|V.
'Dammit. I ran out of food again. So, I'll have to...go to the store.' He gulped. There was good reason as to why he avoided that place like the plague. If he was lucky, he'd get expired food. Or worse, go dumpster diving to get enough food for a day or two. He hated to starve, but if necessary…
He would.
'At least I'll start a new diet. I can't live off of ramen my whole life. I gotta try other foods, like fruits...and vegetables… ' Naruto groaned to himself, and checked his amount in his Lucky Money Toad wallet, Gama-chan. He deadpanned; there wasn't enough to last him a week. Luckily, he got some ryo from his last mission from the Land of Tea, so he considered it enough. With a nod, he ran off to the nearest grocery store around the block. To any passersby, they would've seen the familiar orange flash of a blonde idiot and continue their ways.
As he was on his way, he skidded to a halt once he saw a pink head walk by this early in the morning. "Wow, is that you, Sakura?" Naruto gaped openly, looking up and down at her.
"Sakura" nodded unabashedly. "Yup! The new and improved Sakura 2.0!" She says confidently with a thumbs-up. "What? Are you so surprised to see me like this?" She gestured to herself, with how her outfit was swapped for a shorter red dress instead of the longer one. Or how she was wearing her headband properly this time, right around her forehead. There was just something about her that confused the life out of the blonde.
"Y - You look like a boy!" He exclaimed dumbly. For a second, he closed his eyes and expected a hit, but...none came. At all. When he opened them, he just saw her smiling back at him.
"I thought it was time for a change, anyway?" She shrugged. "See you later, baka! I'm off to Ino-Pig's! For some...uhm...'business'! Buh-bye!" And as soon as she came she was gone in just a spur of speed.
"Uh...bye...?" He says faintly, watching her go off to the Flower Shop with a handful of flower shipments. 'What's up with her?' He asked himself, staring off into space. "Focus, brat! It's either now or never. Who knows what you'll get this time!" The Kyuubi snapped internally. 'Oh, right! Heh he, silly me!'
Naruto hummed to himself and entered inside the store with a ring of a bell. All the customers stopped exactly what they were doing and just looked at him. It was like a stare-down, making him suddenly feel so small that he wanted to just disappear into thin air. Naruto knew that look. The villagers hated him; even now.
Laughing nervously, he brushed past the mass amounts of people and walked around the aisle for something to buy with his ryo. He squinted, and placed a hand to his chin in contemplation. 'Man...have prices of oranges always been so - I don't know - PRICEY?'
He didn't think much of it, and just tossed it into the green bin he had in his hand. Same with all the others foods he bought. Expired milk, rotted apples; it was all the same. they hated him that much that all the food they didn't need was sold out to him. He hated it, but faked a smile; even though he so badly hated the injustice just because he was the Nine Tails.
"Oh, it's the demon," the man drawled, looking at the cheap food he placed on the counter. "You know the rules, kid. Pay double or you get none." He nodded numbly, and held out his frog wallet. He passed the ryo over and he grunted in response. The man shook his head.
Naruto tapped his foot impatiently; trying to think of any alternative. He glanced around the store and saw someone in a blue shirt and white shorts nearby. They had black hair and was holding onto a green grocery bag.
"Uh, Sasuke?" he asked, looking at his other team mate. "What're you doing here?"
The boy nonchalantly walked over to him, casting a disgruntled look past his shoulder to see if anyone was there. Turning back to the blonde, he shrugged.
"Tch, you moron. I was just buying some tomatoes for myself, obviously. Are you so much of an idiot that you didn't even notice?" he smirked, but then Naruto dropped his bag in the heat of the moment and threw himself at the other teen. They both crashed to the floor; Naruto on top and Sasuke bottom. "You bastard! Can't you just stop being a dickwad for just a second?" Then, just realizing their position, he blushed. Sasuke flipped him over, also dropping his bag. "Not my fault you're such a chicken that you can't even take a hit like a man. Besides, I'm better than you in almost every single way. Deadlast."
Naruto's cheeks turned red in either embarrassment or humiliation, and his bright, blue eyes darkened. "Let me go! Get off of me and leave me alone!" he yelled for the whole store to hear. People just laughed at him behind his back and watched the two in mock amazement. The guy registering his food for him watched sadistically with a twisted smile. "As if I'll do that, deadlast. Besides, they're all watching. Wouldn't want to ruin the show, now would we?" His smile looked smug and Naruto hated his guts, if possibly, even more.
Naruto used his last resort, as the boy continued to pin him to the ground.
Using Kyuubi's chakra, his skin flared with a firelike energy. Sasuke's hand flinched away from the impact, and held his burnt hand. "W-what did you do, moron?" he asked, with a hint of panic. Naruto grinned. Of course he'd be the only one that made the emo emotional.
"Hahah! Sucks to be you!" He ran at supersonic speed and sped off, with an angry blue boy behind him. His food left forgotten on the floor.
Naruto sat on his old and worn sofa, staring sadly at the photo of his mother and father. His blond bangs shadowed half of his face. He wasn't crying, but he felt so, so empty. He looked at his frog wallet and sighed. 'Dammit...I forgot my food! Now I hafta go back an' all.'
"Your thoughts are so loud, I can hear them miles away, dobe."
Naruto jumped a miles a minute. He blinked, blue eyes big and scared. Sasuke was at the doorway, his arms and legs crossed. He looked down at the smaller boy with a condescending smirk. "WHAT THE HELL, TEME! I was, uh," He scoots the family frame under the pillow without Sasuke noticing. "Meditating! Yeah! And..." He trailed off awkwardly, trying to think of something - ANYTHING! - but to no avail. And Sasuke saw it, too. In a few seconds, he was by his side. Naruto flinched, his hairs standing on end.
"Liar. Let me see." Sasuke said, snatching the old and worn picture of Minato and Kushina (courtesy of Pervy-Sage). His black eyes narrowed as he stared at the redhaired woman and the blonde man in the picture. He was wearing the Hokage's robes and everything ; he recognized him as the Yondaime. But...is Naruto the...?
No. Not the time to think of that right now.
"Who are these?" He asked quietly; in a voice no higher than a whisper. Naruto crossed his arms, pouting cutely, and looking away. "None of your business, Sasuke!" He stuck out his tongue. "Hn, whatever." Sasuke stood up from his bed; and shoved his hands into his pocket coolly. "Well? Let's go training. There's no missions as of yet." He walked to the door, waiting for the blond.
"No one invited you into my apartment, bastard!" Growled Naruto, gritting his teeth. "Oh," Sasuke said suddenly, tossing a grocery bag to him. Naruto caught it with wide eyes. "I suppose you don't want this, then?" He waved the photo
Sasuke knew by the desperate face that he had won.
"Let's go."
