"Mr. Smith, I swear I'm doing my work."
*Writes this*
Warning; Different POVs!, Sad boy hours, Tomatoes
"What is better; To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?" -Paarthurnax(Skyrim)
Naruto POV
Sasuke hasn't been to school for a few days.
Sasuke's never been absent before. Sometimes late, but he always showed up in the end.
Naruto trudged outside when lunch rolled around, pausing when he overheard a conversation between two of the girls who proclaimed they were 'Sasuke-kun's biggest fans.' "Didn't you hear Kana? Sasuke-kuns' in the hospital." the redhead's eyes widened, "Did his brother-" Megami shushed her, "We're not supposed to talk about this, but-" Naruto's heart began to race, resolving to find Shikamaru. After all, the pineapple-haired boy always seemed to know what was going on around them, surely he'd know about Sasuke?
He found the other boy under the tree in their usual lunch spot, seemingly asleep. Once Naruto stopped in front of him, Shikamaru's eyelids fluttered open. Naruto idly noted the faint bags under them but didn't comment on it. "Shikamaru, do you know what happened to Sasuke dattebayo? I heard that he's in the hospital." Naruto frowned, worriedly fidgeting in place. Shikamaru straightened, Choji looked away with watery eyes. "You didn't know?" His voice was soft, "Sasuke's brother… It's not my story to tell. Visit him in the hospital and ask him."
Naruto felt dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He gulped, nodded, then took off, making sure Iruka didn't notice him slip out the academy gates. Naruto hurriedly made his way towards where the hospital was located, ignoring any looks sent his way. Once he arrived, he walked up to the lady working at the front desk, speaking up to get her attention. "Um, do you know which room Uchiha Sasuke is in?" He asked politely. The woman did a double-take once she saw him, then eyed him with disinterest, coughing into her hand. "Uchiha-san isn't allowed to have any visitors right now, please come back later." Was her curt response, the paper on the desk taking her attention once more.
Naruto scowled, "Hey lady! Sasuke's my friend, I need to see him dattebayo!" She glanced up, mirroring his glare. "Kid, I just told you. The Uchiha isn't allowed any visitors right now." He huffed, storming off down the halls, outrunning the receptionist who gave chase. He stopped outside of a door, opening it, then closing it when he saw an old man on a bed. He flitted from room to room, apologizing, then yelping and dodging the irritated woman from before. Finally, Naruto found him- with Jiji in his room. "Sasuke!" he panted out of breath, hiding behind the Hokage when the irate women entered the room. "I-i'm terribly sorry Hokage-sama, I couldn't stop him-"
Hiruzen waved her off with an amused smile, "It's quite alright Ayano-san. Naruto-kun is allowed to be here." Naruto ignored the rest of their conversation and turned his attention to his best friend. "Naruto," Sasuke said with a small, strained smile. He looked like he'd been crying, his hair was disheveled, and the worn t-shirt and sweatpants he wore didn't help his overall appearance. "Sasuke." He approached slowly, slipping onto the hospital mattress Sasuke was sitting on, scooting next to him. "What happened teme? Shikamaru didn't tell me- but I heard you were in the hospital and was hurt or some 'hing, and I was really worried-"
His friend chuckled, the sound deep in his throat, and closed his eyes. "I'm not injured dobe… do you really think that low of me that I'd let myself get killed?" When he opened his eyes again, red irises bored into his bright blue ones, the mismatched tomoe spinning lazily. His own eyes widened, and he leaned forward to examine them, making Sasuke chuckle again. "Why're your eyes like that?" Sasuke smiled more genuinely this time, tapping the area under his left eye idly. "The kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan. The Sharingan. I unlocked it due to the… 'event' that occurred a couple of days ago…" he trailed off, Sharingan fading from his eyes, adopting that tired look again. His dark eyes flitted to the ground, and Naruto could feel that his friend was retreating into himself again.
He shook his shoulders, glaring determinedly into eyes, ignoring the surprise that dawned on his face. "The Sasuke I know doesn't give up or wallow in his own self-pity. I may not know what happened or what's going on- but you're not alone teme! Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, even Shino are all your friends. I'm your friend." He wiped at his own eyes, matching Sasuke's wide ones with a fierce look. "So don't make yourself suffer alone." We both don't have to- I'm not alone anymore either.
Sasuke choked back a sob. The dam broke, salty tears started falling down his cheeks. Naruto wrapped his arms around his friend, making Sasuke bury his face into his shoulder, returning the hug. After a few minutes, the tears stopped, and Sasuke continued in a scratchy voice, "My family is gone. I feel responsible." Naruto turned his head to look at his face. "Itachi-nii left the village- he's a nuke-nin now. Shisui is hell knows where, he might be dead." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm the only Uchiha left in Konoha. I-i saw my parent's bodies. I can't unsee them. One of the perks of the Sharingan." He spat that last part, tightening his grip.
Naruo stayed silent, knowing Sasuke had more to say. "I'll bounce back soon. Well, it's true I've been wallowing in my own grief these last few days, during the times I've been awake that is." Sasuke sighed, shutting his eyes. "It hurts. It's so painful." he gripped his shirt near his heart with a shaky hand, blinking, and meeting Naruto's eyes again. "I just need to heal, and you're right. I-i think I need to get out of this room, the hospital. Death clings to the air here and it really doesn't help my mood as is." he went quiet, glancing back at the space behind him.
The Hokage and that lady had left to give them privacy. "Are you going back home?" Naruto asked, already expecting his answer. "No, not so soon. I... I'll return eventually, just not now." he nodded, slowly unpeeling his arms off his friend, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, you could always stay at my apartment if you wan' to." he pointed a thumb to himself, offering Sasuke a grin. "And I'm sure Shikamaru wouldn't mind if you stayed with his clan too Dattebayo."
Sasuke wiped at his face and managed a smirk, "I told you we'd have a sleepover right?"
Kakashi POV
Anbu Hound watched through a window the nine-tails Jinchuriki and the last Uchiha as they attempted to cook, snickering silently to himself when the pan caught fire. The Uchiha, 'Sasuke', smacked Naruto over the head, turning the stove off and dosing the fire with a bottle of water, giving his failed meal a mournful look. Hound circulated some chakra to his ears, cringing as Naruto screeched when Sasuke tackled him. "You ruined my tomatoes!" Sasuke stated, projecting impressively potent killer intent for a child. "P-please spare me!" He pleaded, eyes going wide in terror at Sasuke's murderous expression. "I h-have some allowance- I can replace them!" Sasuke paused and contemplated this for a moment, before shrugging and getting up, holding out a hand to the yellow-haired boy. "Acceptable."
Naruto sighed in relief, taking the dark-eyed boy's hand. Hound sighed, pulling out his favorite book and flipping through the pages lazily. He paused when he noticed the Uchiha was looking out the window- and straight at him, Sharingan spinning, and head tilted to the side curiously like a puppy. He stared back, then raised his hand in a lazy greeting, smirking under his mask when Sasuke rolled his eyes, returning to the kitchen. Hound had been the Anbu assigned to guard the last Uchiha and make sure Itachi didn't return to finish his brother off. Though Sasuke did state that Itachi told him he was a waste of time, too weak to be bothered with. His grip tightened on his book, Itachi…
He relaxed, continuing his guard duty with an air of melancholy, trying to keep his mind off of things by watching the two academy students.
After a few games they concocted to entertain themselves till the early hours of the morning(and ideas for future pranks.) they seemed to slow down, yawning and getting ready for bed. They both slipped into Naruto's bed, opting to face their backs towards each other. The jinchuriki was soon asleep and snoring away, Sasuke however, wasn't. He gazed up at the ceiling with his arms behind his head, a glazed over look in his eyes. His eyes watered, Sharingan spinning to life, and glanced over at a sleeping Naruto. He let out a shaky breath and resumed roaming his eyes over the cracks and dips in the walls, trying to calm himself enough to sleep. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and closed his eyes, rolling over to sleep.
Shikamaru POV
Shikamaru was lazy, a slacker, daydreamer, and one of Sasuke's closest friends. He was also a genius, though it didn't take one to sense that there was something off about Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes at the back of his head, watching as Sasuke scribbled over something in his Sketchbook and huffed, irritated. Sasuke had been weary and nervous the past couple weeks, with no clear reason why. The other members of 'The breakfast club', or the 'Rookie 9', as Sasuke called their group, was starting to catch on to Sasuke's attitude as well. Even someone as dense as Kiba, subconsciously knew something was off. He finally decided to ask him, not really expecting a clear answer, and he didn't receive one. Sasuke felt some obligation, or reason to keep his thoughts to himself, though obviously appreciated it when Shikamaru voiced his concern. A little of the weight on his shoulders lifted, which is all he wanted to accomplish.
He had been horrified when he heard of the massacre.
His whole clan- killed by his brother no less. Sasuke loved his brother, he would often talk about him. Sasuke admired him, it was obvious. Same as his cousin Shisui.
Shisui sometimes came to walk Sasuke home from their group gatherings at the park when Itachi was busy. Shisui was strange, but it was clear he was like another older brother to him, which the group accepted quickly.
"Aw, my minion is gathering minions of his own! I'm so proud," he said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye and ruffling Sasuke's already messy hair. He squawked, flailing around and fled his cousin's hand like it was something particularly poisonous. "Sushi-chan, don't kid yourself. You were my slave first." Shisui shook his head, clicking his tongue. "You were my minion long before that Sasuke-chan."
Shikamaru sighed and his thoughts drifted elsewhere. The grass around him and Choji at the Yamanaka compound swayed in the light breeze. Ino went quiet when she heard what happened, though Shikamaru heard her crying in the bathroom, repeating something over and over again under her breath. Choji's heart went out to their friend, and came to the hospital with the both of them the day before Naruto did. Choji brought a fruit basket with only tomatoes and apples from Sasuke's favorite vendor. Shikamaru brought his shoji set, and Ino brought a bouquet of gladiolus flowers.
Sasuke was a mess, but his mood lifted considerably from their kind gestures.
He wasn't all there though, like he was only showing a little of how he really felt. He seemed listless at times.
Shikamaru closed his eyes and pushed all those thoughts out of his head for the moment. 'Why can't life be simpler?'
I slid out of the covers and headed towards the kitchen, content to have a tomato or two- or three, hell, why not four? I opened the fridge and grabbed the bag, retrieving four of the delectable fruits. Grabbing paint, a brush, and my sketchbook from my bag, I sat on the couch and idly painted whatever came to mind at the moment. My movements were still sluggish from having just woken up. I hated the depressing cloud that hung over me these past few days and tried to paint what I felt. Dark blue hues and gray accents, black used sparingly. It was a contrasting painting with the dark colors clashing with the white of the paper.
Ironically, it was a scene at the Uchiha compound, just dark and dreary. I shaped the blots on the ground to vaguely resemble the corpses and used a dark, dull red for the blood. Edgy? Yes. Fucks given? None. I can't just pretend it didn't happen. Might as well embrace the nightmare fuel so it doesn't hurt as much. I was sure the Yamanaka's would be on my ass if someone ever saw this sketchbook and reported it. Maybe thirty minutes, or maybe an hour passed. I'm not sure. What I am sure of though, was that Naruto was waking up. I heard a thud and a yelp, then someone trying to get free of something, then failing. I smirked and rolled my eyes, laying out the pages of the sketchbook so I could make a second painting while the other dried.
Not one to waste paint, the painting had that same dreariness that the first one did, but this one was of a forest. I used the red in the leaves, making the setting maybe a cold fall night. "Happy little trees. There are no mistakes, just happen accidents." I quoted and caped the paint, using the leftover in a small tray near my feet to finish it. Naruto walked out of the bedroom, rubbing at a lump on his head and yawning, trudging into the kitchen to fix some instant ramen for breakfast. Shoving the last tomatoes in my mouth, I chewed slowly, setting my sketchbook on the coffee table to dry. "Hey, teme, what day is it again?" came my friend's tired voice. "Uh, Thursday I think."
"I'm late for the academy again." He groaned, then asked, "When are you going back Sasuke?" I gave a light shrug, then sighed and answered, "Hn, probably next week. I can handle it." He came into the living room after a few minutes and sat next to me, setting his ramen down and breaking a pair of chopsticks. We sat in relative silence, the only sounds were me finishing my tomato and Naruto slurping the instant ramen.
He noticed the sketchbook and sent a concerned look my way. "Uh, Sasuke? Your art is.."
"Depressing? Edgy? Morbid?"
He nodded, "Yeah." I chuckled, "You should have seen my art back in the hospital. It's just my way of coping Naru-chan. Nothing to worry about." I ruffled his already messy hair, making him whine and scoot away. I crossed my arms behind my head, glancing out the window and narrowing my eyes. If I hadn't been mistaken, that flash of white was an Anbu's mask. Oh course it's expected to place Anbu on the 'last Uchiha', can't have anyone else try to kidnap me or something. I rolled my shoulders, standing and stretching. "Welp, you better get to school. Cause' who's gonna take notes for me so I don't fall behind?" I smirked at Naruto's resigned sigh, and grabbed my bag off the floor. "I think I'm gonna spend some time out in Konoha today. I'll be back… whenever." I waved off any questions and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
The public library in Konoha had sections closed off to non-ninjas and academy students, however, a little henge and the control to wall-walk and you can pass into the chunin section relatively unnoticed. The library was built with no stairs to the chunin and up sections, and a librarian only occasionally glances at the genin-only area. I activated my Sharingan and henged into a brown-haired unremarkable fourteen-year-old with a forehead protector. Next, I layered a simple genjutsu over myself to give anyone who looks at me the sensation of eyes on them from behind.
I grabbed advanced chakra control exercise books, things on fitness(Maito Gai's), a few books on poison making and a guide on the plants around Fire country. On a whim, I picked up a scroll containing a few C-rank Jutsu that I didn't check(A jounin walked in and I could blow my cover.)
I checked those out and noped out of there as quickly and least suspiciously as possible. I paused in an alleyway to drop the genjutsu and henge, setting down my bag and stuffing my acquired items in. I tightened the straps and slung it over my shoulder again, making my way to my favorite fruit stall.
I determinedly ignored the pitying looks and women who would try to pat my shoulder as I walked by, dodging out of the way absentmindedly. It's not like I want to come off as a dick or anything, but those looks hurt my pride, they make me feel weak. Thankfully the old man- Eiji-san, only sent me a warm smile and gave me my tomatoes free of charge. I sent him back a smile, "Thanks Eiji-jiji." he gave a hearty chuckle, "You make me sound old." I simply smirked, "Ok, ok. Eiji-chan." he waved me off, saying Jiji was fine.
I snacked on one of my fruits while I walked, heading towards the park. It was empty for the most part, except for the little kiddies that would be in the academy when we were genin- Konohamaru's generation. I took my seat under the tree my minions and I hung out at, and cracked open one of the books I'd gotten. 'Move pebbles around on hand, move individual grains of sand-' "Hey, Sasuke!" a familiar voice called, the owner running over and tripping on a couple books I had stacked on the grass. I peered down at his face, raising a brow. "Didn't know you were falling for me now, Kiba." The Inuzuka scowled up at me and jumped up, while Shikamaru and Choji made their way to my spot at a more leisurely pace.
"I'd knew we'd find you here." Shikamaru drawled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I gave the trio an unimpressed look, "Playing hooky again?" Kiba nodded, setting a tiny Akamaru on his head. "Yeah, and since we know you would go stir crazy sitting around all day, we came to find you." I chuckled, propping my head up with my hand on my knee, and gave them a smirk-grin. "Aw, that's just an excuse because you can't come up with better reason to ditch class." Choji flushed, while the other two didn't seem to care. "Yeah, yeah. Besides, it's not like we have nothing to do."
Kiba pulled out a small jar from his pocket, and I idly noted it was filled with swarming fire ants. "Shino got em'." He said proudly, a mischievous gleam in his eye. Eyeing them lazily, I sighed and stood up, putting away my books and taking up my bag again. "Alright, what poor soul are we torturing today?"
"Mizuki-sensei."
"Cower in awe! Recoil in despair! Cry your heart out!" - Deidara
"Art, is an explosion!" - Deidara
Next chapter will be Sasuke moving back into the Uchiha compound, going back to the academy, and learning jutsus.