Chapter 2
Mirokai-Okie dokie lokie! Next chappie is HERE!
Gaara- Sorry it took so long, we had other things we needed to do, and with school having just started up again it's been hard to find time to write.
Astral-Yeah, our bad. Anywho, please enjoy, maybe with a hot chocolate, 'cause where we are, it's snowing. Review!
Sasuke sighed. He was sitting under the same tree he always sat under, trying to organize his thoughts. 'Okay, what do I know about the new kid?'
Well, Naruto was a lot smaller than other kids, even some of the girls, and they were all smaller than everyone else, and seemed to have a strange obsession with ramen, which wasn't healthy in the least. No one could smell that much like ramen unless they ate it a lot. He got injured a lot, and had a large presence and a loud voice, something Sasuke would try and make him tune down in the next few weeks, or he'd probably go deaf as well as blind, and that would make him completely unable to be a shinobi. Which would suck bigtime. Other than that, he seemed friendly enough.
It would be nice to have a friend to help him with stuff like what the time was and where stuff was, and it would just be fun to hang out with someone other than Itachi or any of the other, considerably more stuck up, Uchihas. But then his friend might get hurt by the bullies, like Kiba and his gang. Or, in Naruto's case, more hurt. He didn't want that. 'As long as nobody else gets hurt or humiliated, that's fine with me. Except maybe Kiba. He deserves to be humiliated.'
Sasuke suddenly heard footsteps coming towards the opposite side of the tree, where he knew a lone swing was hung from the branches. Both the tree and the swing creaked as someone sat down. He edged himself a little closer to the swing side of the tree, trying to get one hint of who was sitting on the swing. Sasuke got his answer as he caught a whiff of ramen, before the scent was carried away in the wind. He heard a slurping sound and only then realized it was Naruto. He had smelled ramen when Naruto had sat down, so, of course, it had to be Naruto.
He quickly hid himself using the trunk of the tree and tried to eat his lunch as quietly as possible. He liked his solitude, to a certain extent, but it got lonely after a while. He must be pretty desperate to enjoy the company of an idiot slurping ramen who didn't even know he was there. Not to mention said idiot was mumbling to themselves like a crazy person. 'Wait. . .why's he mumbling to himself?'
"Stupid Sasuke, thinks he's so high and mighty. I thought I would finally have a friend. . . but he can't stomach me either. . ."
Sasuke was shocked. Was Naruto really that desperate for a friend, like him? He even went so far as to call Sasuke high and mighty, and though many things he may be, those were not part of him, he didn't think so at least. . . 'Poor Naruto, but if he gets hurt more than he already is being hurt, I would feel really bad.'
Steeling his resolve, Sasuke decided he would ignore Naruto the rest of the day, and then talk to him tomorrow. 'He'll be fine for one more day, right? And besides, maybe I can find out if he's really telling the truth about wanting to be my friend!'
L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+
The rest of the day passed quickly, with Naruto trying to get Sasuke to talk and work with him. Sasuke, on the other hand, was doing his best to ignore said blonde, not that Sasuke knew Naruto was blonde.
Soon enough, the end of the school day came around, and as the final bell sounded, kids raced out of their seats, stampeding towards the door like a herd of beasts. The sound always made Sasuke flinch. 'So loud.'
Sasuke was much slower, as he prefered to avoid being trampled thank you. That and he could normally avoid some of the worst bullies when he left late. He would have to wait at the gate for a while for Itachi, as the rest of the Uchihas were in some sort of 'top secret meeting' and wouldn't be done for a long time yet.
He sighed, he didn't like waiting.
Walking out front, using the hallway as a guide he made his way to the gate. 'Let's see. . .turn right at the third door and walk seven paces, then turn left. . .'
L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+
It had been about an hour and Sasuke still hadn't been picked up, it was starting to get colder, and he was scared. Sasuke didn't like being left alone, contrary to most inferences, and all of the parents who thought it was just because he was a stupid Uchiha. The other fact happened to be that he was slightly afraid of thunder, the storm he could hear approaching faster and faster by the minute. 'Dangit. . . I don't wanna get soaked. . .'
And it rained.
Another hour later and Sasuke was still there, sitting on the ground, soaked and shivering. But what made it still worse was the people who just happened to walk by at that very moment.
"Well, and if it isn't the blind Uchiha." Kiba.
Tilting his head to the side to show that he was listening, Sasuke mentally cursed that they had come back to the school at this time. 'Maybe one of them forgot their homework, and they all came back to get it. . . .Pff yeah right.'
"What're you doing here Sasuke? Waiting for mommy to come and guide you home? Maybe, if you get lost, mommy will see how useless you are, and leave you to die."
With a yelp, Sasuke was yanked off the ground and dragged down the street by a multitude of arms. He struggled, but he wasn't nearly as strong as the rest of the boys put together. After about ten minutes, he stopped struggling and just let his feet drag in the mud as he was taken to who knows where, silent tears running down his cheeks.
L.+I.+N.+E.+B.+R.+E.+A.+K.+
By now hours had passed, and Sasuke still hadn't been found. The bullies had left him in some alley, in the middle of who knows where. It was still raining, and by now, it must have been almost nine o'clock, his mother and father, and especially Itachi would be worried about him. But, they had probably given up searching hours ago. 'Probably think I was killed by an assassin or something. . .'
He hadn't stopped crying the entire time, and he was sure to have dried salt on his face the next morning. 'If I ever live to see tomorrow morning. .'
Just then, the sound of footsteps splashing down the path caused him to start. It seemed like whoever it was, they were running pretty fast. Sasuke hoped that whoever it was wouldn't notice him, and he would be left alone until his aniki found him. But he never got such luck.
"Hey, Sasuke? You okay?" It was Naruto.
"Go away. . ." Why did it have to be Naruto of all people to find him. He wouldn't want to be friends with someone who was stuck in the middle of the city, crying.
"Why should I go away? It's almost eleven o'clock, did you know that? What are you doin' in the middle of this alley anyways?" Wow, it was a lot later than he thought. Even in the middle of the night, Naruto was talkative. Not that Sasuke necessarily minded. He always prefered to listen more than talk. 'It makes it easier for Naruto to be my friend that way, I guess. . .'
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because I'm the only one who ever goes out this time of night, though one of the clans has been surprisingly active tonight." Sasuke, drew in a sharp breath. So they were looking for him, they just couldn't find him for some reason. 'That's a relief.'
"Fine. But first tell me why you're out in the middle of a rainstorm at midnight." Sasuke just couldn't resist teasing his maybe-probably-hopefully-soon-to-be friend, even if he was scared and lost, and probably catching a cold.
"Well, at this time of night, I can play at the playground without other kids and their parents yelling at me or hurting me. Even in rain, it's much better than going during the day when the sun is shining. So, you finally gonna tell me why you're cryin' in the middle of one of the most secluded back alleys of Konoha, mister high and mighty?" Sasuke had to admit, Naruto had a good reason to be out. The playground would be completely empty, unlike some other parts of the city, and there wouldn't be people to treat him like trash, as he had heard others do.
"I'm not high and mighty! I just. . . I didn't want you to be bullied by the other boys in our class. You're new, and, and-" Sasuke decided to stop talking before he worked himself into hysterics. "I was gonna talk to you tomorrow, but, well, we're both here so." Sasuke pulled his legs closer to him, waiting to hear what Naruto's reaction would be.
"Okay. . . so, how did you end up out here? For like the third time. If you tell me where you live, I might be able to take you back home, and if not, I can just take you to my place!"
Sasuke blinked twice in shock, before lifting his head from his knees and shifting his blank gaze to where he thought Naruto was. "W-well, the bullies from earlier today grabbed me as I was waiting by the gate for my aniki to pick me up and take me home, because I can't see, and all. . .but they grabbed me and dragged me out here, and now I don't know how to get home." He sniffed, and raised his hands to do his best to wipe the tears away.
"Alright, I'll take you home then. Address?" Even if Sasuke couldn't see Naruto, he got the feeling that the other boy was smiling.
"The Uchiha Compound."
He heard a splash, as if someone had just fallen over, and then Naruto started yelling. "What the- You're an Uchiha!? But you're nothing like those stuck up bastards! Well, you don't seem to be anymore. Now I get why you wear that fan thingy on your back."
He felt Naruto's hand grab his own and drag him to his feet. "Don't worry, I know where the Uchiha Compound is. Hang on, if we run fast enough, I can get us there in under ten minutes! I promise, as your friend, that I won't let go."
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. He choked out, "Friends?"
"Yeah, silly, that's what you've been talking about right? The whole, 'I was going to talk to you tomorrow' thing?" Sasuke couldn't believe it. Naruto had accepted him, blindness and all, in less than a second. Completely speechless, the blind Uchiha nodded, before smiling. He finally had a friend!
"'Kay, let's go!" Naruto shouted, and then, took off running, Sasuke in tow.
"W-wait a minute! Not so fast! I'm gonna run into something! NARUTO!"
Gaara-Only one POV this time. Next time we'll include both Naruto and Sasuke's point of view.
Astral-Hope you're ready! Next chapter we tackle some major sadness, except that we're not good at writing sad stuff. . .
Mirokai- REVIEW!
