Imaginary...
Imagination: noun. The formation of something entirely within the mind, with no physical existence.
Naruto never had any friends, until Naruko came to his reality.
"Neither of us can remember our pain, but I'm starting to find the last bit that remains."
Growing up, Naruto never had any friends.
He was shunned, by every man, woman, and thing. Sometimes, his own shadow seemed to shun him, too.
So it should've been of no surprise to anyone, when his mind invented a friend for him.
"Who are you?" The blonde boy asked, rubbing the dirt out of his cerulean eyes.
Over him stood a girl who looked positively angelic, if angelic were an older, girly version of him.
Strands of blonde hung in symmetrical pigtails on each side of her head, shimmering under the sunlight.
She smiled at him, making the whisker-like scars curl ever-so-slightly.
"I'm you. Well, not you-you, but a different you. You can call me Naruko." She said, and the boy stared blankly.
Him, not a him-him, but a different him.
How strange.
She smiled even wider, scratching the back of her head, and Naruto felt his eyes wandering their surroundings.
There wasn't a single person nearby, and that made Naruto just a little suspicious.
"Are you a kidnapper!?" He asked, narrowing his eyes to the point they looked closed.
If this Naruko thought she could kidnap him, she was wrong! The Old Man had already taught him all about stranger danger, thank you very much! ( And what he hadn't been taught, he learned first-hand.)
The girl snorted, a noise that was distinctly pig-like, and waved her hands dismissively.
"No, no! I'm just uhh.. Well, I just wanna be your friend." She spoke almost bashfully, twirling a strand of gold around her index.
"You...wanna be friends with me?" He asked almost rudely, his bottom lip jutting upwards.
"That's what I said." Fluidly, the blonde teenager dropped into a crouch in front of him.
"Are you makin' fun o' me?"His eyebrows lowered, kneading together in a face of adorable suspicion.
"'Course not! Making fun of you, would be making fun of me."
His eyebrows furrowed more, and she sighed. "No, I'm not." She confirmed, causing the boy to hum in response..
Shaking his head with a decisive nod, "Okay. Do ya wanna play with me?" He asked, gesturing down to his pail of soil.
Without further thought, the girl dropped down to the dirt ground soundlessly..
"I'll just watch you play, okay?" She said, assuming a comfortable pose on the ground, her head resting on her palm.
He stared for a second, "Well, okay.." He shoveled through the dirt, in search of cool rocks or something of the sort. There were several times they got up and moved, around the area, to parks or desolate roads. In his pail, he'd found several shiny rocks, a dirty locket, and even a piece of a shuriken.
The hours went by in silence, the sun progressively lowering in the sky, up until the world was painted with shades of marmalade and amber. She'd followed him every time he'd gotten up and moved, without even his asking or invitation. And though there were several times he wanted to speak, he couldn't find it in him. He didn't want to say something and scare her away, or make her mad. If she was mad, she'd hit him or shout, and he'd never see her again.
And if he scared her, she'd just run away, like everyone else. And he really didn't think his little heart could take that again.
'
As the five year-old Naruto picked up his pail and shovel for the last time that day, part of him wondered where Naruko would be going now that he was leaving.
Swallowing down that question, he opted to retain his silence. People always liked him better when he was silent, so he figured it was smarter this way. He waved at her, what was intended as a goodbye, turning his back and beginning the walk towards his brand new apartment.
Part of him hoped she'd be there again tomorrow, as his feet carried him past buildings and fences, past barking dogs and glowering people.
Part of him wished he'd stayed there with her, sitting in silence, until the moon replaced the sun's place in the sky.
But the Old Man had told him it was dangerous to stay out past dark, so he knew it was time to go home.
Up until a hint of curiosity finally got to him, he genuinely thought he'd been walking home alone.
Turning his head slowly, Naruto's eyes landed on the tall blonde standing a few dozen feet behind him.
And they stared at one another.
The sky behind Naruko, with the amethyst and orange ombre bleeding into the gray clouds, tinging their edges with colors, seemed so insignificant.
And he realized just how pretty she was, even though she looked a whole lot like him.
"Are you followin' me home?" He asked, folding his scrawny arms over his chest with a questioning expression. He wasn't sure what answer he wanted, honestly.
"Do you want me to be?" She asked in return, her hands clasped behind her back.
She swayed nonchalantly as the staring contest began again.
"Well…" He chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought it over.
He'd spent hours with her, so she wasn't a stranger anymore, right?
So she could come home with him, right?
…..He wasn't so sure.
"Are ya homeless or somethin?" He asked, scratching his chin.
If she was, he could let her stay at his apartment, and that'd be okay, because he'd be helping her.
The Old Man says that helping people is good. As he internally deliberated with himself, his eyes strayed down to his feet. He kicked away a small pebble, sending it skidding to a stop right in front of his friend.
She looked down at the rock, then back up to him, still looking vaguely happy.
"I think so." She replied breezily, and he nodded again, "Well then fine. You can stay at my apartment." He concluded, waving her to come walk side-by-side with him.
She smiled, jogging to catch up, before they finished their trek through the dirt roads, all the way to his apartment. As they stepped onto the property, his friend pointedly ignored the rubbish and glass decorating the ground of his neighbourhood, the strays wandering all around, be it stray animals or people.
She even tastefully ignored the couple arguing right by the stairway which led to his apartment.
"You can sleep on my floor I guess, I dun' think we can both fit in my bed." He said, leading his friend up the stairs that went directly to his apartment door. The wooden steps creaked and groaned with every step he took, all the way up until he stopped abruptly in front of the door.
"That's okay." She said with a smile, watching the boy unlock the shabby door, her eyes momentarily straying to his battered mailbox..
It opened with a deafening squeal, and he chuckled nervously before walking inside.
Naruko of course followed behind, leaving Naruto to close the door.
She looked around the small apartment, curious blue eyes examining the trash and clothes decorating the wooden floors.
At the very least, the russet-colored flooring wasn't splintering or rotting. The wallpaper, colored in an ombre of yellow and teal, was peeling away. But at least it was there, she concluded. Apart from that, the walls were barren. There were not yet posters, or stickers, or anything of the sort.
It indicated that either he was very plain, or this apartment was newly his.
"Are ya hungry?" Called the child from within his kitchen, she hadn't even noticed he'd moved along. She looked down, seeing the boy had left his pail and sandals at the door, before moving on.
She walked into the small kitchenette, where the boy was peering into his open cabinets.
"I've got ramen up here, and some fruit over there." He pointed to his table, and her eyes followed. In a red bowl, several apples and a few pears sat.
Leaning in, she frowned, noticing how bruised and discolored the fruits were.
If she had any sort of appetite before, it was certainly gone now, as a fly settled on a particularly gross apple.
"No, thanks." She said, turning back to the boy.
"Well um, if you're sure… I'm gonna make some ramen, could ya, uh… Get it for me?" He asked, fiddling with the frayed edge of his dirty white t-shirt.
The cabinets were quite high up, he'd have to climb on a chair, then onto the counter, and then reach into the cabinets and get his ramen. It was reasonable to ask, Naruko was much taller, she could reach in with ease.
Her lips settled into a hard-line, she huffed through her nose with a pensive expression. "I don't think I can do that, I'm sorry." She said, not able to meet his eyes as she swayed on her feet.
He took a moment to process that she could decline such a simple question, before his jaw dropped in disbelief. "But why not?!" He asked almost petulantly, eyes darting from her to him,
She thought the answer over. He wouldn't understand that she just couldn't, knowing it was something beyond most children. And if he did somehow understand, it might upset him. So, with a reluctant ease, Naruko lied.
"It's a challenge for you! We grow stronger from challenges, don't you want to be strong?" She asked, flexing her arm to show defined biceps.
He stared at her for a moment with blatant disbelief, but her strong arms seemed to sway him, as he went through the process of dragging a chair over to the counter, climbing atop, then grabbing his packaged ramen.
When he successfully made it down, she was clapping and smiling and whistling for him, a one-person crowd. He was a bit dumbfounded, not expecting such positivity over something so menial. No one ever clapped for him, or smiled, or played with him.
"Way to go, Naruto-kun! Before long, you'll be so strong, you won't even need to use a chair!" She cheered, making Naruto's chest fill with pride.
Forgotten was his questions over why she couldn't do it for him, instead, Naruto realized he'd much rather have her cheering for him, than doing it herself.
Independence wasn't usually so easily taught.
But Naruto, who'd been essentially thrown to the wolves, would be independent so long as it earned him that warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest..
"All of the feelings you had me keep safe,
Naruko had been with Naruto for years now, and now that it was past his eighth birthday, today he'd be starting the academy.
"Do you want me to walk with you?" She asked sweetly, from her place atop his cabinets.
Naruto looked up, knowing that moments ago she'd been on the ground, but it hardly fazed him. He'd gotten used to all the strange and unnatural things that Naruko could do, he'd swear he saw her float, or phase through objects before, but Naruko always denied it. He wondered if maybe she was a ninja, and that was why she could do the things she could.
"Nope! Like you say, I'm a big boy, I can walk myself." He said with a brilliant grin, tightening his hands around the straps of book-bag.
Naruko smiled back, "You're right, Naruto-kun! Remember, don't be mean to your classmates, pay attention to you teachers, and-" The small blonde boy rolled his eyes, "Don't talk about you! I remember, yeesh!"
She giggled sweetly, waving her hands in a shoo-ing motion. "Alright, alright, if you've got everything, go! You'll be late if you waste time chatting with me!" She reminded him, winking at the boy playfully as he suddenly went pale.
"Right! Gotta go, I'll see you at three!"He turned on his heel, abruptly taking off in a sprint out the door.
"Lock the door behind you!" She called loudly, knowing fully well the boy forgot more often than not. Hearing the slam of the door, and then the eventual click of the lock, she thought Naruto was gone.
Well, until she heard two loud steps, then the jingle of the door-knob to ensure it was actually locked, and then footsteps like a stampede of bulls went down the stairs.
She chuckled to herself, knowing for certain he was gone now.
It'd been years now, since Naruto moved in, since she moved in with him. And as her eyes studied the small kitchen she sat in, she at least noted that the place had improved.
Her influence has made Naruto at least cleaner, there were no longer dirty clothes strewn everywhere or old food and dirty dishes left out to rot or gather dust.
Though it was relatively cleaner, she thought as her eyes zeroed in on a dirty sock under the kitchen table, there was also a bit more decoration.
Naruto had found a few potted plants in the garbage, so now there were two ivy plants in his kitchen and a very unhealthy hibiscus by the door. He'd also begun collecting stickers, from takeout bags, fruit, borrowed from stores, etc, and started sticking them to his walls.
So that was something, she supposed.
-are words now starting to take shape."
Hours went by, and as Naruko watched the daylight sky turn from blue to plum as the evening came, she began to worry. She paced the floors, looked around outside, and eyed the clock over and over with frantic obsession.
It wasn't until 8 pm that Naruto finally came home.
When the lock clicked, Naruko sat up on the couch in an instant, her head whirling to look at the door as it slowly opened.
In walked the boy she'd grown so familiar with, looking more ragged than she'd seen him in years.
His shirt, skin, and shorts were covered in mud and dirt, evidence of some kind of a tussle.
Worse, though, was the ugly splotch of discoloration on his right eye. Swelling had forced the bruised eye closed, but she could still see dried tear tracks down his face.
She gasped, her eyes widened with horror.
Naruto sniffled, looking up to see her. And the dam broke, and the battered boy started sobbing once again.
"I d-did what you said! I wasn't mean to nobody, I hardly even talked, believe it!" He said, roughly rubbing his tears away.
"Naruto…" She said softly, slowly walking over to him.
She ran her thumb across his brow-bone, where the bruising was yellow and green rather than purple or blue. Naruto inhaled sharply, biting his lip to prevent it from shaking.
For a moment, just a moment, Naruto imagined he could actually feel her touch.
"I am so sorry." She whispered, trying her best to console the boy before her, her heart aching with every tear he shed and hiccup.
She knew later she would have to tell him to put the freezer peas against his eye, but for now, she was focused on mending his mental state.
"I dun' get it." Said the eight year old, sounding so fragile Naruko thought he might shatter in her arms, if he hadn't already.
"Why does everyone always hate me? I try to be good like you say, nee-san… But they still beat me up." His voice trembled, and Naruto tried her damnedest to smother his tears in her embrace.
"I don't know, Naruto. I don't know." Naruko replied, cradling the back of his head in her hands.
The boy sniffed, feeling the tears start to come yet again, and leaned into her as much as he could. And for a moment, just a moment, he imagined he could smell her perfume. He figured it would be something sweet.
"C'mon," She whispered, "Let's get off this dirty floor, hm?" She pulled away from him, giving him a kind smile as she gestured towards the small loveseat.
He stood up, following her over to the little couch, cuddling up to her in no time. He thought about how warm she might be, as he pulled a fuzzy throw blanket over the two of them.
Naruto's hiccuping eventually stopped, his breathing settled, and the small boy was soon in the land of dreams.
"You're waking up, from all those dreams that took place in a world not seen."
Naruto's eye was still slightly bruised the day Naruko and he had decided to go to the swing together, long past school hours, a week or so later. The swing was old, made from a single oak plank and some rope, tied onto an old Hashirama tree.
Even so, no other children ever came here, and that was why Naruto could bring his friend Naruko. They could talk here, without getting weird looks, or Naruto getting beat up. Additionally, the academy had long since let out, hence why they'd come so late.
"C'mon Narukooo, why can't you push me just once?" Whined the blonde boy, climbing onto the old thing and taking grasp of the ropes.
"Nope! How will you ever get big and strong if you're dependent on me to push you?" She said, shaking her head in decline.
He huffed, but didn't beg any further. She was right, after all. He'd need to work his leg muscles on this swing if he wanted to get nice and strong. The breeze flowed through the tree above him, jostling the leaves, and Naruto took that as a sign from the universe to start swinging.
He pushed himself as far back as he could, standing on the tips of his toes, before abruptly raising his legs and letting the swing do it's thing.
The rickety swing soared, his weight barely hindering it's movement, sending wind through his blonde locks. He laughed victoriously and the tree branch creaked, forgetting all his worries and desires,to just live in the moment.
With loving eyes, Naruko watched him, now sitting on a tree branch above him.
Once a few hours of playing outside had passed, the boy, now smeared with generous amounts of sweat and grime, was interrupted by a loud rumbling.
A loud rumbling which just so happened to come from his stomach.
Blinking owlishly, he chuckled nervously, "I think maybe it's time to go get somethin' to eat," He declared.
Naruko smiled, and the blonde boy distantly recalled never having seen the girl eat, as they began their trek towards their home.
They were careful to walk on the edges of the dirt streets, away from all the people rushing through the center, attempting to remain unseen. Naruto was light-footed, but Naruko was entirely silent as they walked.
An aroma of seasoning, cooked meats and delicious food hit Naruto suddenly, making his tummy gripe all over again. He looked over at the stand which the scent originated from, his hand absently thumbing the money in his pants pocket. His monthly orphan stipend had just come in, he knew he could afford food for both him and Naruto. It would of course decrease his "extra spending money," as Naruko called it, but as far as he was concerned whatever food he smelled was probably worth it.
"You can go get food, Naruto! But I'm going to head home, okay?" Naruko piped up, causing him to startle from his thoughts.
She chuckled at him, making the small boy blush, "But-" She interrupted him with a finger wag.
"No, no! You should have lunch, I'm not hungry, and even if I was there's ramen at home. Treat yourself!" She encouraged, and Naruto screwed his lips to the side as he thought it over.
He hummed in frustration, "You're sure? Really sure?" He asked, looking up at her.
"Of course!" Cheered the blonde teen, and he finally agreed, "Well, okay.."
He slowly walked towards the booth, waiting for her to change his mind. Just before lifting the curtain, he turned to look back at her, and she only gave him a winning smile with two supplementary thumbs-up.
He smiled, though reluctantly, and they separated for a short while.
Once Naruto had finally come home, hours later, he ranted and raved about his new friend Ayame for hours, while Naruko listened with rapt attention and proud eyes.
"You could fly to them, if you just spread your wings."
"Look! Look what I got!" Screamed a hoarse voice, throwing open the front door so hard that the knob broke a hole in the wall.
Neither Naruto, or Naruko, noticed.
The blonde teenager ran into the living room to see, holding a strange orange book in one hand, expecting something much more extravagant than what she saw.
With a vibrant smile, so wide it must make his face hurt, Naruto beamed at her.
He gestured up and down at his outfit, forcing any and all attention to the neon orange jumpsuit he wore. It was oversized on him now, but in a few years, it would probably be too small, but at least it would last.
The fabric of the jacket was clearly made of nylon, judging by the shine of the fabric, but it would at least keep him warm. The inside was lined with cotton, whilst his pants were also cotton.
"Woah! Your outfit! I love it!" Naruko said, studying the details with her eyes alone. The color was a bit peculiar, especially since he was a future ninja, but she didn't bother saying that. ( It was almost like she expected it. ) The collar of the jacket was strange, as well.
A red spiral on his shoulder was the tell-tale sign it had been made in Konoha though, and everyone knew Konoha fashion was strange.
He nodded emphatically at her compliment, thinking the same.
Naruto didn't even notice that the orange book in Naruko's hand magically changed to blue, not even after she gestured to it with a sly grin. "Yeah, well, look what I have!" She chirped with glittering eyes.
He looked to her hands, eyeing the book with curiosity, reading the title with narrowed eyes. "Pranking 101..?" He inquired with uncertainty.
"Mhm.. I think this book has some excellent ways to get back at bullies. I know your first year was tough, but- You can get revenge with this book." She chuckled deviously, something in her eyes alight with mischief.
"Wha? Lemme see!" He said, his own cerulean irises lighting with just the same mischievous energy.
"Hey! You can't even read that well yet, just let me read it to you, hm?" She held the book up over her head, giving Naruto no choice but to accept. "Fine." He agreed with a huff, folding his arms with faux-annoyance.
"Sit, then!" She called, and in the time it had taken for him to look away from her in his fake pout, she'd sat on the couch. He immediately scrambled over to sit in her lap, weaseling his way into a comfortable position as she flipped to the first page of the book.
Her voice read through the pages with the occasional anecdote or snicker, while Naruto got more and more attentive. He even asked her to read paragraphs, then pages, and eventually the entire book over. And despite that it was well-past his bed-time, Naruto was completely attentive all the way until the end, until Naruko sent him off to bed.
Even the next morning, his mind couldn't stop wandering to all the plots and pranks and tips and tricks they'd read about in that blue book. Even as he ate his favorite cereal, and some toast, and sipped on his chocolate milk.
"I'll come back from school at 3 as usual, Naruko! Love ya!" He shouted on his way out the door, not knowing that he was lying until much later in the afternoon.
"Love you too!" She returned, hearing the door slam shut a minute later, followed by the click of the lock.
It wasn't until five that Naruto came home.
He opened the door quietly, wholly intent on sneaking in, and hoping his surrogate older sister didn't notice. He'd thought he'd pull off, until she greeted him from behind.
"You're laaate!" She drawled, causing him to chuckle sheepishly. He scratched the back of his neck as he turned to face her.
She leaned against the doorway, not looking even the slightest bit perturbed.
"Well?" She questioned, clearly wanting to know what he'd been up to.
"I got detention for all the pranks I pulled today." He admitted immediately, causing her to snort.
"Hum, well, as long as you're not failing, I'm not mad!" She said, abruptly turning and walking into the kitchen.
With a dramatic sigh of relief, his tense posture melted away and his shoulders slumped. A small ghost of a smile formed on his face, before breaking into a full-blown grin.
"You would never come back when you learn to fly,"
"Hey! Blondie!" Called a rough voice, and Naruto knew they were calling for him. He swallowed any fear and put on his best brave face, whirling his head around to see who was calling.
A few feet across the schoolyard, a brunet boy with a puppy atop his head waved, and Naruto couldn't prevent tilting his head in confusion. The boy had a ball in his hand, one striped with every color of the rainbow. "What?" Naruto asked, quite rudely, but the boy didn't falter.
"You're one of the fastest kids in the whole grade! D'ya wanna play ball with me and my friends?" He asked, grinning so wide that Naruto could see that one of his incisor teeth was missing.
Naruto shuffled slightly, careful about masking his excitement. Could it be a trap? Or a prank? He picked at the inside of his jacket pocket, his lips settling into a hard line.
"Are ya sure?" He questioned, looking up through his eyebrows.
The boy guffawed once, rolling his eyes childishly. "Yeah obviously! Wouldn't invite you if I wasn't, c'mon!" He called, waving him over with both arms.
Reluctantly, Naruto joined, and was led to two other boys.
One of which was bit on the chubby side, with tattoos on his cheeks and a bag of chips in his hands. To that boy's right, a boy with dark brown hair pulled into a high pony-tail, with a gray tee-shirt and a relaxed face.
"Took you long enough." Said the pony-tail wearing boy, "Shut it, Shikamaru! I had to find the best fourth player I could," The dog-boy piped back, whilst the chubby boy just chuckled.
"It was between him and Sasuke, and there was no way I'd pick the Uchiha." Kiba explained, folding his arms over his chest. He was still holding a grudge against the Uchiha boy for all those times he'd kicked his ass during spars.
The chubby boy rolled his eyes, "It's Naruto, right? I'm Choji, and this is Shikamaru. The one who brought you over is Kiba. It's nice to meet you!" The boy said quickly, his voice sweeter than most of the other boys his age. "Let's play ball!" Cheered Kiba, ending introductions then and there.
Naruto smiled at the memory the entire way home. They'd played ball the entirety of recess, occasionally leaving the ball to chase each other like maniacs, and it had been so incredibly fun.
And-and! After all that, they'd sat beside each other in class! No one ever did that with him, ever! They'd separated at the end of the day, but his friends had introduced him to their parents- and their parents had smiled! Kiba's mom had even called him cute!
He'd done it, he'd made friends! Three of them, in one day! And their parents liked him to boot!
He couldn't stop grinning, even if he'd wanted to.
Naruto bounded through the living room entryway, instantly calling for his sister-figure.
"Naruukoo!" He hollered, instantly drawing the tall blonde teenager into the living room.
She ducked through the doorway that led into his room, scampering into the living room to see what the issue was. "Guess what!" He looked so excited, as he tossed off his sandals by the door.
"What is it?" She inquired, smiling softly at the way he seemed so full of happy jitters.
"You've gotta guueeess!" He crooned, causing Naruko to roll her eyes and tilt her head in thought. "Discount on ramen?" She suggested with a shrug, and he groaned childishly.
"Noooo! Keep guessing!" Pushed the boy, doing a very odd little dance in place, making the wooden floorboards creak beneath him.
This time, she was the one who groaned, she even walked out. Going back into the bedroom, she dropped onto the mattress dramatically. He followed her, pestering and poking her to keep guessing the entire way. He pulled at the hem of her orange sweater, "C'mon, it's not bed-time yet!" He whined, and she snickered deviously.
"Ne, I think I'm comfy here.. But if you just tell me, maybe I'll take you to the park to go play." She not-so-subtly suggested. Naruto wasn't sure if that counted as bribery, but he didn't really care.
"Okay, okay! I made friends today, three of 'em! And their parents like me! Ain't that crazy- Er, great?!" He inquired, with shining eyes so full of mirth and naivete, and joy.
They had a sort of sparkle that Naruko's didn't, and she mustered a sad smile.
"It totally is, it's amazing, Naruto. Keep making friends, and you won't need me anymore!" She chirped with a breathy voice, but the little boy swore he heard some strange undercurrent to her words.
"Whaddya mean, Naruko? Of course I'll need you, who else is gunna take me to the park!?" He inquired, clearly being cheeky, but his words were genuine.
The girl grinned, "True! C'mon, let's go!"
With that, the pair found their usual desolate park, and played all the way until the sun had retreated from the sky. Once the glowing moon had taken its place, they'd gone home with equally tired smiles.
As Naruto held his hand in hers, he couldn't help but notice how luminescent his big sister looked in the moonlight.
She seemed to notice his stare, turning her tilted head to look him in the eye. He tried to play it off, pretending to be looking past her.
Her giggles only ruined his cover, though, because Naruto couldn't help but giggle too.
"You aimed and flew to that blue, untouchable open sky."
Naruto bounced his leg from where he sat on the couch, it was four in the afternoon, and Naruko still wasn't home. He hadn't known where she'd gone, she'd left no note, or anything of the sort.
He was almost ready to panic, until Naruko walked in, as if on cue.
"Naruko! Where've you been?! I missed you loads! I've been wanting to tell you all about school 'since I got home!" He sat up instantly, spine straight as a whip.
"Ah, sorry Naruto-kun! I was out on an afternoon stroll, you'd think I'd remember when the Academy lets out." She apologized, genuinely, raising her pointer to scratch her chin bashfully.
Naruto was quick to accept that, because he had a wonderful first day of his third year, one he was eager to talk about. "It's okay! Summer break just ended, so I get it!" He chirped in reply.
"Well, then?" She coaxed, waving her hand for him to go on. She welcomed herself to the couch, sitting in the seiza position. "How was your day? Tell me all about it!"
"Right, so me and the gang had lunch together again, as usual! But they brought their friend Ino, and Ino brought Sakura -" If Naruto had been more emotionally-adept, he might've been able to give that strange look in Naruko's eyes a name.
"Sakura is suuuper pretty, and smart, and great in her spars! Almost as good as Ino, and Ino's better than Shikamaru, and Kiba put together, which is like, legendary!" He waved his hands around emphatically, to accentuate how great that was. Which, considering Naruto had trouble beating either of them, was a massive compliment.
She giggled, her eyes wrinkling up with the strength of her smile.
"I even asked her out, like a dozen times! She said no, but I'm sure she'll come around! I don't get what her and Ino see in that bastard Sasuke- He's so! So arrogant, I wish I could just knock him down a peg. I'm not the only one who thinks so either, Kiba don't like him at all! I think it's 'cause Sasuke rubbed his nose during one of their spars last year, I dunno.."
Naruko raised two fingers, the universal gesture to stop, and he happily obliged. He needed to take a break for air anyway, judging by the way he sucked in a greedy breath.
"First of all, Naruto, Sakura sounds lovely," He nodded had to force down a smile. "And Ino too. But you should never pester girls for dates like that, it's creepy, and almost like you're bullying them into dating you."
"I hate bullies!" He sputtered out, shocked, but not questioning her knowledge in the slightest.
"Right. And I'm sure Sakura doesn't appreciate being badgered by dates, not at all. So quit it, capiche? If she ever changes her mind, she'll let you know." He nodded again, but much more somberly.
If there was one thing Naruto refused to ever, ever be, it was a bully. And second, he never wanted to be a creep, either!
The Hokage, and Naruko had given him a talk about those people! No way in hell!
"And second, regarding Sasuke," She paused long enough to let his face visibly sour, his lips torn between frown and a sneer at the mere name. She gave him a very, very unimpressed look. One she rarely used, which was enough for him to reel in his disdain.
More silencing than that though, was the weird look in her eyes, again. This time, it seemed more serious.
He chewed the inside of his cheek.
"You know what happened to the Uchiha clan over the summer, don't you?" And that was enough to have him holding his head down, because yes, he knew. And even so young, he knew it was a tragedy. He didn't understand it, would never claim to, but the local newspapers had said it all.
A whole clan, excluding Sasuke, murdered in a night.
He fiddled with his hands guiltily, and Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun is probably just confused, angry. Sad. He might've been a jerk before now, but who knows what was happening before? All we know is that Sasuke has no one. Just like you before I came along, Naruto. And he's going to lash out. I bet under all that anger, Sasuke isn't a bad kid at all."
"Like me?" Naruto repeated dumbly as he thought it over. Like him, but worse, he realized. Because Naruto had his big sister, his precious person. But all Sasuke's precious people had been torn away.
When he finally looked up, with startled blue eyes, he found his pseudo-sister was looking off to the side, another strange expression on her features. This one, however, it looked different. Sadder, pitying.
For Sasuke, he assumed.
For him, he would one day realize. Albeit, many years later.
"Anyway.." Naruko continued bitterly, still unable to meet his eyes. "What about the rest of your day? Did Iruka-sensei teach you anything cool?" She asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject. Naruko asked about Iruka-sensei a lot, but Naruto figured it was because Iruka was a super-cool shinobi.
"Oh, yeah! He showed us this super super awesome kunai trick, which we're gonna learn this week!" In the blink of an eye, the whole mood changed.
"I know you'll make it through, and reach what you are trying to find,"
This time, it was Naruto who was late. Horribly, horrendously late. Naruko's heart had dropped to her stomach, she was pacing his apartment like a lunatic. She felt so helpless, so worried, as she waited for his return.
Which was right when the boy stumbled in the front-door, looking battered and worn but otherwise unharmed. There was dirt smeared on his tan cheeks and in his blonde hair, tears in his pants and stains on his jumpsuit.
"Naruto," she proclaimed, suddenly breathless. She embraced him as well as she could, and she sobbed shakily into the messy blonde hair.
It was a good thing Naruto couldn't feel it, because he might've freaked out about snot getting in his air.
"I'm a genin now, nee-chan!" He chirped happily, the sound quieted by his hoarse vocal cords. She grinned, and even as tears streamed from her eyes, she laughed. A loud, raucous laugh, one which filled his heart with warmth.
She smiled so hard, he could see the dimples in her cheeks and the wrinkles under her eyes all at once. He didn't say it, Naruto thought she looked a little younger now than when he'd first walked in.
"Of course, of course!" She replied, and there wasn't a bit of surprise in his words. She didn't ask how, or why, or why he'd been gone all day and most of the night.
He figured that maybe, somehow, she already knew.
Even so, they both slept on the loveseat that night, with him curled up on her abdomen she practically wrapped herself around him, like some adoring octopus. Except, well, she didn't have eight legs.
When he woke up the next morning, he couldn't help but wonder if having eight legs would make his big-sister scary, or cool…
She gave him a look of amusement as the cogs in his mind turned. Any longer and she knew smoke would start to pour out of his ears.
"Hey, Earth to Naruto? You've got team placements at the Academy in twenty minutes."
His head swerved from the smug blonde, to the clock on the wall, to her again. And then to the clock on the microwave, because he was just that deep in disbelief.
Wolfing down the last new bites of his overly sugary cereal, he raced to the door, slid on his sandals, and turned to give her one last look. "I'll see you after school, nee-chan! You better be here when I get back!" He chirped, and she gave him a fond look.
He made a heart with his hands, and darted out the door.
Without locking it, she noticed. Though, she was more concerned with something else. She looked down, her legs flickered from translucent to opaque, again and again.
She frowned, looking back up at the door. He'd be gone a while, wouldn't he?
And take a while, Naruto did. He didn't arrive until the sun had just begun to set, slightly after seven. The scent lingering on his clothes made her think that he'd stopped for celebratory ramen, before coming home.
She couldn't even be mad.
When Naruto barrelled through the very-unlocked front door, and looked around with wide eyes, he grinned when he spotted her in his bedroom doorway.
His grin faltered, just for a minute, when he saw that strange look in her eyes again. It was one he'd seen a million times by now, but he still just couldn't name it.
"Guess what, Naruko, you won't believe it!" He said, between excitement and genuine exasperation.
"Oh, I bet I will." She practically purred, something unknown in her words. He scrunched his face for a second, as if to show he was contemplating the chance she would. Then he shrugged.
"Nope! You'd have never guessed that I got Sakura, and Sasuke as teammates! Never!" He decided, a growing grin stretching his lips, revealing sharp canines.
She returned the expression, "Yeah? What's next, you gonna tell me your sensei is some big-shot like Kakashi Hatake?" She poised, but Naruto didn't catch the knowing drawl in her words.
Nope. He took the fact she didn't guess Hatake directly, as a victory for him. "Ha! Actually, we got Kakashi Hatake himself, nee-chan!" He said, with all the childishness of a boy his age.
She snorted, but remedied the situation but looked genuinely happy for him. "Yeah? What was he like?" Her blue eyes glinted, and he groaned.
"He was sooo late! I'm gonna be late tomorrow, just to get him back!" Naruto proclaimed with a vengeance, and Naruko smiled, though her eyes seemed seriously pitying. Internally though, she cheered on his plan of lateness. She didn't voice that, though, lest she encourage Naruto too much.
"What's happening tomorrow?" She asked.
"A test, a serious one!" He proclaimed, all wide-eyed and determined. Naruko tried her best not to chuckle, but to instead nod somberly.
The next morning, Naruko insists he have breakfast, and he agrees. After showing up late, their sensei arrives later, and the test begins.
Team Seven passes. Iruka treats Naruto to lunch at Ichiraku's Ramen after finding him tied to a stump.
"You can pretend but I knew, you'd reach that blue sky."
Naruto walked into his apartment, and his sister-figure was sitting on the floor, eyes shut with her eyebrows drawn together. Meditating, she'd called it, and he'd seen her do it more and more recently.
Her eyes flickered open immediately, and she greeted him with a soft smile.
"So, how do you like your team?" Naruko asked, and he was quick to reply. Instead of moving to the couch, Naruto sat across from her on the hard floor.
"Well, Sasuke ain't too bad. And Sakura's as smart as ever, but Sensei is great! He's smart, and strong, and he's funny as hell!" He said with a grin, recalling a particularly mean jab Kakashi had taken at Sasuke. It was petty to find humor in such things, but Naruto really didn't care.
He and Sasuke weren't friends by any measure, not yet, at least. Naruto's eyes narrowed, reflecting a longing in those cerulean irises that he didn't think Naruko would recognize.
(She did. )
Before his sister could remark something about him being too harsh on Sasuke, he amended his earlier statement. "Sasuke is actually cool, sometimes." He said, albeit begrudgingly.
Then she grinned, and he looked up at her, and her eyes were teary.
His heart-dropped, and he couldn't quite understand why.
"Good, Naruto, I'm glad you like them.." She said, before taking in a deep, steadying breath.
His shoulders squared, and he looked at her with a mirthless expression. Something wrong, and he didn't know what it was, until a few minutes later.
"It's time for me to leave, Naruto-chan." She said quietly, and the blood in his veins froze to ice.
"L-like, time for you to go out? To the park? O-On a walk?" He knew that wasn't it. He could read it in her face.
"No, Naruto-chan. Leave, for good." Naruko tried to soothe him with her tone, bu the worlds unsettled him, done to his very bones.
He stammered for a minute, and his hands started to tremble with sorrow, because her voice was so final . Like there was no negotiation to be had. "L-like, to heaven? Er, the afterlife?" He replied, squeezing his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. Anything to stop the shaking.
"N-not exactly.. Naruto, I'm uh, I'm imaginary." She forced out the words, and where they tasted foreign- wrong- on her tongue, they sounded impossible to Naruto's ears. Because she was his sister, she'd been here for years. How… How could she be imaginary?!
His mind reeled, but he threw himself into her arms anyway. Hollowly, he realized, there was no sensation. He could feel no thumb caressing his cheek, but he could see it. He could see the tears in her eyes, but he couldn't feel them falling.
His heart shattered.
"Please don't go!" He cried out, his voice breaking past the point of it's usual rasp. He sobbed then, because the sound of himself outright pleading was enough to force reality down his throat.
Naruko sniffled. "I am so, so sorry, Naruto-chan.. I can't stay anymore. My-.." She paused, before sucking in a breath. "You don't need me anymore, honey. You've got friends, and a team, and Iruka-sensei, not to mention the Ichiraku's and the Hokage himself." Consoled the blonde teen, but he only sobbed more.
"B-but, I want you, nee-chan!" He cried, and by now snot and tears would've surely stained her orange tee-shirt. She didn't say a word, though, because they didn't.
"I'm so, so sorry." She repeated, once, then twice, and a third. Before then saying, "I'm going to fade any minute now, Naruto-chan." She said, noticing the way her hands flickered briefly.
"P-please, don't.." Tried the twelve year old boy, weakly. She hummed, "I wish I could stay, but this is it. I've been here as long as I could manage." She said, tilting her head to the side.
Before he can beg anymore, before he can fight the resignation that's settling into his being, she speaks again.
"Naruto Uzumaki, the future will be rough. It'll be dark, and hard, and sometimes you'll feel like giving up. But you never will, you'll keep going, as long as you can. For me, and everyone you love. Can you promise me that?" She raised her pinky, and he accepted it after a few hiccups.
"O-of course, nee-chan!" He managed, in between sobs. She breathes deeply, and Naruto swears he feels something.
And he does.
He can feel her ragged breaths, he can hear them- He can smell the scent of flowery perfume over the smell of seasonings and ramen. She blows the hair out of his face, and her breath smells distinctly like mint.
She raises both her thumbs, gentle, but calloused, beneath his eyes. She wipes away his tears, slowly, and she ducks down.
Her lips connect to his forehead, and he swears he feels sticky lip-gloss against his skin. She keeps his head tilted down, and it's with numb horror that he watches her body balance between ghostly and whole, once, then twice.
"I love you." She uttered. Another flicker.
Then, just like that, her physical form was gone. Then, went the sensation of touch that he felt on his skin, fading along side the goosebumps he didn't know had raised.
And last of all, the scent. The scent of fresh marigolds, of spring-flowers and miso ramen, and the breeze during a windy day.
"I'm imaginary. " She'd told him. But Naruto knew better.
"She's imaginary. " The Sandaime, his Oji-sama, had told him once. But Naruto knew better.
Even after she'd disappeared, he couldn't believe it.
"..It's closer to you, the blue sky..
It's there waiting for you, the blue sky…."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi, so after reading this, you may wonder whether or not Naruko is really imaginary. And that, dear reader, I leave up for interpretation! Decide for yourself, and let me know what you prefer in the reviews. This is a one-shot, and there probably won't be any chance of it becoming a two-shot.
That being said, if you were wondering, this story was brought by me listening to a cover of Blue Bird and letting my emotions run wild. Hence, the bits before every important time-skip has lyrics from that English cover. No idea how accurate they are, but they sound pretty, hm?
Please, let me know what you think! Constructive criticism, blatant hate, love, any of it! (Actually, don't send hate... I might light aflame. I'm prone to doing that.) Much love to you and yours, though!
Abient, signing off!~