Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed your holidays! It took awhile for this update, but it's finally here! And it's a lot longer than normal.
Also, it's getting close to the end of this story. I think maybe 4 or 5 chapters left. It's kind of bittersweet.
Anyways, without further ado, here's the next chapter of Cuts And Bruises!
Naruto woke up to the sound of his alarm. With a yawn, he slowly sat up in bed and stretched. He took a quick glance at his wrist, giving it a twist. His grin grew wide as there was no pain.
Quickly he got ready for school and made his way downstairs into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Naruto." Iruka greeted him with a bright smile. "Breakfast should be ready shortly." He began to gather plates from the cabinets. Kakashi gave the blonde a nod and a raise of his coffee mug in greeting.
"I'll set the table!" Naruto volunteered, running up and gently grabbing the plates.
Iruka's eyes widened at the blondes eagerness. He looked to Kakashi who just gave him a shrug and continued to cook breakfast. "Why, thank you. What's got you in such a good mood today?"
Naruto finished setting the last plate and made his way to the cutlery drawer. Taking out the necessary silverware, he turned back to Iruka. "I'm going to ask a girl out today."
Both Iruka and Kakashi turned to look at him, both their eyes widened in surprise. They gave each other quick glances before looking back at Naruto.
"Is she your soulmate?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto shook his head. "No. At least I'm pretty sure she's not. But she's pretty and nice so why not, right?"
Iruka gave him a big smile. "Of course! Whatever makes you happy, we're supportive of you." He turned to Kakashi. "Right?"
"You got it! Now, who's ready to eat?"
After breakfast, the three of them drove to the high school. Naruto was dropped off in the front where he met up with Kiba, Neji and Sasuke.
"Hey guys!" Naruto called out, waving to his friends as he ran up to them.
"Naruto!" Kiba greeted him. He threw his arm around his shoulder and gave him a toothy grin.
Neji and Sasuke each gave him a nod and the four of them headed into the school.
"So guys, guess what?" Naruto started, sitting in his seat when they reached homeroom.
The other three gave the blonde their attention and Naruto grinned at them excitedly.
"I'm going to ask a girl out today."
"What?" The three of them each asked, different levels of reactions.
"Dude, you found your soul mate?" Kiba asked excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat.
Naruto shook his head. "No, at least I'm pretty sure she's not."
Neji raised an eyebrow up at him. "So even though she's not your soulmate, you're still asking her out?"
"Yep!"
"Why the hell would you do that?"
Kiba, Naruto and Neji all turned to face Sasuke who was looking disgusted.
Naruto shrugged. "Cause she's pretty, and nice. And smart!"
"So?"
Naruto gave a slight glare to the Uchiha. He opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by the bell and soon homeroom began.
As soon as homeroom was finished, Sasuke quickly caught up to Naruto, determined to get an answer. "So why would you ask this girl out if she's not your soulmate?"
Naruto gave a quick glance to the raven to see he was genuinely curious. He stood up straighter. "Why not? It's better than being lonely and I can get in some experience in the meantime as I'm waiting to find my soul mate."
Sasuke's eyes widened a bit in shock. "I guess. It just seems pointless." He shook his head.
"What seems pointless?"
"Asking out someone who isn't your soulmate."
"Why would you say it's pointless?"
They reached their first class where they sat in their seats, waiting for the bell to ring.
"You're just going to break up anyways. Why bother?"
Naruto gave him a sad smile. "Well, what if you never get the chance to meet your soulmate? They're on the other side of the world or God forbid they died. Why not at least have a chance to love and be loved in return. And if you ever do find them, the other person will understand."
Sasuke was stunned by Naruto's answer. He said nothing, instead, he looked down at his desk.
Naruto just smirked as the bell rung and class began.
The rest of the day passed by slowly for Naruto. But soon enough, he was in art class. He nervously looked around and spotted the familiar head of pink hair. He smiled before walking over to her.
"Hey Sakura," he greeted. She looked up at him with a smile. "Can I talk with you for a second?"
She gave him a concerned look before placing a well manicured hand on his arm. "Of course. Is everything okay?"
He nodded. Pleased with his answer, she took her hand away and watched as he sat down.
"So," she started after Naruto was silent for a while. "What's up?"
Naruto let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Well, I'm just going to outright say it." He looked over at her to see her nod. "Do you want to go out with me?" He pursed his lips as he watched her, waiting for an answer.
There was no immediate reaction. She looked at him thoughtfully before she slowly smiled, her eyes closing. "You know what, yeah, I'd like that."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, really?" He wasn't expecting her to say yes, at least not that quickly.
She giggled as she nodded at him. "Yeah."
"Okay, how's tonight?" Naruto gave her a bright smile. "We can catch a movie and then grab a bite to eat?" He gave her a hopeful smile.
"That sounds perfect!" She clapped her hands together, causing the paintbrush in her hand to lightly splatter paint. "I'm sorry!" She gasped as she noticed a spot of paint on his cheek.
"No worries!" Naruto grinned back and was about to go to wipe it off. Before he could do anything, she leaned forward and gently wiped it off with her thumb.
She sat back, a triumphant smirk on her face. "There. That's better."
"Thanks."
"Now, I'm almost finished with my painting. How far along are you?"
Naruto blinked owlishly at her before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, nowhere near close?"
Sakura giggled. "Well then, let me help you out."
The two of them continued working on their paintings for the remainder of the period. Chatting during the time.
The rest of the day flew by for Naruto and before he knew it, it was the end of the day. Naruto met up with Kiba, Neji and Sasuke at the usual place.
"Guys, I did it!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran up to them, looking at each of them with a proud grin.
"Did what?" Kiba asked blankly.
"Asked the girl out! And she said yes!"
The three other boys looked at him in surprise. They gave glances to each other before giving their attention back to Naruto. "Who'd you ask out?" Neji was the first to ask the question that was on all three of their minds.
"Sakura." He replied with a smile.
"Sakura?!" The three of them shouted in unison, all shocked by his answer.
He gave them a blank stare. "Yeah."
"You do know she's like, the worst girl you can ask out in this school, right?" Kiba asked, looking at Naruto like he grew another head.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "She's not bad at all guys. She's really nice to me, and she's very smart. And pretty."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She knows you hang out with me?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but I don't see why-"
Sasuke quickly cut him off. "She's just using you."
"What?"
"Sasuke." Neji gave the raven a warning look but Sasuke chose to ignore him, instead narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, she's just using you to get close to me. You can ask anyone at this school about her obsession with me and they'll tell you. She's probably being nice and everything so that by dating you, she'll be able to get closer to me."
Naruto looked down at his feet. Sasuke's words hurting more than he felt they should. He rubbed at his chest, hoping to relieve the feeling. "So you don't think she can ever like me for me?"
"No." Sasuke was quick to answer.
"And you guys agree?" The blonde looked over at Kiba and Neji. The two brunettes said nothing, but not looking at him either. He took their silence as confirmation. He clenched his fists tightly, the hurt growing inside. "Yeah well you're wrong, Uchiha! Me and Sakura are going out tonight and we'll have a great time and your name won't even be brought up in conversation!"
Sasuke shrugged at Naruto's response, choosing not to say anything.
"Whatever. Fuck you, then." Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets before walking away, heading back into the school.
He felt tears sting the corner of his eyes as he walked through the emptying hallways of the school. He wiped at his eyes as he reached Iruka's classroom. He walked in with the best smile he could muster.
"Naruto!" Iruka greeted with a smile, Kakashi waved at him from one of the desks in the front row. "How was your day?"
"It was good." Naruto sat down next to Kakashi, throwing his bag on top of the desk. "The girl I asked out said yes. We're going on a date tonight."
"Really?" Iruka looked at him, excitement shown on his face. "Congratulations, I'm so proud of you!"
"Yeah, good job, champ!" Kakashi patted the blonde on his shoulder. "So we should probably head out soon so you can get ready."
"Of course! Here, let me gather my papers." Iruka quickly stood up before gathering his stuff. "Alright guys, let's get out of here!"
Around five, Naruto and Sakura walked through downtown Konoha, on their way to the movie theater.
Naruto felt himself get nervous as they were walking. He gently reached out and grabbed Sakura's hand, unsure if that was the right move.
Sakura looked down at their hands as Naruto gently grasped hers. She let out a giggle as the blonde refused to make eye contact with her. "You nervous?"
"N-no! What would m-make you think that?" Naruto asked, stuttering.
She gave him a playful smirk. "The fact that you can't look at me, your hands are sweaty and you're stuttering."
Naruto felt his cheeks heat up and he let out a shaky laugh. "It's that obvious, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. You don't have to be nervous. I'm still the same Sakura from school."
Naruto nodded. "You're right! So, what movie do you want to see, seeing as we're almost at the theater." He nodded towards the giant neon sign that was flashing the word 'Movie'.
"I don't know. I was thinking something action-y maybe?"
Naruto's eyes widened. "You're into action movies?"
Sakura gave a shrug. "I'm down to watch anything. I overheard Kiba, Neji and Sasuke talking about action was their favorite genre. Know anything good playing?"
Naruto frowned at the mention of Sasuke's name but quickly shook his head, trying not to let that ruin his date. "Uh, yeah, actually. So, there's this new superhero movie," he began to describe the movie to her as they waited in line to purchase their tickets.
After the movie, the two walked out of the theater, hand in hand.
"That was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his free hand in the air, a giant grin on his face.
Sakura giggled as she watched Naruto go on about the movie. "Yeah, it was really good, I liked it."
"Really?" Naruto looked at her, true happiness showing through as Sakura nodded. "Good, I didn't want you to be bored or anything."
Sakura shook her head. "No! I wasn't bored."
Naruto nodded back. "Cool, so where do you want to eat?"
Sakura tapped her chin, thinking on her answer. "There's this diner that's two blocks away. Sasuke mentioned it was good but I've never been there before."
Naruto felt himself get angry but quickly took a deep breath and gave her a forced smile. "Okay. No where else you wanna go?"
Sakura shook her head. "Nope. I'll lead the way!"
Naruto nodded as Sakura began to head towards the diner. He silently listened as Sakura went on about herself. He couldn't help but to zone out, doubting Sakura's reasonings for accepting the date.
They arrived at the diner and were seated quickly. They placed their order and began to talk when they were interrupted.
"Well, looky here." Naruto froze at the voice as Sakura looked up from her milkshake in curiosity.
"If it ain't little Naruto." Brandon was the last to speak, Kyler and Lewis standing next to him, all three sporting smirks.
"So is this the little emo girl who's screaming for attention?" Kyler nodded at Sakura.
"Emo girl?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at the three boys before looking towards Naruto.
"No. She's not." Naruto hissed at the three of them. "Now get lost."
Lewis began to laugh. "So you actually got a girl to go out with you who's not your soulmate? Maybe you're not a loser, after all."
The three of them looked at each other before laughing loudly.
Naruto felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment and he glared at the table, not saying anything.
Sakura glared up at the three boys. "I don't who you guys are, or what your relationship with Naruto is, but we're on a date and I'd appreciate it if you could go away so we can enjoy the rest of it. Thank you."
Naruto looked at her in surprise, as well as Kyler, Brandon and Lewis.
"You heard the girl, boys." Kyler narrowed his eyes at Sakura before smirking at Naruto. "We'll leave. But Naruto, we still need to talk so meet us at the usual hang out, alright?"
Naruto said nothing until Brandon kicked him under the table, it going unnoticed by Sakura. "Right. See you."
The three of them left and Naruto let out a breath of relief.
"Who were those guys?" Sakura asked, a mix of curiosity and concern in her tone of voice.
"Just some guys from my old school." He responded with a shrug, easily lying to her. "They're more bark than bite."
Sakura nodded before reaching out and grabbing his hand. "As long as you're not in any serious trouble, okay? I don't want to see you hurt."
Any doubts of Sakura's intentions of why she accepted his date left as soon as she said those words. He gave her a genuine smile and squeezed her hand in response. "Thanks, Sakura."
She smiled back at him and then the food arrived. They both sat back in their seats and began to eat.
Naruto walked Sakura back to her house. They stopped in front of her door, Naruto looking down at her as she looked back up at him.
"I had a good time tonight, Naruto." She smiled up at him.
"Me too." He gave her a bright smile in return.
She giggled. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning then. We can tell Sasuke and the guys about how our date went in homeroom."
Naruto felt himself frown once again at the mention of the raven. "Uh, sure."
"Goodnight." She placed her hands on his shoulder and stood up on her toes to place a kiss on his cheeks.
"Night." He replied as she stepped away. He watched as she opened her door and step inside.
He stuffed his hands into his pants pocket and with a sigh, began his walk home.
All he could think about was Sasuke's words from earlier, and how the longer the date went on, the more Sakura seemed to really only be interested in Sasuke. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Didn't forget about us, did you?"
Naruto groaned as he looked behind him to ser Brandon, Kyler and Lewis appear out of the alley he just walked past. "I did actually. Can we do this another time?"
The three of them slowly surrounded the blonde and Naruto sighed in defeat. He needed to let out some frustration from his date anyways.
"You have the money to take out some girl but don't have the money to pay us back?" Kyler spoke up.
Naruto rolled his eyes. a forty dollar date is different than a two hundred dollar phone. You know damn well I don't have that kind of money." He walked past them, bumping his shoulder into Brandon's as he walked through.
"Why don't you ask your new fags of fathers to lend you money?" Lewis snickered.
Naruto froze at the comment. He felt his blood boiling and he saw red. Before he was really even thinking, he turned and charged at Lewis, tackling him to the ground.
He started to throw punches at the boy, trying to get in as many hits before the other two would intervene.
It took them no longer than ten seconds before they were dragging the blonde off their friend, tossing him against a brick wall of one of the buildings in the alley.
Naruto groaned out, trying to get up only to be kicked back down. He covered his face as he began to feel multiple kicks.
The three of them threw their insults with their assaults, not giving the blonde a chance to retaliate.
It wasn't long till the three of them stopped, out of breath and proud of the damage they did to the blonde.
"Let's go, guys. I'm sure we'll be seeing Naruto again real soon.
They walked away, leaving him alone.
Naruto shakily stood up and looked down at his clothes and body. He was covered in dirt and bruises were starting to form on his arms where he was covering his face from their kicks.
He began his walk back home, when a horn honk made him stop to look.
"Naruto!" Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Iruka scrambling out of the car. "Naruto, what happened?!" He stopped in front of the blonde, placing both hands on his shoulder.
"I got in a fight with some kids from my old school." Naruto mumbled. He felt tired and just wanted to go home and sleep.
Iruka slowly guided Naruto into the backseat of the car. He then climbed into the passenger car. As Kakashi began to drive, Iruka turned in his seat to face him. "I thought you had a date you were going on?"
Naruto looked off to the side. "I did. And I was. But then they interrupted it and found me after I dropped her off."
Iruka and Kakashi looked at each other in concern before Iruka turned back to him. "Is everything okay?"
Naruto shrugged, not saying anything.
"Listen Naruto, if you need help from us don't hesitate to ask, okay? We want to be there for you as your parents."
"Like adoption?" Naruto tentatively asked.
"Yeah, like adoption." Iruka smiled warmly at him.
Naruto looked up in surprise and felt his heart warm at the words.
"But we need you to be upfront with your problems, kiddo." Kakashi spoke up. "And getting into fights is not something that we want you to do."
Naruto nodded firmly. "I understand."
"Good." Iruka reached over and placed his hand on his knee.
Naruto smiled and was about to place his own hand on top of his, when a stinging pain came from his wrist. He hissed and retracted his arm, cradling it.
"Is everything okay?" Iruka asked, concerned at the distraught look on Naruto's face.
Naruto couldn't answer as he watched angry red marks appear on his wrist. His eyes widened as one in particular was larger.
"Naruto?" Kakashi gave him a glance through the rearview mirror.
Naruto shook his head as the cuts stopped but the pain lingered. "No. I-it's my soulmate."
"What's going on?" Iruka asked.
Naruto held out his wrist for Iruka to see, using his free arm to wipe at his eyes. "I'm not sure but this happens a lot."
Iruka frowned at the lines on his wrist and Kakashi glanced down at them as well.
"It just sucks cause I can't be there for her, you know?" Naruto sighed as he took back his arm, the stinging beginning to subside. "And I have no idea why, I just feel so helpless."
"It's understandable." Kakashi replied. "Knowing someone is hurting and is in trouble but not being able to do anything is frustrating. You just have to be strong and when the time comes for you to meet them, be there for them."
"Exactly what Kakashi said. And if you're struggling to stay strong, we're here to help you out too. Don't ever be afraid to ask for help."
Naruto smiled brightly. "Thank you guys, it means a lot to me." He looked back out the window and sighed in happiness.
So how did you guys like it? A lot going on in this chapter and the next one will be about the same but from Sasuke's point of view. I know you guys are just waiting for them to be together, I promise it will happen!
As always, if you liked it, please favorite and review!
~tachiequillsluv