Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs using characters from the series Naruto. I own not the novel nor the series so, if you please, do not sue me for I own nothing but my computer. Future SASUNARU. Thank you.
"The Letters of Naruto Uzumaki to Sharingan Rooster-Head-sama"
Naruto slouched out of the dormitory towards the campus. He didn't know if Sasuke still remembered him. He was itching—no, burning to know if the other boy still recognized him but he was also…scared. His ambivalence made him unusually silent.
Maybe if I just keep quiet he won't remember me…Easier said than done. He was starting to feel amused dark eyes boring onto his back. His hands twitched. He could feel his hackles standing up. He couldn't take it anymore!
"Look! I know that you know what I know but don't think that you know everything because you don't know anything!" Naruto yelled, rounding up to the dark-haired boy that their bodies almost collided.
They both froze. Naruto was panting hard while Sasuke just stared at the blonde boy.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke finally rumbled. "Moron," he added as an afterthought.
Naruto visibly bristled at the insult.
"I am not a moron, you—!" Naruto's eyes widened. This was how their fight in the orphanage started. Oh no!
He quickly turned around and stomped away.
Sasuke looked confused for a moment before a mischievous smirk graced his face. He caught up with the blonde and heard the other boy mumbling under his breath.
"Dun really care if he…but I like…ain't fair…people will say… run away…haven't gone on a tour…start with…"
"Your favorite place," he said.
Naruto stopped and looked at him funny.
"What?"
"You asked before where I wanted to go first for this tour. That's my answer. Why don't you show me all of your favorite place?"
Naruto cocked his head to the side, nibbling on his lips. Then he huffed and continued with his walk.
"Fine! Whatever! Let's go."
Naruto led Sasuke across the grounds and straight to the gym where there was a kempo practice going on.
"This is my favorite place. That's my favorite sport."
Naruto's teammates saw them and started shouting greetings to him. Suddenly scared that they would come and start asking questions, Naruto waved to them and hurriedly dragged Sasuke away.
Their next stop was the library. Naruto walked straight to the second floor which was furnished with old sofas.
"This is also my favorite place. It's more quiet here because not many people come to the second floor."
Sasuke took a moment to browse the volumes lined up in the shelves and found that most of them were stories about old Japan. He was about to pull out one book but Naruto grabbed his arm and hauled him towards the small park inside the campus.
"This also my favorite place."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he followed Naruto along a cobbled path across the mini-forest.
"It seems like you have a lot of favorite places," he murmured.
"Yeah well! This is a nice place!" Naruto yelled in defiance.
"Yes, it does seem nice compared to the Konoha Home."
Naruto froze. Slowly, painfully he turned to face Sasuke.
"You remember me," he whispered, meeting eyes as black as midnight.
"How can I forget someone who gave me a bruise that lasted for a week?"
"Don't tell."
What?" Sasuke frowned, noting Naruto's frightened face.
"Look," Naruto licked his dry lips. "They don't know, my friends, I mean. They don't know that I come from an orphanage. They think—I said that my parents died early and I was brought up by this guy who used to be their friend."
Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest.
"So?"
"So? So! So you can't tell anybody! Look I'm sorry about picking a fight with you. But I'm not sorry about giving you a bruise because you deserved it. I mean, just because you're a rich bastard doesn't give you the right to insult me!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the rambling blonde.
"But anyway, you can't tell anybody that I'm from the orphanage because—because—because they'll hate me! And I don't want people to hate me. This is the first time that I've actually got friends! I don't want to lose them!"
By the end of his speech, Naruto was waving his arms in distress, looking pleadingly at Sasuke. A wordless battle raged until Sasuke sighed a long, suffering sigh.
"You really are an idiot," he said.
"Hey!"
"Friends should accept you for who you are not for your family's background or some such nonsense."
"But—"
Sasuke waved a hand impatiently.
"I'm hungry," he suddenly said. "Where's a good place to eat here?"
He walked on, passing a Naruto who was completely dazed by the sudden change of topic.
"Idiot! Are you going to just stand there all day?"
"Huh? Wha—Hey who're you calling an idiot?"
Naruto ran up to Sasuke, glaring at the taller boy. As they stepped off the path, it took a while for Sasuke to notice that Naruto had stopped. He looked back to see the blonde fidgeting.
"What now?" he asked, exasperation clear in his voice.
"So, you're not going to tell right?"
Sasuke sighed. He seemed to be doing that quite a lot with the blonde as company.
"What good would it do me to tell anybody?"
"Well, you could do it as payment for the bruise and you know…"
"I am not petty. Furthermore I don't know anybody here besides you and Neji. And contrary to what my moron of a cousin says, I do not enjoy being related to him nor do I look forward to having conversations with him. Now, can we just go somewhere and eat?"
"You promise?" Naruto asked in a small voice. He really hated himself for sounding so weak in front of the other boy but he couldn't help it.
"What?"
"That you won't tell?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment.
"Fine. I promise not to tell anyone that you're an orphan idiot. There? Happy now?"
Naruto looked suspiciously at him for a moment before shrugging and taking a tentative step forward.
"I guess. Come on, I'll show my most favorite place in the whole world!"
"Something tells me I already know what that is," Sasuke murmured.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Minutes later they were seated in a booth with bowls of steaming ramen in front of them.
"I knew it…" Sasuke muttered, looking suspiciously at the noodles in front of him and the energetic blonde who seemed to have completely forgotten his problems of a few minutes before.
"Let's eat!"
Monday evening
Dear Daddy Sharingan Rooster-Head,
Forget about my promise to write to you only once a month! I need to vent my frustrations and you're the only person I know who will really listen.
I had the weirdest morning today since I came here. Neji's cousin, Sasuke Uchiha, came for a visit and I had to tour him around the campus because Neji and Iruka had a test. I didn't want to go at first because, well, anybody related to Neji has to be baaad. It turned out that the Uchiha bastard was badder than bad. He was worse!
See, I've met that guy before. In the orphanage.
I've never told you this before, daddy, but on the day you gave me my scholarship I had a fight with a Trustee's son. (Please don't tell anybody about this!) He insulted me and I kicked his ass real good! But now I wish I hadn't because that son turned out to be, you guessed it, Sasuke Uchiha!
At first I thought that he had forgotten me but he hadn't. So I asked him to keep the fact that I'm an orphan a secret. He promised not tell anyone but can I really trust him?
After the tour we ate at the Ichiraku, my favorite ramen restaurant and he actually let me eat five bowls of ramen, a piece of cake, and some sweets—and he paid for all of them! He was really loaded with money. I wonder what it feels like to be that rich. I told him all about Neji and Iruka and Lee in between my bowls of yummy ramen.
When we got back Neji was waiting outside the dorm's main doors but Sasuke said that he had to rush. He practically ran to his car and left Neji gaping at the smoke he made. Guess he wasn't joking when he said he didn't like Neji's company. Which makes me think—why come all the way to your cousin's private school only to put up with a bratty orphan who once gave you a bruised face and then dash off when your cousin is finally free? The Hyuuga-Uchiha clan is really weird.
Neji was really furious when that Uchiha bastard suddenly left. He kept harassing me, breathing down my neck and telling me that I had no right to keep the Uchiha bastard all to myself. Jeez! The way he keeps talking, he sounds like I stole his boyfriend (or girlfriend, whatever!) or something.
And now I come to the frustrating part. I don't know if I can really trust the Uchiha bastard. He promised that he wouldn't tell anybody my secret but what if he changes his mind? What if he decides that it'll be funny to ruin my life? What if he tells his dad and his dad talks to you? You won't let him change you, right? You'll always be my daddy, right?
Naruto
Dear Daddy,
Neji has stopped harassing me. But now I keep having nightmares where my friends slowly disappear saying that they don't like me anymore because I'm an orphan. Arg! I can't stand this pressure anymore! I'll go crazy!
Stressed out,
Naruto
Dear Daddy Sharingan,
No news must mean good news right? It's been two weeks since that Uchiha bastard's visit and my friends are still talking to me. That's good right?
Iruka has noticed that something's on my mind. He keeps saying that I can tell him anything, that sometimes telling someone your problems can help. Yeah right like I can just say, "Yo! I'm an orphan and I'm only here because some rich, fat guy decided that I'm funny and wanted to send me to school." See how stupid I'd sound? And Iruka's so nice that he's even invited me to go to his house this summer. But what if—arg!
I know I'm obsessing over this thing but I can't help it. That Uchiha bastard said that people should accept me for who I am. But what if they don't like who I was?
Everywhere I look, people are smiling. Summer is near and everybody is looking forward to the coming vacation. The whole campus is so ALIVE. Sometimes I see a flower or a bunch of happy people and I feel my mood lifting but then I remember that I might not be able to see that flower or have fun with those people if they found out my secret.
To make my stress even worse I've just received a letter from Ebisu-sensei. He says that since I have no place to go to this summer, he's willing to let me come back to the Konoha Home and work for my board until the school opens again.
I HATE THE KONOHA HOME!
I'd rather die than go back!
Still stressed out,
Naruto
Naruto plodded morosely towards his dormitory after another long day of classes. Not even the sleek silver car parked in front of the building could stop his introspective mood. He barely noticed a man seated on the couch in the reception area and would have passed by without a glance if not for a hauntingly familiar voice calling out his name. His head snapped up and he found himself looking at the amused eye of Kakashi.
"Yo! Why're you so glum? Summer's here, you should be happy!" Kakashi greeted, standing up and walking over to Naruto who stood rooted in hallway. "Hmmm…you've changed a bit since we first met. You've filled out a bit. That's good. You were so thin back then. But you don't seem to have grown even just an inch taller.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto finally managed to spurt out. He still couldn't handle the idea that his benefactor's perverted secretary was standing in front of him, in his dormitory. Did his last letter not arrive by the mail? Was Kakashi here to tell him that Sharingan-sama was revoking his scholarship? "Is something wrong? Is daddy—I mean Sharingan-sama okay?"
"Yes, yes, he's fine. He asked me to deliver something for you. Maybe this will make you feel better."
Kakashi handed Naruto a sealed envelope. The boy was torn between eagerly tearing it open (it was the first letter he had ever received from his benefactor) and postponing his dread until he was left alone in his room so he could kill himself if it was bad news. The first thought won.
Inside the envelope was a short typewritten note. Naruto's face fell. He had hoped that it would be handwritten. But as he read the message, his face changed from sad to utterly ecstatic.
To Naruto: You can spend your summer at the Chidori Farm. Kakashi will drive you to the farm and back. Just tell him your schedule. Sharingan
Naruto suddenly flung his arms around Kakashi's neck.
"Yay! Yay! I'm going to a farm! I'm going to a farm! Wohoo!"
The two laughed like maniacs in the hallway for some time.
"Say thank you to Daddy!"
"Daddy?"
"Never mind. I'll thank him myself. My summer break starts on the last week of July until the first week of August."
Kakashi nodded, his one eye curved up happily.
"I'll pick you up on the Sunday of the last week of July then."
"Uhn!"
"Well then, you're in a good mood now so I'll go and tell your 'daddy' (Kakashi snickered) that you're a go this summer. Be good until then, okay?"
Naruto walked Kakashi to the door and waved madly until the silver car had vanished from sight. Then he bounced up to his room intent on starting a long letter of thanks to his Daddy Sharingan. He stopped a bit, realizing that he could have just had Kakashi wait for him to finish the letter and have it delivered by hand instead of the usual post mail. He shrugged, too much in a good mood to let the oversight affect him.
"Naruto!" Iruka greeted as he reached their floor. "Here!"
A white box with his name on it was shoved towards him.
"What's this?" he asked, opening the lid. His eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the chocolates he uncovered.
"They are from my cousin, Sasuke Uchiha," Neji explained from his room.
Naruto nearly dropped the box in surprise. He peered inside the room and saw Neji holding a similar box in his hand.
"He gave each of us on this floor a box," Iruka said, beaming at the piece of chocolate he was about to eat.
"Oh, uhm, thanks, I think," Naruto said, backing out of the room. "I'll, uh, eat this in my room."
He hurried out then stopped and retraced his steps. He poked his head in just as Neji popped a piece of chocolate in his mouth and Iruka was picking another piece out of the box.
"By the way I'm going to this farm that my, uhm, guardian knows."
"That's great! I hope you have fun!" Iruka cried enthusiastically.
"Yeah, fun. See ya!"
Naruto rushed to his room. Closing the door firmly, he walked over to his desk and set the box of chocolates on it. He stared at the box suspiciously before slowly lifting the lid. Taped on the back of the cover was a note:
Idiot, I always keep my promises. –Sasuke UchihaNaruto's shoulders relaxed completely for the first time in weeks. His lips curved into a big smile that rivaled the sun in brightness as he picked up one piece of chocolate.
ARC: As usual, thank you to those who reviewed.
Has anybody else noticed how expressive Naruto's face can be? His face reflects his emotions so openly.
–Dragon.
