(Revised 1/7/2023) Cleared up some grammar issues and rewrote a few scenes so it hopefully flows better.
Thinking/Flashback Text
Disclaimer I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.
They watched her as she strolled through the streets of Konoha, each person gazing at her with eyes full of pity and fake concern. Pretending they understood the hell she lived through. To have the person you admired the most in the world turn around and take everything from you. Then have to relive it every waking moment. Unable to go minutes without seeing images of your parents struck down. The betrayal in their eyes at seeing the one responsible. The tears falling from your mother's face. The wooden floor they lay dead on was stained dark red from the blood spilling from their wounds. No ounce of emotion showing, his eyes glazed over. Only for him to offer three words of some sick kind of comfort.
'Hate me Sasuke'
Hurriedly shaking free from her thoughts, unwilling to allow the villagers any satisfaction in seeing the 'broken' Uchiha in signs of distress. Head held high, chin jutting forward, ebony hair lightly blowing behind her, she walked with a determined pace. To show weakness was something she would not allow as the last of the Uchiha clan. These foolish people would not shame her, and she would not shame her family. Avenging them was the only thing that mattered... if only she had the power to do it.
Her display of senseless pride seemed to have unflattering consequences, causing her to arrive at the scene in front of her. The other kids arriving in tow with their families. Since being back at the academy, she had been able to avoid this very spectacle. It made her nauseous watching them interact. Hugging and laughing as if they were taunting her, knowing she'd never feel that again. Her thoughts turned to him and how he would walk with her, listening to her ramble on about nothing and everything, scooping her up piggyback as she tried to maximize their time spent together by dragging her feet before he'd gently emphasize the importance of not wasting people's time. Watching his little sister walk up the stairs of the school building, his sharp eyes never left her form until the large wooden doors closed. Disappearing with a final wave lost to the wind.
Tearing her gaze away from the happy display, hating them but hating herself more for feeling jealousy and anger toward these people. Who'd done nothing more than dare show affection for their loved ones while in her vicinity? Taking a deep breath before continuing to class, where she would stare out a window for the next 6 hours or so, tortured in a prison of her mind. Envisioning how she could make her fantasies of killing him, into a reality. Rinse and repeat, that's been her life since returning to the academy a little over a month ago.
"Please settle down everyone."
Iruka sat with an exasperated look at his desk, trying to quiet the class this early Monday morning, mentally preparing himself for the long day ahead. He moved from behind the wooden table to step in front of the rowdy students. Intending to start teaching, but a knock at the door prevented him from beginning. Someone wearing an animal-styled porcelain mask stepped inside. Anbu.
"Hokage-sama would like to discuss something, please come with me."
He nodded toward the newcomer, before gazing at his kids, giving them his sternest look. "I'll be right back, behave yourselves. I can hear everything through the door." Hoping his students wouldn't embarrass him in front of the Hokage. He turned to follow the Anbu member outside.
Closing the door behind him, he stepped into the hallway. His eyes immediately turned to meet the Hokage, giving a quick bow of respect. He failed to notice the boy standing a few feet away from him.
"Iruka, I hope I'm not bothering you."
"Of course, not Hokage-sama. We hadn't even begun our studies for the day." The nervous teacher tried assuring what was essentially his boss. The aged Kage gave him a playful smile before nodding. "I'm here to bring you a new student." Turning to look at the boy beside him. "Naruto, this here is Iruka-Sensei. He'll be one of your teachers here at the academy.
The boy had golden blonde hair with wild spikes that stood defiantly atop his head. Two spikes seemed to hang low, almost appearing like bangs, framing each side of his face. Bright azure eyes looked up at his teacher-to-be.
Iruka glanced down at the boy, who seemed quite small, not very talkative either it seemed, making it easy to miss him at first glance. Though the three unique whisker marks on each side of the boy's cheeks proved hard to forget him when you did.
The boy held the Kyuubi, he knew that much. While never interacting with the boy personally, he had overheard the occasional rumors from the villagers while out and bout. Some went as far as to believe the Kyuubi had taken the form of the child in front of him, waiting for them to drop their guards before attempting to finish the job he started eight years ago. Having been full of grief, he hated to admit he once foolishly feared the same. Thankfully, he had come to terms with the death of his parents, understanding how misguided it was to place blame on a child whose only crime was having the unfortunate timing of being born on the day of the Kyuubi attack. Putting on what he hoped was a comforting smile. He waved back to the boy.
"Nice to meet you Naruto."
The boy gave a slight nod of the head, the Hokage letting out a sigh at Naruto's greeting. Giving Iruka his full attention, a sinking feeling at even having to say these words. "I hope you will treat young Naruto here with the same care you do the rest of your students Iruka-san."
"Of course Hokage-sama, you have nothing to worry about from me."
The Hokage nodded, glancing back at the boy next to him. He hoped he was doing the right thing, that enrolling the boy in the academy would give him some semblance of a life. He needed to be around other children, who'd treat the boy like anybody else and not the unfortunate burden he carried. He could only aspire that the ignorant mind of the parents hadn't already poisoned their impressionable minds. Which is why he had chosen this year to enroll Naruto. A lot of his classmates were from highly respected clans, whose parents were much more knowledgeable and less prone to spread any kind of misinformation down to their children.
He had tried to do all he could for the boy for the past 8 years. He, unfortunately, didn't have the same power and control over the council he had during his first term, most seeing him as a stop-gap between Hokages. Which didn't leave him much help in trying to give the boy a somewhat traditional life. The council members split between wanting to lock him away, while the other half wanted to turn the boy into the weapon they envisioned him to be. He had barely been able to muster all the authority he had left in getting Naruto into his apartment and providing him a monthly stipend. It wasn't much, but he was safe for now. The anbu he assigned to watch over the boy provided him some relief, Kakashi being a regular volunteer whenever he wasn't signing up for suicide missions. The man has never been able to get over the death of his team. Watching over his sensei's son, and supplying him with books and other small gifts has been his way of trying to atone for his made-up sins. He's tried pushing him into having a more presentable relationship with Naruto, but he's preferred staying a silent ward for now anyways.
Still, he knew none of that was enough, that if Minato and Kushina ever saw how their son was living, heartbroken would be an understatement. They'd surely never forgive him and the village they had given their lives to protect. He was fully aware of his shortcomings and lived with those aching thoughts daily, but he deeply care and want nothing but the best for the boy. Hopefully, this will be the start of a new beginning for the young lad.
Putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Be good and listen to Iruka please."
Naruto looked up at the old man and nodded, before making his way toward his new teacher.
"He's quite smart hopefully he'll be able to show that here." The aged Kage said to Iruka, a somber look on his face. "I'll see you around Naruto boy." Softly saying over his shoulder as he walked out of the academy with his anbu in tow.
Iruka opened the door and motioned the boy into the classroom. "Come on Naruto let's introduce you to everybody."
"Wanna say a little something bout yourself Naruto?"
The boy looked at his new sensei and then at the crowd of children in front of him. Silently cursing the old man for forcing him to come here. He was perfectly fine being left alone in his apartment to read the books that kept turning up on the windowsill of his little apartment. He didn't know how they got there, but he wasn't complaining. He had quickly found reading to be an easy way to escape. Everything from adventure, ninjas, and even talking dogs, were at the tip of his imagination. Whoever was leaving them sure had good taste, in his own opinion anyways.
The Hokage disagreed, which is why he was here now, being forced to talk to a room full of strangers. Who likely hated him if his past interactions with most people were anything to go by? Truthfully he hadn't much to say, since the old man took him out of the orphanage and gave him his new home, he's hardly found much reason to leave it. Instantly coming to enjoy the comfort the walls of his home brought him, shielding him from the cold glares and silent whispers from the outside world. The only time he ventured out was to visit Ichiraku's, a little ramen stand in a quiet part of the city. He had come across it one day while walking home after picking up his monthly stipend from the Hokage tower. The smell attracted him like a moth to a flame. He cautiously stepped into the little stand, unsure of what the reaction would be. From his limited experience, they would either throw him out or ignore him. Thank the log they welcomed him in, the nice waitress even talked with him a bit while waiting for the order.
Ayame was her name, he liked her quite a bit, turns out her dad was the cook. Who would've thunk it? Not him that's for sure but he was glad to be alive in the time of the Ichiraku. He tends to go back there whenever he has some extra money. Taking a deep sigh, what was he doing here again? Damn old man, his hand nervously moved towards the back of his neck. This should be considered child torture, nodding his head sagely. Iruka looked on with confusion before lowly speaking to the boy.
"Naruto, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, ok?"
The log hears his calls, and he quickly whispered back to his new sensei, "I don't have anything to say."
Iruka smiled down at the boy. "Go ahead and take a seat next to that girl over by the window."
Pointing to a desk on the far right of the room, two rows back. Where a girl with long black hair was sitting, looking out of the said window. He made his way over to the empty seat. Unsure if the girl even knew he was standing next to her. The way she was glaring out the window was intense, he silently wondered what the window had done to receive such ire. Not wanting to find himself on the receiving end of said ire, he decided it'd be better to ask before he just took a seat. "May I sit here?"
Sasuke turned to her right, where a boy with blue eyes was cautiously staring at her. Black eyes blinking back, she had missed something. She didn't recognize him from anybody in the class, but to be fair she never really put much effort into socializing with her peers. She was observant though, and the boy in front of her would've been easy to remember. With his orange hoodie and blonde hair, he'd be hard to miss. "Who are you?"
The boy looked at her with a sad smile. She hated that sad smile. It reminded her of someone. Her eyebrow now raised, waiting for an answer.
"Naruto."
"Do what you want," she said shrugging before going back to staring out the window, moments later she felt him move the chair beside her and sit down.
Seeing the boy take a seat, Iruka turned to the board to begin his lesson for the day. The class returned to its daily routine. Iruka teaching, kids not listening, Iruka yelling at the kids not listening. Glancing at the boy next to her. His arms folded on the desk, head resting on them, eyes closed. He's one of the kids not listening. Whatever not her problem, before remembering how annoying an enraged Iruka could be, she poked him on his shoulder. He turned his head in her direction, eyes still closed. "Yes?"
A bit annoyed that he didn't even open his eyes to look at her, but pushing that to the back for now, "Iruka-sensei is gonna yell at you soon if you don't get up, and since you're sitting next to me, I'll be wrapped up his in wrath as well."
"He won't bother us." He said, eyes still closed. This is when she should've just turned away and minded her business, but her curiosity got the better of her again, "and how do you know that?" A bit of a scowl formed on her face after asking the question.
Finally, opening his eyes to look at her, blue staring into black. "I'm new, and the Hokage told him to be nice to me. I figure I got a few days before he says anything to me. " Not waiting for a reply, he closed his eyes, presumably to drift off to sleep.
Staring at this orange enigma beside her, not what she was expecting him to say but ultimately agreeing with the logic.
Letting the problem go, she turned back to her window. Half listening to Iruka teach, half letting her hate fester with thoughts of him. The rest of the morning flew by before she knew it, the class was dismissed for lunch.
Looking around to see most of the kids already out the door. The boy to her right was not one of them, still in the same position she had last left him. Rolling her eyes she poked him on the shoulder, a little harder than last time. Still not fully grasping why she seemed to care so much about what this weird orange boy did.
"Wake up, it's lunch. I imagine it'd be pretty embarrassing to be caught eating with the teacher no?" A smirk on her face.
Removing his head from the desk and sitting up, rubbing his left eye, "I was never asleep, and I kind of didn't know I was starting at the academy today so I didn't bring anything."
An odd one indeed.
"Hn," she said making it past him to the door. He just gave a shrug laying his face back down on the cool desk, the old man will pay for this surely.
She sat under a tree, far away from anyone. Enjoying her self-prepared lunch, something she took pride in. It would never live up to her mother's cooking, but she enjoyed keeping a small piece of that happiness alive. When she started at the academy, her mother would always pack her lunches. Leaving small notes inside.
Have a great day Sasu-chan
I love you, see u after school
Study hard so you can grow strong like onii-San
She missed her so much, all of them. Shaking her head, trying to clear her mind before she spiraled.
Forcing herself to think about anything else. Her thoughts drifted to her new deskmate, pretty late to start the year now that she thought about it, and he didn't look like he was from any important clan, except for maybe an Inzuka with those whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Maybe from a civilian family then, thoughts swirling, she popped a cherry tomato into her mouth. When or if he was introduced she didn't hear his name, she'd need to change that.
Taking another bite of her lunch, reminding herself to find out his last name later. Her thoughts shifted to his sad smile, dread spreading across her face. Now remembering exactly who that sad smile reminded her of. Itachi used to wear that same expression. Whenever she asked him to teach her something, he'd look at her with that sad smile, and poke her forehead with his middle and index fingers. 'Sorry, Sasuke maybe some other time' only that time never came.
Forcing herself to swallow the food in her mouth. Hands balling into a fist, appetite now ruined. Getting up, she straightened out her blue Uchiha-encrusted shirt before wiping off the back of her white shorts of any dirt or grass. She grabbed the bag with the rest of her lunch. Heading inside the school, back to the classroom.
Sasuke opened the door, Iruka was behind his desk doing whatever teachers do, not caring to investigate further. She looked towards her window, he was still there, head down, one eye open, looking at her. Walking to their now shared table, she placed the bag with the rest of her lunch in front of him.
Naruto looked at the bag and then at the girl. Tilting his head to the side. "What's this?"
"Food, I packed too much" she lied "and you didn't bring any, made sense to give it to you instead of just tossing it." She casually said not thinking much of it. Unfortunately for her, he did think much of it, quite a bit. The blond-haired boy could count on one hand the number of people who have done something nice for him, and sharing your food with someone counts as nice in his eyes. Lost for words and not wanting her to think he didn't appreciate the food, he tore his eyes away from her, quickly digging into the bag.
His mind swelled, stealing glances at the girl next to him between each bite. Nearly choking on the food, when he realized he never said thank you. Pounding his chest a bit to help better swallow the food in his mouth, he turned to call out to her, then stopped when he realized something important. He didn't know her name, taking a page out of her book, he poked her arm gently.
She turned to him, words already forming in her mouth," if you don't want it just toss it, I don't mind either way."
Hastily putting his hands up in defense. "No, no I'm eating it, it's just I kinda don't know your name." His hand crept up behind his neck itching to rub it, cheeks turning red.
She sat there, slightly enjoying him squirm, her cheek laying against her propped-up fist before replying, "Sasuke"
"Thank you Sasuke," he said with a quick bow of his head, before going back to eating.
The sincerity in his voice was odd, it was just food for log's sake. Chalking it up to his weirdness, she watched him eat for a few seconds before answering him "You're welcome."
He stopped eating to look at her and smiled. Not that pathetically sad smile that he gave her earlier. No, this was a real smile.
She decided she liked that smile.
The next two hours passed by like usual for her. The only thing of note was Iruka saying they'd be starting their Taijustsu sparring by the end of the week. She was very much looking forward to that, thank you very much. She needed to get stronger, and improving her Taijustsu was a start. Surprisingly the boy next to her wasn't asleep when Iruka told them, he was sitting up listening. Giving him a look, eyebrow raised, he just shrugged back.
"See you tomorrow, be safe getting home everyone."
The class noise rose exponentially as the kids talked amongst themselves, excited to go home for the day. Naruto didn't move though, still seated silently watching everyone leave.
"Your new, so maybe you didn't know but see everyone leaving? That means we are done for the day." She said sarcastically, Naruto giving her a small scowl. "I know that, I just don't like being in crowds." He said, watching the final kids step out into the hall, leaving just them and their teacher.
"Well, everybody's gone so come on before Iruka-sensei thinks you want to talk or something unless you do of course? In which case I'll leave you be." She said maneuvering around him and walking towards the exit.
Naruto did not want that and quickly followed after his new classmate. She couldn't help but let out a small snort hearing him practically run out of the room before catching up to her. She stepped out of the academy doors, hurrying to get past the gates away from everyone. Noticing the orange enigma was not behind her, she turned to see him at the foot of the stairs. She watched his eyes darting around the courtyard, observing all the different forms of greetings. An expression she sees far too often on his face. His eyes met hers and he quickly walked towards her before stopping next to the gates. He glanced at the dirt road and then back to her. Hands in his pocket, he started his trek forward.
Seeing she had to go that way anyways she followed a few feet behind, eventually making up enough ground to be side by side with him. Neither said a word, eventually making their way into a busier part of the village.
She quickly felt the stares, annoyed knowing he must've noticed. Imagine her surprise when she went to scowl back only to find them looking past her and at Naruto. She could feel the hate and fear radiating off almost every person in the vicinity, all of it condensed and focused on the boy next to her. Confused, she glanced to her right, if they bothered him he didn't show it. He was still shuffling beside her, hands shoved in the pockets of his black cargo pants. The only change was the hoodie part of his orange jacket was covering his golden spikes.
Not used to being on the other side in this situation she wasn't sure what to say or do. If it was just her, she would've already ducked into an alleyway taking the backstreets home. Noticing he had closed the space between them, on purpose or not she didn't know. Figuring it must be bothering him more than he showed she slightly bumped shoulders with him. He looked up from the spot of dirt he'd been staring at, focusing his eyes on hers. The look on his face told her all she needed to know.
Naruto had never hated the villagers more than this moment. He should've known his good luck wouldn't continue. He had met someone his age who didn't ignore him. Now here they were assuming their usual role in fucking up his life. He felt her look his way immediately after crossing into the busy street. He had come to ignore the glares over time, but what he was feeling now was different than anything he could remember. The embarrassment and shame he felt welling up inside him for putting her in this situation, made him feel physically ill. He couldn't help imagining what she was thinking, no doubt coming to the realization everyone else did about him.
He hadn't even noticed himself moving closer to her, trying to hold onto whatever this was for a bit longer. Pathetic. He threw his hoodie over his head. He stared at the ground, waiting for the inevitable. Soon he felt her bump his shoulder. Dreading the look he would see, he slowly turned to meet her face. Letting a small glimmer of hope reside when he didn't see the usual look of hate staring back. He tried to smile back, but it looked more like a grimace. She looked at him before running off. His head dropped in defeat, ah yes there it was, the inevitable getaway from the pariah escape.
"Come on," she said, standing in the middle of the dirt road a few feet away.
He blinked at her. He blinked again. She was still standing there, with a stoic expression.
Confused but hopeful he ran after her, not a clue where they'd end up. Just happy she still wanted him around.
They ran through the village, cutting through alleyways. Ignoring everything in their peripheral, the cool breeze shooting past them. Coming to a stop in front of a small hill, taking deep breaths, providing their burning lungs with some comfort. He put his on hands his knees, he was not used to much physical activity. She was fairing much better, breaths already steadying. He looked around taking in the clear blue lake in front of him, surrounded by the large trees Konoha was known for. Finally standing up straight, his breath somewhat resembling a normal person's. She nodded ahead before walking down the hill towards the lake, and he followed. She's been here before cause she headed straight for a small dock overlooking the lake, walking to the end before taking a seat. Him plopping down right after.
Staring peacefully across the clear water, only the occasional bird flying above making a sound. Both enjoying the silent company. He leaned back resting his arms behind him. Wondering if this was what having a friend was like.
Sasuke meanwhile was contemplating how she ended up here. Today had been completely different for the first time in months. Her mind was still filled with thoughts of that day and him but for some reason, she had kept injecting herself into the weird kid's problems. She didn't have time for any of this, so why did she keep helping him?
She could not wrap her head around why she fed him, walked with him, and cared so much about that lonely broken expression he had on his face that seemed oh so familiar to her but she did. Now they were sitting in the one spot she's been coming to since she was five.
She sighed glancing at him, thankful he had the lazy look back on his face, she saw enough of the other one in the mirror.
Those hateful glares flashing in her mind, she turned to ask him what they were all about.
"Why were they looking at you like that?"
He flinched at the question, eyes gazing across the water. "I don't know, but it's been like that for as long as I can remember. I've asked the old man to tell me, but he always just says I'll win them over. Whatever the hell that means."
Confused about who this old man could be, and slightly annoyed she wasn't going to get an answer but decided to drop it. He was clearly telling her all he knew, blowing a lost strand of hair from her face, going back to watching the water shimmer across the lake. She could feel him fidgeting next to her.
"I'm sorry," the blond blurted out, waiting to continue before he had her full attention "I'm used to the treatment by the rest of the village, but you shouldn't have had to deal with that today because of me."
Befuddled by how he thought he owed her an apology for nothing he did on his own.
"I don't care what everybody else does, and I can deal with a few stares. You have nothing to be sorry about, so don't worry bout it, ok?"
He looked at her and nodded before turning away to wipe his eyes. Trying to get his emotions in check, he abruptly stood up. She stared at him, her eyebrow raised in that familiar manner he was quickly getting used to.
"I don't know why you have been so nice to me all day but thank you. I promise to repay your kindness somehow. See you tomorrow Sasuke."
Awkwardly, giving a bow before running off.
She watched him until his golden spikes crossed over the small hill. Alone again, gazing across the calm water of the lake.
I guess I can spare a few hours a day if it makes him happy.
Maybe these next four years won't be so bad after all.
