A Single Act of Kindness

Bad

Naruto knew that it was not a normal thing to see the Hokage when it came to skipping class. He had seen other children get caught before, and all they got were a talk with their parents and detention. It never was a big deal to any other student at the Academy.

Naruto wasn't any other student though; he knew that, he had no parent to talk with about his misbehavior. No one was waiting for him at home after his detention. His teacher didn't bother to even look at him when he told him and Sasuke to see the Hokage after class.

Sasuke, however, looked surprised.

Realizing that this must have been his first time getting in trouble without his family (or it might have been his first time getting in trouble at all, Naruto couldn't think of a single time the top student in their class ever had a bad report), he instantly felt guilty. It wasn't fair to Sasuke that he had to have this extra attention because of him.

So when they both walked to the Hokage's office after class, Naruto couldn't help but to let his pace lag behind the dark haired boy, his minding swimming with thoughts of uncertainly. Why did the Hokage have to see Sasuke too? Was it because he didn't have any parents either, or was it because he got in trouble with him?

He knew Hokage-jiji cared for him. Yet, tinkles of fear raised in his throat like bile. What if the Hokage told Sasuke to stay away from him? What if the Hokage thought that Naruto was a bad influence on Sasuke and forbid them from being friends? What if the Hokage hated him for making Sasuke bad?

Naruto's mind knew these fears were irrational, but his heart was telling him otherwise. His heart and his experience were telling him that this was the end. Nothing in life was ever going to be easy for him. It almost was too easy for them to become friends rather then the rivals they were only months ago.

Nothing was ever going to be easy for Naruto; he knew he should have known that by now.

Nothing was ever going to be right, he was stupid to think otherwise.

The blonde couldn't help it as he let a small, sad smile cross his face.

At least it was fun while it lasted.

Other then taking Sasuke to his apartment after the death of his Clan, Sasuke never talked to the Hokage. He knew he was named after the man's father, but other then that he had no connection with him.

He had never thought much of the Hokage, or what being the Hokage really meant when it came to him personality. Naruto had always spouted off about being Hokage, but he was sure even the blonde behind him didn't truly understand what the Hokage was either.

The Academy had taught him that the Hokage was the leader of the village. He's known as the Sandaime Hokage, who stepped down for a little while but was put back into the position after the Yondaime Hokage had died. Other then that, the Hokage felt like just a word to Sasuke. It never held any kind of barring to him; he didn't understand what being Hokage really was.

If he did think about it a little more in depth, then it almost felt like a Clan leader was, like his father, but on a much bigger scale. Yet, his Clan was no more, and the village moved on clearly without them. Even though his father was the police chief, and his Clan was in charge of enforcing the law within the village, the Shinobi have taken over that duty now. It almost felt like everyone had forgotten about them. It was as if they didn't need the Uchihas.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, how easily his Clan was forgotten. The Hokage barely had said anything about it, and everything and everyone moved on without them. He felt himself growl, the thoughts pounding in his head.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked behind him.

Deciding not to answer, Sasuke pushed his hands into his pockets and kept himself a few paces ahead of Naruto. He wanted to get this over with as quick as possible. It was stupid that they had to see the head of the village for something as trial as skipping class.

"It's true, they are always together."

"How sad, no one can even warn him about that demon either."

Sasuke jerked his head up, hearing someone whispering near him. The streets around this time were busy, between Shinobi returning from missions, street venders selling to civilians, and the recent release of school. The village was buzzing with people.

He wasn't a fan of crowds, and it was because of things like this. People were always whispering about him. Sasuke felt like he was always on display, unable to hide from the tragedy of his Clan, their eye glared at his back, staring at his Clan's symbol like daggers. He felt the pierce of the stares everywhere. It was why he preferred being outside the village gates rather then in them.

Yet, in this busy street on the way to the Hokage's, he had never heard this reaction before.

A demon? Where? Were they talking about him?

People's eyes glanced on him for only a moment, before they stared behind him intensely.

"What does he think he is doing around here?"

"He needs to disappear."

"Sasuke!" the loud, interrupting voice of Naruto bellowed behind him, "Hey, wait up!"

He couldn't help but to quicken his pace instead of slowing down, his ears on high alert as he tried to catch the voices around him. His eyes scanning the look on their faces as each and every person around them seem to take one large step away from them.

"Stay away from that boy honey…"

Sasuke didn't allow himself to think, he allowed himself to open up the world around him, to hear the things around him. He had witnessed these reactions before, and he wanted to find out more.

He wanted to know why.

"Stupid brat, showing his face around here."

"Sasuke!" He could hear Naruto calling out to him but he couldn't turn around just yet.

"Did you hear that that poor Uchiha boy has been corrupted by him?"

"Please, w-wait up! S-S-St-top walking so f-f-fast!" His voice was stammering, Sasuke could hear it but he couldn't process it right now, he had to keep his distance for now. He had to learn more.

"He's a weirdo."

"D-D-Don't leave, p-p-please…" The blonde's voice was cracking, uncertain, but he keep his distance, right now he needed to find out more and he couldn't do that with the boy near him…

Sasuke couldn't help it, he wanted to hear more, to see more, to understand the voices around him as they insulted them. They weren't doing anything but walking down the street, so why were they talking like this? He had noticed it the first time they were together on a busy street. The villagers were talking about Naruto. The blonde had tried to over talk through it all back then but Sasuke was still able to hear them, still able to feel the icy glares.

"You know if it wasn't for that thing, then the Yo—"

"—You can't talk about that. It will get you in trouble."

"First him, and now the poor Uchiha. All he does is bring misfortune."

"He's nothing but bad news."

"S-S-ASUKEEE!"

That had made Sasuke stop cold. Naruto voice cut into the air around them like a knife, the tension full of pounding fear as everyone around them seem to stop mid step and stare at Naruto.

Calling out to Sasuke seemed like the wrong thing to do, making all the eyes around them narrow even further then they were before. Suddenly, two adults walked in front of Naruto, blocking his view of the boy as Sasuke finally started to turn around.

"Leave the boy alone," one of the men said, "Clearly he wants nothing to do with you."

"T-T-That's no-no-not true, ya know." Naruto stammered back, although his tone of voice voiced no confidence, his feet were firm on the ground, "We are go-go-going to see t-t-th-the Hokage."

"He's trying to run away from you brat." The other man answered in a not so friendly tone.

"No I'm not." Sasuke couldn't help but to let a growl escape his throat, but the other men didn't bother to turn around to ask him as they took another step towards Naruto.

Something in the air felt very wrong at this moment, all the villagers gathered around the four of them, all eyes staring but no one daring to come near them. The energy around them felt violent, and the instincts inside of Sasuke told him that they had to get out of here, they had to leave and get to the Hokage's as quick as possible.

The men were civilians, and although he was a child Sasuke knew he could take untrained men on if he needed too. It would get him in a lot of trouble, thoughts of his past teachers explaining that if they got in fights before becoming Genin that it could end in expelling them from the Academy and end their careers as Shinobis.

It was that thought process that made Sasuke stumble, to not react as one of them reached out towards Naruto.

"Get out of here! No one wants you here!"

The man pushed Naruto, hard, causing the boy to stumble and fall. Naruto gave out a painful grunt as he hit the ground. Yet as quickly as he was pushed down, Naruto pulled himself up.

"No." Naruto growled, his confidence coming back to him, "I won't leave!"

"You don't belong here!" The second man yelled, taking a large step towards Naruto, grabbing him by the collar.

The man lifted Naruto off the ground, yet; instead of trying to escape, Naruto seemed to meet the eyes of the man in front of him dead on.

"Rotten pest," the man and Naruto's face were only inches away from each other, "Good for nothing brat."

"I'm not rotten or a brat," Naruto narrowed his eyes, his voice filling the air with determination, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Future Hokage."

He stated with such determination that something in Sasuke made him believe.

He could believe in this Hokage.

One that never forgets.

Jumping into action, Sasuke let his instincts guide him as jumped into the air, landing a kick square in the back of the man's head. The reaction made him drop Naruto, hard, which in turn made Naruto let out a large gasp of air, clearly surprised by the sudden drop.

Sasuke squared his footing, positioning himself between Naruto and the men. The man who he had kicked was still on the ground, holding the side of his head as he was trying to compose himself. The other man next to him was temporary distracted as he was helping his injured friend up.

Yet, before anything else could even happen, something forcefully grabbed his wrist and pulled him, and suddenly he was running. Jerking his head forward, he saw a mob of blonde hair in front of him, pulling him away from the men before they regained their composure.

"Let go!" Sasuke tried to jerk his hand away from Naruto but he was holding onto Sasuke with such force that he saw his knuckles turning white. He felt his wrist burn from the pressure.

"No, we have to see Hokage-jiji before it get bad. They aren't following us, right?"

Sasuke turned his head, seeing the men yell at them, but he was unable to make out what they were saying; it didn't look friendly. Before he was able turn his head around, he felt his arm jerk to the right and down an alleyway. Naruto's movements were not on impulse, they felt in control, as if he has done this plenty of times before.

Running through alleyways that Sasuke had never seen before, he allowed himself to be dragged by Naruto. The men and the crowd behind them were long gone by now, but the energy that surrounded the blonde felt like he was still there, staring them down.

Knowing that they were far away from everything, Sasuke used all the strength he could muster and ripped his wrist away from Naruto. The blonde stopped, turning around to face Sasuke.

They stared at each other, both gasping for breath. Sasuke pulled his arm close to his body, feeling the sting from being pulled. Without realizing it, he used his other hand to hold onto his wrist.

Naruto's eyes followed his movements, before he gasped, "O-O-Oh, n-n-no, Sa-Sa-Sas-u-uke, I'm sorry. I-I-I didn't mean to..." the confidence in his voice he had against the adults was suddenly gone and replaced with stumbling words that Sasuke had never heard Naruto speak before, "…I-I-I was so dumb. Stupid. I'm s-s-so st-stupid."

"Why are you stupid?" Sasuke let go of his wrist, it was throbbing but he ignored the pain as he let himself slowly sat down in the alleyway, allowing himself to catch his breath. He looked up at the blond who suddenly blinked at him in confusion.

Naruto lowered his head, his shoulders slumping forward, it took him awhile before he finally said, "I-I knew they'd s-s-sa-sa-say something a-a-ab-about me and S-S-Sasuke, ya know."

"Why are you talking like that?"

Naruto didn't answer him for a long time, swaying back and forth as he kept his head down, curling himself inward. The silence had been long enough that Sasuke almost thought about asking him again before Naruto let himself drop, sitting down across from him.

Although he was sitting down, he let his body curl within itself, pulling his knees close to his chest, burying his head in his arms, he could hear his breathing rapidly increase, and through the breaths Sasuke finally heard him say, "I-I t-t-thought you were le-le-le-leaving m-me be-be-beh-ind…"

Sasuke at first didn't understand what he meant, almost calling him and idiot for thinking in such a way. Yet, as he was opening his mouth his mind replayed the last few moments. Sasuke heard the villagers talking about Naruto, and he wanted to continue to hear them, he wanted to find out why. He had quicken his pace, ignored the blonde's words when he had asked him to wait.

Sasuke kept walking away.

It wasn't his intention on leaving him behind, but his actions in those moment were stronger then his intentions. In Naruto's eyes, he was leaving him.

Guilt hit him in the stomach like a sinking stone, and Sasuke didn't know how respond to that.

So he sat in silence, and waited for Naruto to catch his breath.

"Sit down you two," Sandaime Hokage was not sitting behind his desk, but off to the side drinking tea at a kotatsu.

Sasuke and Naruto gave each other a slight glance, before wordlessly following the Hokage's order and sitting around the kotatsu.

Sandaime Hokage was about to reach for the teapot, when Sasuke reached for it first, "I'll do it," and grabbed the pot.

"You are too kind Sasuke, thank you."

Naruto squinted at this, "How is he kind?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the remark, "I'm not going to let the Hokage serve us tea," taking the pot, Sasuke filled up Naruto's cup before filling up his own.

"Hokage-jiji serves me tea all the time, why does that matter?"

"He's the Hokage, he shouldn't be serving you tea."

"He's still a person, ya know. If he wants to serve tea I don't see the problem with it."

Before Sasuke could respond the Hokage gave out a loud laugh, "It's not that I have a problem serving tea, Naruto. It's just…" The Hokage paused for a moment, trying to collect the right words, "Its proper etiquette for me not to serve you."

"What does etiquette mean?"

"It means good manners, Naruto."

"Oh, well. I don't have manners anyway so it's okay that I don't know, ya know."

The Hokage laughed at Naruto's remark, and it took a moment for Naruto to laugh along with him.

Sasuke watched to two in interest. The earlier incident felt like a lifetime ago, as the boy and the leader of the village laughed as if there was not a care in the world. It was confusing to see the Hokage so casual with someone.

The Hokage stopped his laughter after a moment, clearing his throat; "I wanted to talk to you both about skipping class the other day. I got a full report from Iruka about what happened."

Both boys glanced at each other, swallowing their nerves as the light air of laughter was replaced with an upcoming lecture. Both did not want to answer, but Sasuke knew that he could not just ignore the Hokage when asked a question.

"It was my fault, Sandaime Hokage," Sasuke bowed, "I overreacted with the girl."

"Her name is Sakura, Sasuke, you know her name."

Sasuke lifted his body up, glaring at Naruto at the interruption.

"Now, now boys that's not what I wanted to talk about," the Sandaime Hokage took his tea, drinking it slowly until he saw both boys looking up at him in full attention, "I wanted to talk about why you thought it was a good idea to leave the Academy when you knew full well that you would be caught."

"We weren't really thinking like that, ya know," Naruto paused, lightly tapping his finger against his chin, thinking about the best way to answer the Hokage without getting in further trouble, "We… I mean, me… I didn't want anyone to get in trouble because of me. So please, Hokage-jiji, don't be mad at Sasuke 'cause of me," now Naruto was the one who was bowing, "I take full responsibility for everything. So please, jus—"

A loud thump interrupted; both Naruto and Hokage eyes glanced over at the table, Sasuke glared at the blonde, "Stop saying it's your fault. It was stupid you got in trouble anyway. You didn't do anything."

"I don't want you to be in trouble because of me, I don't mind being bad if that means you can be good."

"That's a stupid thing to say."

"I'm already bad anyway, so it won't matter."

"No one said you were bad."

"Everyone says that, they all think that. You just saw—"

Before Naruto pressed further, his eyes darted over towards the Hokage, covering his mouth instantly. Sasuke blinked at this strange reaction, turning his attention over to the Hokage.

The Hokage had his eyes closed, his lip pressed into a thin line, when he did open his eyes, a linger of anger was behind his eyes when he said, "Is it still happening, Naruto?"

Stammering on his words again, "I-It's okay, H-H-Hokage-jiji. I can h-h-handle it."

"Its not a matter of handling it Naruto. I told you to come to me if it started back up again."

"Again?" Sasuke couldn't help but to interrupt, "Does this always happen to him?"

"Y-You're m-m-making too much of this, ya know," Naruto was fidgeting, his head turning between the Hokage and Sasuke, "I-I-I promise i-i-it's—"

"-An adult pushed you today, and another one lifted you up by your collar," Sasuke turned his attention to the Hokage, "Why are adults doing that to him?"

The Hokage didn't answer, instead, he gave out a sigh, "I'll have an ANBU escort you back home tonight, Naruto."

"Hokage-jiji, please, it's really not that big of a deal," Naruto was pleading now, his stammer gone once again, "I don't need someone to walk me home, I'm gonna be a Shinobi, ya know, Shinobi don't need babysitters."

"It would make me feel better to know that you'll get home in one piece Naruto, and this isn't up for discussion. Now, please answer my previous question Naruto, why did you think it was okay to skip class?"

Naruto frowned, it was clear he wanted to press the matter further but knowing it was pointless, he finally mumbled, "I-I… I was just mad is all... I knew it wasn't okay. I just did it anyway."

The Hokage turned to Sasuke, "And why did you?"

Sasuke was fuming; this whole conversation was stupid, "Same."

The Hokage clicked his tongue, shaking his head, "I never expecting this behavior out of you Sasuke. You are held to high regard in the Academy, I have read your reports, and know how well you are preforming. I do not want to hear about any more misbehaving, understood?"

It took ever ounce of will power for Sasuke not to roll his eyes, "Yes, Sandaime Hokage."

"And Naruto, if its your dream to really become the Hokage then you need to face against this diversity instead of running away from it."

Naruto lowered his head; curling into himself he gave one long nod.

"Now," Hiruzen really felt drained by this, hating the fact that he had to be the one speaking to them in this matter instead of their families, yet it was something that couldn't be helped, "Let's finish our tea."

After finishing their tea, which was so awkward because no one was in a talking mood. Hokage-jiji was true to his word and had an ANBU walk him home. The Shinobi was waiting for him outside the Hokage's office, and wordlessly they began to walk, turning into an alleyway.

The first few times that this had happen, and the ANBU escort him home, they always walked in the middle of the village. Naruto hated this, he didn't want anyone to see him walking with ANBU, it felt overly dramatic. Plus, the villagers never appreciated it.

It didn't help his situation; in fact, it always made it a little worse. The villagers keeping their distance for a few days, but afterwards, he'd get picked on or pushed more then normal, not just by the villagers, but also by some of the Shinobi as well.

He knew why, it was because the Hokage was favoring him over everyone else. There were no other people in the village that could see the Hokage as freely as he could. He knew that Hokage-jiji always had an open door for him, and that couldn't be said for everyone in the village. They already didn't like him, and the fact that the Hokage did just seemed to make the villagers more upset. The villagers didn't like being reminded of this, and the ANBU made them remember.

The escorts didn't happen often, it was only rarely when he ran his stupid mouth like he had tonight. It had been a few months since he had company to walk him home.

This ANBU was different; his mask was white with two red dashes on his cheeks, pointed ears, and a curved mouth. It almost reminded him of a dog. Silver hair poking in different directions, almost as wild and uncut as his own. A sword resting on his back, and the black and gray outfit that most of the ANBU wore.

"So I bet you aren't gonna talk, huh?" Naruto was walking in front of the ANBU, glancing back at the man behind him. The ANBU when walking him home in the past would always walk a few paces behind him. This one, however, was still behind him, but kept in the shadows.

The ANBU man didn't answer him. He smiled as he saw a flash of silver hair catch a little bit of light, "Do you have a name?"

No response, Naruto knew the ANBU never talked unless they needed too, and this one was still trying to hide in the shadows, "I'm gonna call you Doggie-san."

Doggie-san made a soft humming sound, acknowledging this name, and Naruto couldn't help but stop walking and let his eyes widen at this. ANBU made noise? Who knew!

Naruto smiled at this, "I knew I'd like you, Doggie-san."

Doggie-san didn't respond, but that was okay because at least he did something, more then any other ANBU had ever had. This felt like an invitation to start talking, "Most of the ANBU are mean, they don't like my names at all. One time, one threw a rock at me, but his mask looked like a frog, and I thought his name should have been Froggie-san. Froggie-san was a big-old meanie."

He kept talking, he told Doggie-san about what he was learning from the Academy, he told him about his gardens he had along the outside wall, and he even talked about Sasuke. Doggie-san didn't talk back, but he didn't need too because Naruto knew that he was listening to him. It was nice to make a new friend!

The end of the alleyway turned into the busy street, filled with people, and suddenly Naruto didn't feel like talking anymore. He didn't realize he was backing up until he hit the back of Doggie-san's leg with his back.

He looked up at the masked man, "Doggie-san, don't tell Hokage-jiji… but…" Naruto couldn't help but to whisper, "…I'm scared."

Naruto never made it a habit to open up to strangers, he never held a conversation that was so peaceful with a total stranger, and even though he was the only one to do the talking, he just wanted to say it. He wanted to say it and hope that no one would judge him for it; he just wanted someone to understand.

It was easy to talk to Doggie-san, because he knew Doggie-san couldn't talk back.

ANBU were known for their speed, and the blonde didn't realize what was happening until he felt the wind in his hair. In one quick motion, Doggie-san had picked him up and jumped onto the rooftops.

"Whoa!" Naruto gasped, turning his head side to side as Doggie-san jumped between buildings, high above the busy street and away from the people below. Doggie-san stayed within the shadows, moving so quickly that Naruto was sure that no one even saw them together. His eyes were fascinated by the lights as they zipped past them, trying to catch the scenery of Konoha. His village was truly beautiful, and seeing it in this way only confirmed his feelings. The Hokage Stone Faces stared down at them with smiles, and Naruto couldn't help but to smile along with them.

Naruto had never been held like this before. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled so brightly.

He let his body lean into Doggie-san, and to Naruto's surprise, Doggie-san didn't pull away.

Naruto didn't question when Doggie-san dropped him off at his baloney, most of the ANBU knew where he lived for some reason. Yet, when Doggie-san lightly set him back on the ground, his heart started to ache. This had been so wonderful, and he almost wanted to ask Doggie-san to jump around the building for a little bit longer.

"Thanks Doggie-san," he smiled as brightly as he could, "That was a lot of fun, ya know."

Doggie-san looked down at him for a moment, giving out another hum that sounded like a you're welcome.

Naruto blinked, and Doggie-san was gone.

Sasuke lingered behind once Naruto had left, claiming he forgot something inside the Hokage's office. Sasuke knew he would be fine with the ANBU taking him home, which was a weird thing for the Hokage to order.

Why would the ANBU be taking Naruto home?

It would make sense if maybe a Genin or a Chunin, but ANBU?

When Sasuke knew that Naruto wasn't going to come back, he knocked on the Hokage's door.

"Come in, Sasuke."

Sasuke opened the door, making sure to shut it softly behind him once he had entered.

"I had a feeling you would be coming back."

"Tell me, Sandaime Hokage… Is something wrong with Naruto?"

The Sandaime Hokage blinked at the question, as if he didn't understand why Sasuke would ask such a thing. It took him a moment before he answered, "No, of course not. Naruto may be a handful at time, but he has a strong spirit and a kind heart."

"If that's true then why does everyone treat him like he's…" it took a moment for Sasuke to find the right word, "…bad?"

The Hokage sighed at this, and it felt like years of struggling that went along with the sigh, his head turning towards the window "I can only say is that people fear the things they don't understand."

"I don't know what that's suppose to mean."

The Hokage didn't answer him at first; his eyes fixated outside, deep in thought. Sasuke stared down the old man for a minute, but after a while he followed his eye line through the window and at the Hokage Stone Faces. Why was he looking out there?

As if he could feel Sasuke looking outside the window with him, the Hokage turned back towards Sasuke, "Naruto will have many trials ahead of him, it's a sad reality, one that I wish I could bare the weight of instead of him. Naruto will need someone like you Sasuke, someone who can understand the same pain that he feels. So, please, continue to look after him for me."

Sasuke tried to get more out of the Hokage, but no matter how much he tried to pry, the answers never came.