Wonders and Miracles
Disclaimer: I still have yet to find the legal papers necessary for me to own Naruto. Darn.
Author's Note: Just as a warning, this story's gonna have some religious stuff in here that might offend some people. If you wanna keep reading, go ahead, but don't blame me if you get offended. This is the warning.
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"The hardest people to forget leave an image behind, but if you look deeper, there is more to find."-Tenshi no Hoshi
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The streets were cool with the breeze from the nearby docks and the light from the streetlamps could never reach the dark hollows of the city's stone walls. The familiar maze of alleyways was for once bereft of beggars and people closing shop for the night and Naruto wondered if the Judge's guards had been going around. He wasn't too afraid of them, he knew he could lose them, but Naruto was immediately on his guard.
Naruto hid the small pouch of coins in his belt, knowing that no thief with any dignity would stop simply because some guards had come through and Naruto wasn't in the mood for fighting. He turned a corner onto the main streets and found the streetlamps brighter, and looking down the street, he saw why. The guards were still around and the flare of their torches could be seen even from his spot three streets down. This was good news however, because it meant he could get across the street and down one of the canals to a friend of theirs who always had food that they sold cheap to them without much trouble. Dodging quickly around the lamplight and into another labyrinth of alleys, he let his legs start running, lest the guards get near the entrance to their hideout and he wouldn't be able to get in and not have to go through the docks.
Naruto froze when he heard other footsteps in the alley. They weren't soldier footsteps, they were far too light for them, but it couldn't be a thief. Any self-respecting thief would never have been heard before being seen. Seemingly from the shadows themselves, a young man came out, eyes dark as the moonless sky above them focused on the blonde. The man had pale skin, obviously one of the accepted people of society and probably rich. Naruto had never seen a poor light-skinned person. His hair was as dark as his eyes, darker still possibly with the hint of blue adorning it unless Naruto's eyes were playing tricks on him. He wore all black, the clothes definitely of good make and of expensive cloth. Naruto eyed the man carefully, looking for any purses of any kind. Apparently he knew the dangers of thieves as well, because the purse was well hidden save for a bulge in the cloak drawn around him. Naruto forced the smirk off his lips, knowing that it would only spell trouble earlier than he wanted.
-?-?-?-?
Sasuke watched the gypsy in front of him and if he wasn't mistaken, it was the acrobat from earlier. Up close, he seemed much shorter and far less graceful on the ground. Six scars marred his cheeks, three on each and the cobalt eyes were glinting with something, although he wasn't quite sure what. Sasuke felt himself tense as the other man shifted his weight to the other foot just a little too casually. Then the blue eyes snapped back up to his face and studied him closely.
"You're Itachi's brother aren't you?" His voice was quiet and still managed to echo against the stone alley walls. "You guys look alike." There was no denying the strong accent to his words.
Sasuke
stiffened. "What's it matter to you, gypsy?"
His
eyes turned sad as they looked at him. "You're just like everyone
else, aren't you? Blind and prejudiced. I thought that you guys had
a chance to learn, to go to school." The blonde turned and kept
walking, hands stuffed into shallow pockets. "Thought you'd be
more like your brother, ya know. Somebody who actually cared 'bout
people like us."
"My brother is a traitor and don't you dare compare me to him." Sasuke had moved a little faster than either of them expected and had him pinned against the wall by his collar.
The scarred teenager showed no sign of panic or alarm, like he had been waiting for a reaction of this sort. "I think that kinda depends on what you consider a traitor. Are you a traitor for following your beliefs? Is that any different from what you and your father are doing?"
Sasuke's grip slackened on his collar and the shorter man took the chance and slipped around him, despite the close proximity to the wall. "Try and think about these things in a while, Sasuke. Itachi always told us you were smart!" Naruto called behind him as he sprinted out of the alley.
-?-?-?-?
"Don't tell me you got yourself in more trouble." Iruka groaned as he saw the slight redness on Naruto's throat from where Sasuke's knuckles had driven into his skin.
"Nothing too bad this time, I promise! Just a little misunderstanding." Naruto assured.
"One of your many, Naruto." Kakashi smiled at him from his place at the table. He'd interrupted the two during dinner. Kakashi and Iruka had been friends when they were teenagers and had lived together for a few years now, despite the obvious racial differences. Iruka's skin was darker than Naruto's and he had a scar across his nose. Kakashi, though he always had his face hidden with a cowl, the little skin you could see around his right eye was rather pale.
"You got a good payoff today then?"
Naruto beamed at them. "Mmhmm! And Shika was able to get some extra money."
"That counts as a miracle by itself with that boy." Iruka grumbled as he dug in their pantry. It was one of the ways they made their money was selling food cheap to the hundreds of gypsies in the city. Pulling out two loaves of bread that was still its natural color and a string of sausages, Iruka handed them to Naruto, taking the few coins that Naruto had brought with him.
The grin didn't move from Naruto's face, only widened when Iruka hugged him and told him to be safe before letting him go down the street.
-?-?-?-?
"Where've you been?"
Sasuke looked up at the gruff voice. "Out." He replied curtly.
Fugaku studied him for any traces of a lie, though he knew he wouldn't. Uchihas were well-versed in lies after all. Sasuke continued up the stairs to his room where gentle oceanic blue was all he saw even underneath his closed eyelids.
-?-?-?-?
Naruto lay back on his cot, staring up at the ceiling draped with colorful blankets to help insulate the room. Shikamaru was truly a genius, and he would've been well-recognized had it not been for the hatred that fueled not only this city, but others as well, or so his mentor told him whenever he came through the city.
"Other cities are just as bad as this one." Jiraiya had said the last time they'd seen each other, "Some leader in one of the cities tried to have a bonfire with gypsies. A good half of them escaped."
"What's bothering you?" Gaara's quiet voice was familiar and comforting from the cot beside his own.
Naruto looked over at the redhead. Their family had been abandoned by their father years ago, their mom died giving birth to Gaara. Everyone, well at least all the light-skinned people, had called him a monster after that. After all, what kind of child killed their mother? Naruto looked at him and found no traces of a monster on the light features. He was the only pale one out of all of them, even more reason for the other pale ones to distrust him. His face was just as human as the rest of them,; one nose, two eyes rimmed in black from little sleep from nightmares, two arms and two legs, ten fingers and toes. What was it about him that screamed monster to them?
"Just wondering why people hate people who're different. Everyone s different either way, but the color of out skin apparently dictates where we live and how. I think Iruka read part of the Bible to me once, said something about loving your neighbors and forgiving people. They're hypocrites is what they are."
Gaara had to agree, though he'd never read any part of the Bible or any book really. He'd never been taught much past his letters and Shikamaru had helped teach them to count. The sea foam orbs focused on Naruto once again. His face was still slightly troubled, meaning something else was wrong.
"That's not all of it." Gaara told him.
"You know how Itachi told us about his little brother?" Naruto waited for Gaara to nod before continuing. "I met him on my way to Iruka's. He seems just as prejudiced as the rest of them, but he stopped when I went against his father. He's…different, that's for sure."
Gaara let an almost invisible smile come to his lips, but said nothing on the subject. He wanted to see how this would play out.