed his eyes as he grinned from ear to ear but he didn't take the ice creams, "thank you Sakura-Chan…" he whispered with a huge grin on his face, "…thanks teme…" he said and the Uchiha nodded back.
"…But I wasn't that hungry for ice cream anyway" Naruto finished, the pink and black haired kids looked at each other and dropped their sweets on the ground, "come to think of it, neither were we, I lost my appetite" Said Sakura, "I don't like sweets anyway" mumbled Sasuke as he shoved his hands in his pockets; Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore, the tears escaped and streamed down his face.
The eight year old blonde didn't sob, he just looked at his friends and smiled softly; the three children didn't say anything for a few minutes...
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Finally Sakura spoke, "come on, let's go and get some ramen, what do you say?" she asked the boys, they both nodded, Sakura took Naruto's hand for comfort, he smiled and squeezed her hand back, he looked to his left to see Sasuke place a hand on his shoulder, the Uchiha boy smirked "so I was right, you really are a crybaby" Sasuke taunted as Naruto quickly wiped his tears away and scowled at him, "I'm not a crybaby! I'll be Hokage one day and kick your butt!" he yelled and pointed at Sasuke, "sure you will" the Uchiha and Uzumaki argued yet again, causing the girl to roll her eyes but smile, she knew those two had already made it one step closer to becoming friends.
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They went and ate at the ramen shop, chatting away at random things, even ending up having a ramen eating contest between the three, Naruto won of course.
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It was already dark before they knew it.
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"Oh no! I'm late! I need to go home and study!" Sasuke said, as he hastily picked up his heavy school bag filled with weapons and scrolls and slung it over his shoulder, "ok, Sasuke-kun! Goodnight!" Sakura smiled and waved, "yeah teme, see ya tomorrow so I can kick your butt next time in training!" Naruto shouted while grinning, "In your dreams Dobe! Goodnight Sakura!" Sasuke yelled back as he ran away towards home.
"Hey Sakura-Chan shouldn't you go home too? I mean, your parents must be worried" Naruto stated; the girl paused, looking at her hands placed on the counter "uh… yeah! You're right, I should go home, yeah… w-we'll meet with Sasuke-kun at our original meeting spot, goodnight Naruto!" the girl tripped over her words as she picked up her school bag and rushed out of the ramen shop, "goodnight Sakura-Chan…" he said as the girl left a confused blonde behind.
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Sasuke never came after that day… or the next.
"What happened to him?" Sakura asked Naruto worryingly as they sat at their place in the classroom, the teacher wasn't present yet and the class was strangely silent, a few whispers here and there "I don't know, maybe he's sick?" he guessed, "maybe" the girl sighed, "Hey forehead girl!" a voice shouted from behind, Sakura looked behind her to see Ino, the girl had grown out her blonde hair and wore a purple outfit with bandages around her arms, legs and waist.
"What is it Ino-pig!" Sakura shot back.
The two girls had become rivals for Sasuke's affections ever since they met the boy even if Sakura didn't show it as much as Ino, Sakura never told Sasuke or ever asked him out because she was afraid it would ruin their friendship. Ino and Sakura's relationship was very similar to Naruto and Sasuke's, the only difference besides who's stronger and better looking is that the girls fight over Sasuke. Even so, Sakura didn't exactly consider herself a fan-girl like the rest who obviously were, she just liked him, not overly obsessed with him but Ino gets on her nerves easily and they often fought over him.
When Naruto found out about her crush he was furious, shooting dirty looks the whole day at the onyx haired boy and even more often picking fights with him than before and losing constantly to him wasn't helping his temper, 'what does she see in him anyway? I'm way better than him!' the blonde often thought and even confronted the girl once about it,
"Why do you like teme?" he had asked, the girl was taken aback at the sudden question but answered anyway, "Because well… he's cute, strong, smart and nice" she sighed somewhat dreamily, blushed beet red when she told Naruto, not noticing the boy's scowl, "so? I'm strong and nice and cute!" he pouted, Sakura was confused for a moment but then it hit her…
"Naruto, are you… jealous of Sasuke-kun?" she asked "No! Pf! Why should I be jealous of him?" he replied a little too quickly, crossing his arms and turned away from the girl, leaving her confused.
But they hadn't talked about that since then.
Ino's usually cocky and cheerful façade wasn't present as she walked over to the two, her expression slightly troubling. "What's wrong pig? You don't seem like yourself…" Sakura said, frowning "Sakura, Naruto I have something to tell you…" Ino lowered her tone as the two listened, knowing if Ino was whispering it was very important.
But just as the pretty blonde was about to open her mouth, another student walked in...
It was Sasuke.
Sakura smiled brightly seeing the boy "Sasuke-kun!" the girl waved but her smile faltered as Sasuke paused in his steps for a second but didn't answer, he then just went and sat on the far side of the classroom and away from them; they couldn't see his expression because he didn't even spare a glance at them "What's his problem?" Naruto grumbled, annoyed by the Uchiha's rude behavior but Sakura was troubled, something wasn't right...
Ino looked at the duo, "guys, come with me…" she said as she led the two out of the classroom, "Ino… what's wrong with Sasuke?" Sakura asked seriously and Naruto agreed, "Yeah, what's with teme?" he asked, the blonde girl sighed through her nose and began…
"The night before… when Sasuke was going home… he found…" the girl paused, sadness laced her voice and this time Sakura was getting irritated, "Ino! What happened?" Sakura shouted, now worry eating away at her but Ino remained silent as if thinking, now it was Naruto's turn to get annoyed, "Spit it out!" he growled and the girl looked at them with a hard expression, the words that left her mouth sent a cold chill and an electric shock course down their spine at the same time…
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"The Entire Uchiha Clan Was murdered… besides Sasuke-kun."
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The words echoed in their heads as they stood stock still, their faces took on the look of shock, "h-how… w-who…?" Naruto managed to stutter and Ino sighed, "I-I don't know… but I also heard that his brother went missing" the girl informed as they slowly walked back into the classroom but before Ino left to her seat she took hold of Sakura's shoulder before she could go to Sasuke, "Sakura, I suggest that you leave him alone for a bit, if my clan were massacred just a few days ago I would seriously go into shock, I'm really surprised that he even managed to come back to the academy so quickly, even I will leave him alone for now" she advised but Sakura gave her a hard stare, "no Ino, it's this time that he needs his friends the most." Sakura whispered harshly but Naruto said nothing, just stared at Sasuke with no expression; the blond boy was the first to walk over to Sasuke with Sakura following behind, the two sat on either side of the Uchiha; the raven haired boy glanced once at each of them, his once filled with life eyes were now as hollow as the deep abyss; Naruto and Sakura didn't spare a glance at him, they didn't touch him or said any comforting words to him, they just sat beside him; even the loudmouth Naruto didn't utter a word, somehow both of them knowing that words weren't what this situation asked for.
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Sasuke sat there, confused and annoyed that the two were sitting beside him not saying anything, his brother's words echoed through his mind as he glared at the table; why were they sitting beside him? Everyone else was either ignoring him or giving him looks of sympathy and he hated it, he hated the pity in their eyes, he hated them, he hated everyone!
But why were they beside him?
The Dobe should be rubbing it in or yelling at him for whatever but he wasn't saying anything for once, they hate each other, he hates the Dobe and the Dobe hates him and that is the way things should stay between them.
Sakura… the only girl he could somewhat consider a friend, she wasn't giving him pity or tried to comfort him but she still kept him company… Somehow deep down he knew that's just what he needed at the moment… but he didn't want this… he didn't want their comfort, they'll never understand! They'll never know what it's like to loose something precious to you!
He clenched his fists under the fabric of his pockets and his face twisted in a glare as the teacher came in and started babbling about things that Sasuke didn't pay attention at the moment.
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Sasuke hadn't uttered a word the whole day and Sakura was getting worried, he had been silently pushing them away and it didn't go unnoticed by them, "Naruto… what do we do?" Sakura whispered as she looked at Sasuke eating his lunch alone in the corner and away from them but Naruto glared at the Uchiha.
Earlier during training Naruto and Sasuke were chosen to fight against each other, Sasuke was being harsher than he should be and had actually wounded Naruto purposely; when Sasuke beat Naruto to top it off, he called him weak and just walked away even if he was scolded by the teacher in being too harsh; it was then that Naruto started hating Sasuke.
"I say we leave the jerk, he deserves to be alone!" Naruto yelled a little too loud on purpose for Sasuke to hear, the Uchiha didn't even blink as he kept silently eating his lunch; Sakura in return smacked Naruto on the head, "OW! Sakura-Chan that hurt!" Naruto whined but Sakura only glared, "Naruto! Sasuke-kun needs our support, we can't leave him alone!" she yelled but Naruto this time shot some words back, "Why are you so hyped up about him? He clearly wants to be alone so why not let him?" he surprisingly yelled back and Sakura growled "Because he's my friend! I care about him just like I care about you!" the girl shouted and the blonde boy looked beside him, glaring at the ground; knowing that wasn't the only reason.
"Naruto he lost his family and you know better than anyone how it feels to be alone" she whispered, noticing him clench his fists "he's angry and he took out his anger in your fight, I'm sure he didn't really mean to hurt you that much…" the girl trailed off, she placed her hands on the boy's shoulders making him look at her, Naruto sighed, "alright Sakura-Chan…" he said, the girl smiled "thanks Naruto."
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It was already the end of the school day and the kids were all going home, "see ya tomorrow Sakura-Chan!" yelled Naruto as he walked away, the girl waved back and went to go home herself when she caught sight of Sasuke; she saw him slowly walking home.
It was the perfect time to talk to him, so she decided to follow him.
Storm clouds were quickly gathering and before anyone knew it, it already started drizzling.
Sakura silently followed Sasuke in the now pouring rain; she was shocked to see him stop in front of the Uchiha clan gates; he dropped his things and slowly walked inside, she followed, uneasy that the walls were all saturated with dry blood.
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Finally the boy walked inside a rather large house, he took off his shoes and slowly walked in the rooms…
Soon after she did the same and continued following, she poked her head around the corner to see him standing still, staring at the floor but she froze in her tracks when she heard his cold murmur, "why did you follow me all the way here?" he said, not turning around, his icy tone made her almost wince.
"Because I'm worried about you-"
"Leave"
He cut her words short, "I don't need your pity, now go away and leave me alone" he ordered but she hesitated for a second but decided to stand her ground.
"No" was her only reply.
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Sasuke's emotionless façade he had been working on these past few days shattered quickly with her dry reply; who did she think she was? Invading his home and refusing to leave when all he wanted was to be alone!
He clenched his fists and his features took on a look of fury as he abruptly turned around, facing her, "Leave damn it! I don't want you here! I want to be alone! Go away or I'll make you!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he quickly walked over to her and stopped an inch away from her, onyx glaring into emerald eyes. Sasuke scared her for a second but her fear quickly faded when she stared more than a few moments into his eyes, all the negative emotions he was feeling were visible; pain, anger, hate, sadness but the emotion that ruled over was loneliness…
Sakura cringed but managed to stand tall, her caring for the boy ruling the fear ten times over, "No, because I know that being alone in this world is the last thing you want Sasuke!" she yelled back and the boy took a step back, shocked for a second but was quickly replaced with anger again, "how the heck would you know? You know nothing about me!" he shouted, fury bursting in his chest like a volcano but Sakura calmed herself down before the fight got worse. "Sasuke, I know that the pain you feel is unbearable, I may not know how much but what I do know is that you're not alone Sasuke, Naruto and I are here for you, your friends are here!" she raised her voice slightly and the boy turned around again to face the white lined, taped floor saturated in dry blood, where his parents lay dead just days ago, "I don't need friends!" he growled.
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But inside he was relieved…
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Relieved that someone still cared…
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But he didn't show it, or at least he thought he didn't.
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His fists clenched and his heart hurt, "Sasuke… I think friends are the one thing you need at the moment." She whispered and placed a hand on his shoulder, "How would you know? You have everything! Friends and Family! You lost nothing and nobody!" he breathed out as his being shook, the harshness in his voice cracked.
The girl didn't reply and the room was silent, only the sound of the rain droplets hitting the windows was heard for a few minutes.
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"…That doesn't mean I haven't felt any pain" she finally whispered, "now I want you to do something for me…" the pink haired girl continued, "only if you leave me alone after that!" he glared but she could see his black eyes shimmer and it wasn't from the little light they had. "Fine" she said and looked at the boy with dead seriousness.
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"I Want You To Cry…"
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Sasuke's eyes widened, "what?" he breathed, not sure if he heard right and tensed when arms wrapped around his torso in an embrace, "cry" she repeated and hugged him tighter.
The boy didn't know what to say, did she just ask him to cry?
"Uchihas don't cry…" the boy repeated his father's words in a whisper, flashes of that horrible night that happened a few days ago appearing in his mind.
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"Yes they do, Uchiha is just a name, the people that own that name are human" the girl whispered; Sasuke's eyes started to sting…
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Why was she trying to comfort him when he pushed her away?
Why was she doing this?
The way this girl in front of him thinks… he'll never know.
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But holding his pain inside for as long as he had has taken a toll on him; his knees felt weak and his head heavy, his face felt hot and his eyes now burned…
"Cry…" Sakura whispered, her voice soft as his head lay on her shoulder and her shirt started to dampen, they sank to the ground on their knees as the boy leaned on the girl; soft sniffs and sobs could be heard in the silent room as Sasuke cried…