Mirokai-Second part!

Astral-Yay! We finally managed to finish it and get it out!

Gaara- We apologize if it was a long wait, but we've been at a camp that requires you to stay over in cabins for a week, so we didn't get to post it until today.

Astral-But it was fun! But anywho, please enjoy the next chapter of our fanfiction.

Mirokai-WOOHOO!


Sasuke sighed. It was his second year at the Academy and he was already tired of it. He would end up dying on his first mission anyways, so why put in the effort. He had only barely managed to pass the first exam due to the fact that he had to rely on his senses of hearing, touch, and smell for everything. He wished he didn't suck so bad.

Then there were the bullies. Some of the kids in his class were less than friendly, to put it lightly. They seemed to have made it their life mission to humiliate and hurt him in every way possible. Every time the teacher wasn't looking they would trip him, push him down, make him run into things, they even went as far as to tell him he looked ugly, that his eyes were disgusting. They had made a habit of dumping what smelled like paint, as well as various amounts of other liquids, on him whenever possible.

He just wished he wasn't so goddamn helpless. Nobody else in the room would ever appreciate the gift of sight that they had. No, only the ones without it would be able to know how special it was to see your friends, the way you're walking, even your own reflection in a mirror.

'Annnn, their so stupid!.'he thought, slamming his head onto his desk. Mother had always told him that she and Father would do their best to 'meet his needs,' but he was an Uchiha, and an Uchiha without sight isn't really an Uchiha in the first place. The only person that Sasuke actually listened to and respected was his older brother, Itachi. He wished he was like him, but he never could be, never would be.

He would be turning seven in a few months, something he was not looking forwards to. It would just be another reminder of how useless he was. 'I don't need another so called 'Birthday Party' to rub it in my face that I will never be a real shinobi, let alone an Uchiha.'

He snapped back to the classroom as he heard the sliding door open, and the footsteps of what was probably their Sensei walked up to the middle of the front of the room.

" Stand!" The class rep shouted, causing Sasuke to flinch before standing. She didn't need to be that loud, he could hear her normal volume level in the midst of multiple other conversations with her sitting across the room. She was that loud. " Bow!"

After the class had gotten settled down and become silent again. Iruka-sensei made a surprising announcement. " Alright! You brats are getting a new classmate today. He's been tutored privately until the Hokage saw fit to allow him into the academy." Sasuke blinked his unseeing eyes twice in slight shock. Tutored privately? Only clans did that. 'Just my luck. Another stuck up sissy.' This kid was gonna bully him too, he just knew it.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Get in here!" Iruka-sensei yelled, in an uncharacteristically harsh manner. Whispers whipped throughout the room as the door opened once again, and a pair of surprisingly light footsteps sprinted into the room. He knew that name. It was the supposed 'demon kid'. Mother and Father had always told him to stay away from him for some unknown reason. All adults hated him, and he got injured quite a lot. At least, that's what he assumed. He guessed he got attacked by the villagers a bunch, which wasn't surprising. All of the children hated him too. The wariness of their parents passed down to them.

Sasuke, in all honesty, didn't really feel anything towards the boy. He was just another person, another bully to clog his eardrums, another hand to shove his face into the dirt. 'It's not like he'll be any different just because he's hated. If anything he'll be worse.'

" Hiya! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna be the Hokage!" The entire class burst out laughing, and Sasuke let out a small snort at Naruto's voice. He was even louder than Sakura, and had a weird tone to it that told him this kid was gonna be trouble. And his statement? 'Tch. Impossible. No one would allow someone like you to become Hokage. Least of all you. Probably won't make it five minutes before falling asleep like Shikamaru!'

" Alright brats. Settle down. Naruto, why don't you sit next to Sasuke. Now then, let's begin the lesson. ."

Sasuke tuned out as Iruka-sensei started blabbing about the history of Konoha. His parents had made him memorize this by the time he was three. He didn't need to be paying attention to pass the test. Instead, he focused on the sound of Naruto sliding into the seat next to him. He observed him.

One might find it strange that a blind person could observe someone, but Sasuke had found that he actually seemed to notice more about people without his eyes that what people with eyes could do. Maybe it was the fact that most other people's observations would be based solely on sight? He didn't know, nor did he particularly care.

Naruto seemed smaller than him, he thought. He chalked it up to the fact that Naruto was one of those weight sensitive people. Granted you don't see it, or in his case, hear it, as much in boys so much as girls, but there were still those few boys. From the murmurs around the classroom, he guessed Naruto's outfit was baggy, and, apparently, bright orange. Sasuke had never been good with color, being blind and all, but from what his parents had taught him, orange stood out a lot, bright orange even more so. It was literally the worst color for a shinobi ever. He had a pretty good lung capacity though, if the fact that he was louder than Sakura was anything to go by, which was good for Naruto, bad for Sasuke, 'cause the kid might cause him to go deaf as well. The most curious thing about him Sasuke had concluded, was the fact that Naruto smelled almost exactly like miso ramen. A very disconcerting fact to say the least, it would be hard to tell if it was Naruto or the ramen stand until he was close enough to hear telltale signs of one or the other, meaning he had to be right next to Naruto to differentiate him from the ramen stand in a crowd. All in all, he actually seemed different, even if it wasn't by much.

Naruto shifted, the sudden noise causing Sasuke to flinch automatically. " Hey! Nice ta meet'cha! My name's Naruto! What's yours?" Sasuke could tell Naruto was trying to be friendly, and there was a hint of desperation in his tone that suggested that he might not have many friends, which wasn't surprising considering his reputation.

". . .Sasuke." He replied. Either way, he didn't care what Naruto's reputation or personality was like, because it wouldn't change anything.

He had never been so wrong in his entire life.

" It's nice to meet you Sasuke! I hope we can be friends." Again, Sasuke heard the desperation in Naruto's tone, though it was hidden. Being blind had its perks, even if there weren't many, and picking out underlying tones was one of them. He could tell that Naruto really wanted to be his friend, but if he replied in a positive manner, the others would surely start to pick on him too.

" Hn. Whatever." Sasuke decided on a neutral approach, not negative, but not positive either. Maybe that would get Naruto off his back and away from him. He had always been more of a loner anyways. 'The others are gonna bully him too if he hangs out with me. Besides, as soon as he figures out I'm blind he'll go straight to bullying me, just like every other idiot.'

L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+

Naruto didn't talk the rest of the lesson, but from the sound of it, he wasn't paying much attention. He wasn't taking notes, that much was obvious, and he definitely wasn't being respectful to Iruka-sensei, if the stink bomb he threw in the middle of the lesson was anything to go by.

Thankfully, Naruto had thrown the so-called, 'harmless prank' as far from himself as possible, meaning Sasuke was at least somewhat spared from the stench that permeated the room for ten minutes after the bomb was thrown. But he hadn't fallen asleep, Sasuke noticed. That in itself was deemed an achievement by Sasuke, seeing as the boy next to him was anything but scholarly.

After the lesson ended, they were told to go outside for lunch. Grabbing his bento, Sasuke stood up and made his way to the door, using the desks as landmarks to make his way out of the classroom. Suddenly, a foot contacted with his shins, tripping him and sending him tumbling down the steps before finally stopping in the empty spot in the middle of the classroom. As soon as he fell, every student in the room erupted in laughter. He sat up, rubbing his head slightly from the pain, before groping around for his bento. If his classmates had taken it again, he would not be happy. 'Damn it! Where the hell did it go?'

" Oi! Why the hell did you do that! That wasn't nice at all!" A familiar, loud voice filled the room and the entire group of people who were laughing went silent.

" What's it to you, Uzumaki? It's not like it matters. The idiot's blind, can't you tell? Besides, he probably doesn't like you either. Acting all high and mighty all the time, just because he's an Uchiha! How the hell can you have a blind Uchiha. He deserves every bruise he gets. And you," Sasuke heard some scuffling footsteps before another person tumbled down beside him with an 'oomph!,' " You deserve the same and more, you monster!"

With that last verbal weapon thrown, the rest of the students cleared out, knowing their fun was over. In less than a minute, it was just him and Naruto.

Sasuke continued to frantically search for his lunch as Naruto got back on his feet. "Here." Naruto said, and Sasuke heard a box get placed down in front of him. He grabbed it, and quickly searched its sides for identification, sighing in relief when he found the Uchiha clan symbol on the bottom.

" Thanks."

"Heh, no problem. I managed to get it back from the bastard who took it from you after you fell when he pushed me. Probably hasn't even noticed it's gone yet. Can I help you up?" Sasuke sucked in his breath sharply at Naruto's words. First, Naruto had stood up for him, then he had gotten himself hurt just to get Sasuke's lunch back for him, now he was offering his help. No one had ever done that for him, not even Itachi. It caused a strange feeling to well up in his chest.

Slowly, he nodded, and felt Naruto's hand grab his arm and hoist him onto his feet. As soon as he regained his balance, Sasuke quickly yanked his arm out of Naruto's and stepped away from him. Swinging his free arm around until he found a desk, he followed it until, finally, he managed to reach the door.

" Thanks. And don't take this the wrong way. It's not that I don't appreciate your help, but stay away from me, okay?" Sasuke mumbled, just loud enough for Naruto to hear.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto seemed utterly confused for now, so the Uchiha decided he would take his leave, walking out of the room as Naruto started to say something else. Sasuke didn't catch what the Dobe had said, but it probably wasn't important. 'He's gonna get hurt if he hangs out with me.'

P.+O.+V.+C.+H.+A.+N.+G.+E.+

Naruto couldn't believe it! He was finally deemed 'old enough' by Jiji to join the Academy! Though he couldn't see why he couldn't have just started at the same time everyone else his age had. It wasn't as if he was in danger of something happening. . .or something. 'I still don't understand why everyone keeps being mean to me!'

He quickly ran out of his apartment, using the lesser traveled rooftops to make his way to the Academy. Stopping on the roof of a nearby building, he observed all of the students entering the building. Most of the students looked older than him, but he could pick out one or two that would probably be in his class.

There were two girls who were walking in together that looked his age. One had short pink hair that was pulled back from her forehead by a red bow, and the other had long blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail. As they disappeared inside, two boys walked into his field of vision. One looked slightly overweight and was stuffing his face with potato chips. The other one looked like he was the epitome of laziness, if the fact that he was practically asleep on his feet was anything to go on. They were followed closely by another boy who was wearing a large coat and dark glasses. Next to him was a shy-looking girl with vacant eyes and short, bluish black hair. After the two quiet looking ones entered, a large group of rowdy boys showed up. At the very front of the pack stood a brown haired boy with a puppy on his head and red markings on his cheeks.

After about five minutes, when almost everybody else was already in the building, and classes were going to start in less then ten minutes, a lone child arrived, being led along, it seemed, by another boy. If Naruto had to guess he would say that they were brothers. At the gates, the older one let go of the younger's hand and said a few things to him, before disappearing in a swirl of watched, completely and utterly confused, as the dark haired boy, instead of walking straight up to the door leading inside, took the 'long way' around the outer wall, using his right hand to guide him along until he reached the door, which he carefully opened and finally stepped inside.

Naruto shrugged, maybe the dark haired boy was just weird and liked to follow the wall, he wasn't one to judge. Kami knows he got judged more than he needed to be. Naruto never understood why everyone hated him so much. The only people who were nice to him were Old Man Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, as well as Jiji and the ninja he sometimes sent to guard Naruto on his birthday, or any other day that the villagers got particularly bad. 'I just wish that some kid will be willing to be my friend one of these days. All the kids I meet either run from me screaming or they bully me. Argh!'

Naruto's train of thought stopped when he heard the bell ring that signaled the start of class. " Crap!"

L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+

There was definitely something different about the dark haired kid. When Naruto sat down next to him, he didn't so much as give an acknowledging nod, let alone say hello. And he got the feeling that the boy was studying him intently, even if he wasn't looking at him. And when Naruto started to turn to say hello, he flinched, as if surprised he had moved.

"Hey! Nice ta meet'cha! My name's Naruto! What's yours?" He expected to be ignored. Either that or he would be told to 'buzz off', like most kids told him to do.

He got extremely nervous when the boy didn't answer immediately. He was about to give up on getting an answer when, to his surprise, he got an answer. ". . .Sasuke."

Naruto let a large grin spread across his face at the hesitant tone. He was so happy he had gotten a positive reaction from Sasuke! Granted, it wasn't really a positive reply, more of an indifferent one, but it was better than the negative, or nothing. "It's nice to meet you Sasuke! I hope we can be friends."

"Hn. Whatever."

'Yes! Another answer! Maybe he really will be my first friend! That would be awesome!' Naruto couldn't wait to ask if he could sit with Sasuke at lunchtime. That would be the time he would be able to see if Sasuke would be his friend or not, because friends always sat together, right? He always saw the other kids doing that when he sometimes watched from the roof.

L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+

When lunchtime came, he finally figured out what was so strange about Sasuke. He was blind. And, from the look of it, was bullied pretty heavily for it. He hated it when he saw people being bullied, having had the same experiences in his life as well.

Sasuke seemed pretty shaken up after being forced to take the 'fast way' down the stairs leading to the front of the room. But that wasn't enough for the perpetrator. ''Oh! I've completely and utterly shocked the kid I'm bullying!' That should be enough but Nooooo! They just have to go the extra mile and humiliate him! I hate that!'

"Oi! Why the hell did you do that! That wasn't nice at all!" Naruto, being the nice person that he is, decided to help Sasuke. He didn't like watching people get bullied, and maybe Sasuke would be more okay with becoming his friend if he helped him. Naruto listened to the boy insult both Sasuke and him, before getting himself shoved down the stairs. He had watched the boy grab Sasuke's lunch box and used the spur of the moment face planting lesson to get it back for Sasuke.

After the group of bullies left, Naruto picked himself off the ground and watched for a few seconds as Sasuke searched frantically for his bento before placing it down gently in front of Sasuke. "Here."

After a few seconds of searching for something on the box, the tension in Sasuke's shoulders eased and he said, "Thanks."

" Heh, no problem. I managed to get it back from the bastard who took it from you after you fell when he pushed me. Probably hasn't even noticed it's gone yet. Can I help you up?" He really hoped that Sasuke was alright. After tumbling head over heels down a bunch of stairs even he got disconcerted, and he could see. He couldn't even imagine how lost Sasuke must feel without his eyes to guide him.

After a terse nod from Sasuke, Naruto quickly grabbed Sasuke's arm and hoisted him onto his feet. He watched in slight disappointment as Sasuke fumbled to the door, not asking for any help, even though it was clear that he needed it. Right before he left, Sasuke said, "Thanks. And don't take this the wrong way. It's not that I don't appreciate your help, but stay away from me, okay?"

" Huh? Why?" Naruto was confused. As Sasuke opened the door and started to walk out, Naruto felt himself wilt a little. "You don't like me either, huh. Alright. Sorry I disturbed you."

Why had he thought that Sasuke would have been any different. 'He doesn't want me around either. I'll never have any friends.'


Astral-Annd, done! We finished! Was it a good length? It definitely isn't as long as Shadow's chapters, that's for sure, but we managed to go to a pretty good length!

Mirokai-Please don't forget to review!

Gaara- We need at least one more review before we continue, 'kay? Thanks. Later.