hi
XXX
Chapter 2: Under the Skies
The raven-haired boy quickly whisked around. In his hands were black star-shaped metal pieces… shuriken.
He was training? Naruto thought in astonishment and frustration. Is that teme an idiot?
"Sasuke," Naruto growled, cerulean eyes practically shooting out flames, "What the hell do you think you're doing? And you'd better have a good explanation, teme." She spat out the last word venomously.
Sasuke glared back at her. "Shuriken practice. What else, dobe?"
"Oh?" the little blonde snapped sardonically, "Amazing. May I ask thy Excellency just why might someone be training during this time of night? And just how he is going to go to school tomorrow?"
"Shut up, dobe."
She exploded, and her hands were thrown up in the air as she shouted with rage. "'Shut up'?! You are telling me to shut up? Excuse me, you damn bastard, but if you are all torn and bloody tomorrow, it shall be me that has to drag your body to school. It shall be me who has to make sure that you do not faint in class. So you know what? No, I am not going to shut up!"
Sasuke opened his mouth to make an angry reply when he blinked rapidly and…
Fainted onto the ground. Naruto forgot all her wrath in one millisecond and ran down the hill to the clearing where Sasuke had fallen. "Oh my god, Sasuke! Sasuke!" Naruto shrieked. "Shit! Wake up, teme! Wake up!" She shook him roughly, but there was no response. The little blonde, panicking, pressed her ear to his chest and was terribly relieved when she heard his heartbeat and felt him breathing faintly.
Grabbing his shoulder and grunting, she half pulled, half dragged his body deeper into the forest. Her nose twitched, and Naruto realized there was a lake nearby. With renewed strength, she heaved the unconscious Sasuke faster and arrived into a bigger clearing. The moonlight glittered on the surface of a clear, turquoise lake, and the little blonde bit back a gasp. It was so beautiful. Propping Sasuke up against a tree, she scampered to the took off her jacket, soaked one sleeve with water, and dashed back to Sasuke, dabbing his sweaty and bloody forehead.
"Damn bastard. Training his ass off, then fainting on me. The very nerve," Naruto muttered angrily. She wiped off the grime from Sasuke's skin not too kindly. Sure enough, Sasuke was roused awake – by the pain of Naruto's treatment or the coolness of water, he did not know. But as soon as his onyx eyes opened, the worry lines on Naruto's face ceased and her ceruleans eyes became enraged orbs of blue. "Teme! What the hell was that? You… Argh! I just want to kill you!"
Sasuke sat up groggily. He avoided looking at her, and instead gazed at the luminous lake. "How'd you find this place?" he asked in a blank voice, hiding his emotions.
She snapped at him crossly, "High sense of smell and hearing? Answer my question, Uchiha Sasuke! Why the hell were you out training?"
"You won't understand, dobe."
Slap.
Sasuke's eyes were wide. No girl had ever dared to do that to him before. To be exact, no one did. His father and brother rarely touched him, and well, hugs from his mother were rare. But here, here was this girl that he didn't even know for a day, and she slapped him. Slapped. Him. Uchiha Sasuke. His onyx eyes turned from the lake to look at her, and he was astounded at the sight that greeted him. The blonde's lips were quivering, and her eyes were harshly bright as she stared at the hand that she used to slap him. She's… She's crying?
With a startled gasp, as if she just realized what she had done, Naruto clenched her hands and quickly scurried to the shore of the lake, curling into a small ball with her back to Sasuke. Her shoulders were shaking, and although very faint, Sasuke could hear little breathless sobs that racked her petite body. As if in a dream, Sasuke cautiously walked and stood over her.
"No! Go away! I… I hate you!" she shrieked, and in a fit of rage, flung water backwards at him. Her eyes were shaded by her bangs, but the tears dripped down her cheeks mercilessly. Without any conscious thought to what he was doing, Sasuke grabbed both of her hands and tightened his hold. She struggled to free herself, but he was stronger. The blonde deflated immediately, and she became quiet.
"Let go of me," she finally muttered expressionlessly.
"No." He studied her face. Although turned away from him, he could see the trickles of tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were dead and cold, and somehow, Sasuke felt strangely infuriated. He didn't like this silent, lifeless Naruto. As she said before, it wasn't her. It didn't fit her at all. Sasuke let go of one of Naruto's hands. Then with his one freed hand, he brought it up to wipe away her tears.
Both of them were, needless to say, taken aback.
At last, Naruto broke their trance by taking a stunned step away. "I… I…" she stammered, cerulean eyes now wide with shock.
"Why do you care so much for me?" Sasuke murmured, bewildered. "You act so different from the other girls. Is it because this is just another new way to get my attention?"
"No!" she whispered wildly. "No! That's not it!" The little blonde stopped talking, and one hand came to rest on her chest. Naruto had felt her heart do little weird flips when he touched her cheeks, and she didn't like it. It wasn't reasonable. It wasn't realistic. She barely knew him! Yet… Yet why was she so concerned about him? "I don't understand either, Sasuke. I don't! Is this what amnesia does to you? That you feel an emotion every time you look at some stranger? But…" Her voice trailed off. "I didn't feel it with other people!" she wailed.
Sasuke blinked. He raised an arm towards her, but she just took another timid step back. He gave up, and his arm came to rest on his side tiredly. "What do you mean by emotions, dobe?" he asked.
"I… I…" Naruto stuttered. She then locked eyes with Sasuke. Cerulean stared into onyx, and Sasuke felt something stir in the air – it was like electricity was flowing through him, and he…
Naruto shook her head violently, and her bangs covered her eyes once more, breaking the link. "I know you from somewhere. I know I do," she then mumbled. "I don't care if that's not sensible. I don't care."
He was at loss of what to say. When did he start worrying about what he was supposed to say? He never spoke. But looking at Naruto, he wished he had more experience in this area. He wanted to comfort her so bad, it… hurt him? Sasuke didn't understand. But he still tried. "I was training to beat niisan."
Naruto looked up sharply at him, and something – curiosity, probably – sparkled a little in her eyes. If Sasuke were a normal boy, he would've smiled. The little blonde was finally looking alive once more. "I need to beat him," the raven-haired boy continued. "I want…"
Silence.
"You want…?" Naruto murmured, eyes wide and big.
Sasuke blushed. "I want Father to acknowledge me. I want him to say, 'That's… That's my boy.'" The raven-haired boy felt his throat thicken up, and he repressed the urge. No! He won't… simply won't cry in front of her!
He felt something touch his arm.
Naruto smiled sincerely up at him – her fury completely gone – and her hand was gently resting on his elbow. "Sasuke, if that's why you train your ass off everyday, it's not worth it. Your father is proud of you. He's just not one to show it. I met him; I should know."
"Then why is he always telling niisan that? Why does he never… never pay any interest in me?" His voice, oh how he hated it! Pathetic. Uchiha Sasuke, number one in his class, was now seeking comfort in a girl.
"Sasuke." He looked at her questioningly. "Sasuke, tell him." The boy blinked, not comprehending, and Naruto smiled thinly. "I told you. Your father, just like you and Itachi-niichan, isn't very good at showing his feelings. Why don't you tell him then? That you want him to be proud of you? That you want him to realize that you are his son, one hundred percent? That…" Naruto grinned. "That you're just as good as your brother?"
Sasuke reddened. She's quick to catch on. "It's not like that," he mumbled despondently.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "It isn't? Sasuke, don't ask me why I know this, but…" She looked away, staring at the surface of the lake. There was something sinister about its beauty, and Naruto felt herself being washed in huge tidal waves of melancholy. Her cerulean eyes took a distant look, and when she spoke, her voice echoed with grief. "If you don't tell your father this now, you might never."
"What… What do you mean?" he whispered, daunted by how mature and anguished this young girl now looked.
She gave him a small smile. "You know the saying 'it's never too late?'"
"Y-yeah?"
The little girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't believe in that crap. It's not true. Not one tiny bit of it. There's a time limit to everything, and well, if you don't grab the chance when it's there, you might never get the opportunity again. Nothing lasts forever." Naruto frowned.
Sasuke clenched his hand. "I get what you're talking about, but I don't think I'm just ready yet to do that. I…" He bit the inside of his cheeks, scowling. Sasuke then looked shyly across at the blonde, and her eyes met his again. They were such beautiful sapphire gems, the way they glittered with unspoken splendor and life. He had never met a girl like Naruto, and he doubt he ever will.
Naruto suddenly broke the seriousness of their conversation by bursting out laughing. "Oh dear, look us both! Not even eight, and we're already talking about the future." She giggled, and with a swift motion, gave Sasuke a hug that he couldn't dodge. Not that he really wanted to, but hell, he was never gonna admit that. "Thanks, teme. And sorry. I'm sorry for losing my temper again. I do that a lot, huh?"
Sasuke frowned fiercely. "Hn." He hurriedly broke away from Naruto's embrace. "And for the record, dobe, I'm eight. It's August; my birthday's in July."
Naruto's mouth popped open. "What? Get out! Hokage-jiji told me that mine is in October! Dammit, you're older than me."
The raven-haired boy smirked. "Usuratonkachi. Let's head back now, dobe." He started walking towards the direction of the house, and Naruto ran to catch up. Sasuke suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask her. "Oi, dobe." She pursed her lips inquiringly, tipping her head sideways. "What were you doing out here so late?"
"Oh…" She scowled. "Nightmare." He had to hide a snort. But his humor rapidly disappeared when Naruto replied sassily, "You were in it."
"…"
"Don't be surprised, teme. You'll haunt all my dreams for the rest of my life."
"Hn."
There's a time limit to everything, and well, if you don't grab the chance when it's there, you might never get the opportunity again. Nothing lasts forever…
Don't lose him.
XXX
"Oi, Naruto!"
The little blonde turned around, smiling widely. "Kiba-kun! Shika-chan! Aka-chan!" Indeed, Kiba was running towards her with Akamaru sitting on his head as usual. Shikamaru followed, sighing forlornly, but other people were behind him as well this time. Naruto recognized two of the other four. "Chouji! Shino!"
Kiba quickly caught up with Naruto and threw her a grin. "Yo! Lovely morning, ne? Ah yes, so you remembered. New group members!" He pointed to a shy, frightened girl with white eyes and choppy, purple hair. "Naruto, meet Hinata."
"G-good morning, Naruto-chan," the girl mumbled bashfully.
Naruto smiled sweetly. "Good morning, Hinata-chan."
Kiba snorted and rolled his eyes. He then pointed to an expressionless boy with long, straight hair the same color as Hinata's. To be exact, his eyes were the same shade of white too… "This is Neji, Hinata's cousin." He whispered only for Naruto to hear, "Be careful. For unknown reasons, he detests Hinata. Keep away from him. He's a grade higher than us. We just sometimes walk together because he lives where Hinata lives." Naruto nodded, absorbing in this fact.
"Good morning, Neji-san," the blonde said politely. No response. Naruto sweatdropped. Argh, joy… Another Sasuke. Kiba seemed to have read Naruto's expression, and he shot her a wry grin.
"So, Naru-chan." Scowl from Naruto. "Aw, c'mon, don't be such a party pooper, Naru-chan. Anyhow, where's His Royal Bastardness this morning?" Naruto had to crack a smile. The nickname fit Sasuke perfectly.
"Pfft. He left the house early with Uchiha-san," the little blonde lied airily. "When I woke up, Mikoto-neechan told me Sasuke-teme was gone. They had some sort of Uchiha meeting thingy." Not true – Sasuke was still sleeping back at the Uchiha estate. Naruto was supposed to have woken him up, but upon entering his bedroom and looking at his wan face, she couldn't do it. That bastard needed his sleep, and bad. Who cares if he were sour with her the next time he saw her? It's better than having him faint again and possibly not even wake up.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.
"I… I hope S-Sasuke-kun g-get b-better," Hinata whispered quietly, fidgeting her fingers. Her eyes darted back and forth nervously, as if she were afraid some monster would come and attack them from the bushes nearby. Kiba groaned loudly.
"Oh no, not you too! You're not some kind of Sasuke obsessed freak are you, Hinata?" he moaned in mock despair. "It's already bad enough that all the other girls in the class are in love with him."
Naruto cleared her throat, raising one eyebrow. "I beg your pardon, Kiba? I am in your class and I happen to not be in love with him."
He smirked. "Don't expect me to believe you. You're practically living in his house, dude. And you say you aren't attracted to him? Pfft. Bull."
Smack. "Shut up. Just because I'm living in his house doesn't mean I like him," Naruto snapped, peeved. "Besides, shouldn't we have more of a brotherly sister relationship since I'm staying in his family?"
Neji spoke for the first time. "You are staying with his family? Whatever for?"
Naruto rolled her eyes. "I have amnesia. I just arrived in Konoha, and for no apparent reason, Hokage-jiji threw me in the Uchiha estate."
Chouji took time away from eating his chips to say, "Amnesia? What's that?"
"Oh how troublesome," Shikamaru said, bored. "Amnesia is memory loss. Naruto means that she lost all her memories."
"Th-that's terrible," Hinata mumbled out, blushing.
Kiba frowned. "Amnesia? I thought that was a lack of sleep. Ain't that right, Akamaru?" The dog barked excitedly.
Shikamaru sighed. "That's insomnia, Kiba."
"Oh."
Naruto sighed. "What kind of conversation is this? It's lowering my intelligence."
Kiba sulked. "Hey, that hurts, Naru-chan!"
Her face twitched. "For the love of God, it's Naruto."
"You said I could call you that when we were alone."
"Oh, I see. It appears that the word 'alone' does not mean what you think it means."
"Shikamaru doesn't count, you said. And Shino doesn't either. He doesn't talk. Nor should you include Akamaru. Therefore, we are almost alone, Naru-chan."
Naruto was about to give Kiba another smack on the head when he brightened. "Hey, I remember now! Nee-chan told me that there's gonna be a meteor shower tonight. Wanna come watch it?"
Naruto instantly forgot her irritation and perked up. "Meteor shower? I've never seen one. Well, I don't remember seeing one. When is it?"
Shikamaru answered for Kiba, who obviously did not pay full attention to his sister when she told him that information. "My father said it was around eight. We live fairly close to each other, so maybe we can come to pick you up." Naruto grinned, nodding.
"Thanks!"
Neji cut in to the conversation. "I can't go," he said coolly.
"Aw!" Naruto said, frowning. "Why not, Neji-san?"
"I don't want to."
The little blonde's growled, instantly irked. "No," she declared.
Neji looked mildly surprised. She told him no?
"Excuse me?" the boy asked.
Naruto scowled. "No, you're going. Why do you want to be the icy bastard anyways? Don't you understand socializing? I mean, look at Shino."
Shino: "…"
The little blonde continued. "Maybe he's not good at socializing, but he still tries. He's still participates. Yet, you, Neji-san, are just like Sasuke-teme. Trying to be the ice block of the group. I hate that! Hiding your true emotions, never letting others see your pain… It's obnoxious!" Naruto paused for breath, and began ranting again. "So you will be going. I'll drag you there. Don't even think about saying no." She then added, "And Sasuke will be there too."
There was a moment of silence.
Naruto looked at Neji expectantly. "Well?" she questioned a bit grumpily.
"…" He then sighed unenthusiastically. "Fine."
The others simply could not react to this turn of events.
Naruto grinned. "Good." She gazed at the road, and sighed despairingly. "Argh. There's the school."
Everyone groaned softly. That is, except for Shino and Neji. And Hinata's groan was very soft. She was still too shy – and scared – to make a noise. However, when everyone began running towards the brown building, Hinata gently pulled on Naruto's – well, Sasuke's – shirt. The little blonde looked at Hinata inquisitively.
"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked softly.
Hinata looked bashfully on the ground, and her face became scarlet. "Um… Naruto-chan, I just want to say… Thank you."
"What… What for?"
"For giving Neji-niichan a chance to socialize, I… I suppose. He's a lonely person, you see…" Hinata looked like she was about to cry, and Naruto's cerulean eyes softened. The blonde's face split open into a big grin.
"No problem, Hinata-chan!" she said cheerfully. "It was my pleasure. And you're gonna be there too, right?"
Hinata gave Naruto a small smile. "Y-yes."
"Great!"
"Oi! Naruto! Hinata!" Kiba suddenly shouted from in front of the Academy front doors. "Hurry up or you'll both be taaaaaaardy!" He and Akamaru then darted inside. Naruto winked at Hinata.
"Let's get moving, Hinata-chan!"
"Y-yes!"
And they ran to the classroom.
XXX
Finally! Finally the class was starting to do something with weapons and not the boring book! Naruto could almost feel her heart burst with joy. Then, something in her mind reminded her of Sasuke, and she momentarily felt a bit of guilt when she realized that he was at home while she was at school throwing shurikens.
Who cares about that bastard? Sheesh!
Iruka smiled at the cheering class. "All right, everybody. I'll read your partners' names for you. Please go outside to the training grounds and line up after your name has been called. Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji! Shino, Hinata…" And so forth. Finally, Naruto's name was called. "Naruto, Ino, and Sakura!"
Naruto felt her happiness slowly wither away.
Ino was a bubbly mass of glee when the three of them walked towards the training ground. "Can you believe it? We're a team! This is the best!" The girl looked at Naruto, frowning. "Where's Sasuke? He's not sick, is he? Mebbe I should go over to visit him…?"
Inner Naruto: NOOOOOOOO!
"Uh… He has a meeting with his dad somewhere. Don't worry; he'll be back to school tomorrow," Naruto hastily said. "No need to go visit."
Ino looked disappointed. "Oh." Then she noticed the quiet Sakura. "What's the matter, Sakura? You haven't said anything…"
Sakura smiled bashfully. "It's nothing…"
Naruto tipped her head to one side, pondering. "Ne, do you guys know how to throw shuriken?" she asked.
Ino grinned. "Yea! My dad taught me."
"N-no… I'm afraid I'm not very good," Sakura muttered. "What happens if I screw up?"
"Then you screw up," Ino replied matter-of-factly, not being very helpful. But Naruto felt sympathetic for Sakura, and the little blonde patted Sakura's arm.
"It's gonna be okay, Sakura-chan," she reassured. "Just focus on your target and throw. It's very simple, actually. Besides, it's gonna be my time trying to do it in a very long time. I had forgotten how to throw." The pink haired girl gave Naruto a grateful smile.
"Whatever!" Ino said huffily. "We're here."
To Naruto's intense horror, Iruka spent thirty minutes stressing to the class on what they must not do. Naruto had almost died from boredom. Where are we gonna practice? the poor blonde thought in hopelessness. This is the worst! At last, the young teacher clapped his hands.
"All right! Everyone, find a target and get moving!"
Yay…? Nope.
Ino nominated herself to go first and second and third. Sakura and Naruto looked like scarecrows as they stood there, watching at Ino throw shuriken after shuriken. Not that she was bad… Naruto thought. Most of her shuriken hit the drawn target against the rock wall. But argh! Suddenly, Kiba from across the grounds caught Naruto's eye, and he gave her an all-knowing grin. Curse him! Luckily, Iruka saw Naruto's scowl and he came over.
"Something wrong, girls?" he asked. Iruka then looked at Ino who had all the shuriken in her hands, and he realized the situation. "Why, Miss Ino! You aren't going to let Sakura-chan and Naruto-chan here a chance to try out throwing?"
Ino replied innocently, "But Sakura-chan doesn't know how!"
"And Naruto?"
Ino glanced at Naruto. "Do you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
Iruka said sternly, "Then how about you try it out? Please let Naruto-chan try it out, Ino-chan."
"Okay."
Naruto stepped up and took the four throwing stars from Ino. She stared at it, mesmerized. Something was tugging at her consciousness, and she felt the same pounding in her head that she had in the hospital a while back. That's right… She did know how to throw. What she told Kakashi and Hokage-jiji wasn't a lie. She did remember… It was the matter of letting her body take over and…
Thud. Clink. Clink. Clink.
When she opened her eyes again, she was aware that every eye was on her or the target drawing. Even Iruka was in bewilderment. For when Naruto threw the first shuriken, it had hit smack in the middle – bull's eye. But the astounding thing was the next three that were thrown. They had hit the first shuriken – which was embedded deep into the rock – straight on and bounced right off. One hundred percent accuracy.
Ino was the first to break the silence. "No way! Naru-chan… How did you manage to do that? You… you can throw with the same accuracy as Sasuke-kun!"
Naruto looked just as surprised. "I… I don't know. This is… I…" She stopped, frowning. "I know that I can fight. But I don't remember how."
Iruka raised his eyebrows. "No matter. It must be something with your amnesia. Next week, Naruto, we'll see just how good you are. Until then, class is dismissed!"
Walking home…
Kiba was insane. "Dude! That was wicked! Didja see everyone's faces? Awesome, Naruto! How the hell didja do that? It rocked butt, man!"
She sighed. "For the umpteenth time, Kiba, I don't know. You guys are so—"
"Troublesome?" Shikamaru muttered. "Now you know how I feel."
Naruto grinned. "Sheesh. It's not my fault you're so smart, Pineapple-chan!"
He winced ever so slightly. "That pineapple thing again?"
Kiba laughed wildly.
Naruto smiled, and then gave another sigh. "Well, I'd better head home now. When are you guys gonna pick me and Sasuke up tonight? Eight?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "It kinda depends. When do you want us to pick you up?"
She thought fast. "Seven thirty? So we can have time to get ready for the meteor showers? That okay with you?"
Kiba grinned, and Akamaru yapped excitedly. "No problem! Wait for our shouts or something, because well…" He looked a bit nervous. "We're a bit afraid to go into his home, if you catch my drift."
Naruto smirked. "All right then. I'll make sure his Bastardness won't gobble you all up when we meet. Until then, have a nice day!" She ran off, waving.
XXX
Naruto was rummaging through the kitchen. The blonde, before approaching the refrigerator, was strangely wary of some unknown red-shaped ball that suddenly appeared in her mind. Her head had begun spinning again, and… and when she opened the damn refrigerator… There it was, the picture that her mind had conjured up for no reason.
Tomatoes. Mountains of tomatoes.
"Argh!" she screamed. "What is this? Grr! I'm so hungry! Woe… I'm drowning in my sorrows…" Naruto banged her head against the door of the refrigerator in exasperation.
Unexpectedly, without warning—
Heart-stopping, choking bloodlust. Naruto slowly turned around.
"Dobe." It was not a pleasant growl. It wasn't even a cute growl.
Uh…oh…
Sasuke stood there looking ready to murder a whole village. Veins were bulging on his forehead, and oh, the fire that burned in his eyes… Naruto gulped. For the first time, she was feeling a sliver of fear in the presence of Uchiha Sasuke.
"Uh…. Good afternoon, Sasuke… -kun?" Naruto mumbled out, taking a frightened step back. "Glad to see you… awake."
Bloodlust. "Why. Didn't. You. Wake. Me."
Shiver. "Er, you see, I happened to wake very late, and I thought that you were already up so I like grabbed lunch and left and didn't realize that you were still home and when I did find out, it was at school so I couldn't do anything and so that's the reason why I didn't wake you up." Naruto mentally winced. That was the worst lying she had ever heard.
Sasuke apparently thought so too. One vein on his forehead looked very close to exploding and releasing the monster that was being held back. The little blonde desperately thought of something to distract him. What… What… What — oh!
"ShikamaruandKibainvitedustoseemeteorshowers," Naruto hastily spat out.
The diversion, to Naruto's relief, worked. Sasuke blinked in puzzlement.
"What, dobe?"
"Shikamaru and Kiba asked us to see meteor showers tonight," the blonde said, pronouncing each word with care. Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto beat him to it. "And you're going. So is Neji-san. You guys can make an emo club while you're at it."
Blink. "Neji? As in, Hyuuga Neji?" Sasuke's voice sounded amazed.
Naruto nodded slowly. "Yes, older cousin of Hinata. So you actually know Neji-san? That's quite astounding, seeing that how socially challenged you can be."
Scowl. "He's the best of the class in the year above us. So I heard of him before. He's a prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan."
"Oh."
There was an awkward silence, and then Sasuke said simply, "I'm not going."
Now it was Naruto's turn to have a forehead vein twitch in annoyance. "Really? Why not?"
"I don't want to."
"Isn't this amusing? I can swear that those were the very words in which Neji-san used to tell me this morning. Guess my answer to him… No." She glared at Sasuke, daring him to complain or decline again. However, his look of surprise was for another reason.
"You… You don't him no?" His voice was flabbergasted. "You… You, a mere dobe… You of all people actually told Neji no?"
"And?" Her words sounded rather forced out. "The point you're making…?"
"And you didn't get hurt? Neji… Neji, he said yes?"
"No, genius, he told me no. That's why he's going," Naruto sarcastically snapped.
Sasuke grimaced. "All right. I get your point."
"And?" Her voice was coated with venom.
"And… And I'm going. Happy?" He scowled fiercely at her, cheeks tinged with pink. Naruto was swiftly all smiles, and the grin she had almost split her face in two. She quickly grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.
"D-Dobe, what the hell of you doing? Let go!" Sasuke growled in disgust. "Where the hell are you pulling me to?"
"Outside," was the reply. "You're treating me to an afternoon snack."
"WHAT?!"
"You heard me, teme. I'm hungry."
Sasuke scowled. "A wonderful invention called the refrigerator. There's food in there, usuratonkachi."
"Tomatoes hardly count as food, baka."
Sasuke shook off her hold on his forearm and glared at her. "They're healthy."
She turned around and stared at him with the same level of hostility. "They're veggies, teme. No way am I eating veggies for my snack. Hear me?" Naruto didn't wait for his answer. "Good. Let's go, yarou, or are you too dumb to move?"
"Dobe."
"Call me what you want," she replied cheekily. "But just feed me."
"…" Pause. "For the record, dobe, tomatoes are fruits."
XXX
Ramen.
She liked ramen.
There was absolutely no way.
Sasuke had brought her to Ichiraku Ramen simply because he wanted her to complain and go on and on about eating the crappy food, and he would reply with a "Let go home and eat the healthy tomatoes now." But it didn't turn out like that.
Ramen.
She liked ramen.
Joy to the world.
The poor raven-haired boy watched Naruto down bowl after bowl of the injurious noodles. And she wouldn't stop. It was like her stomach was made of rubber or something. It just kept on expanding and expanding and expanding…
Ramen.
She liked ramen.
He could not get that thought out of his head.
"Another bowl of miso soup, please, ji-san!" Naruto cried, mouth still full of ramen from her last bowl.
Sasuke cleared his throat. "Naruto." She didn't hear him. "Naruto," he said through clenched teeth. The blonde glanced at him.
"What, teme?"
"Don't… Don't you think eight bowls of ramen is enough, dobe?" He glared at her coldly.
Naruto snorted loudly. "You serious? I can eat at least eight more. I never tasted ramen before… I never knew it tasted so good!" The blonde stopped, thought for a while, and jumped up. "I got it! Sasuke, how much money do you have?"
He was instantly wary. "Not saying."
She glowered at him. "I want you to buy me enough to last me the whole week."
"And just how much is that…?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. A pack of them, I guess?"
"A… a whole pack?"
In the end, it didn't turn out as bad as he thought it would be. One whole pack equaled only thirty. Sasuke was expecting something around fifty. Thank the gods it was only thirty…
Not.
How he ended up holding the bags filled with ramen, Sasuke did not know. He glowered fiercely at the dobe in front of him who was blithely skipping through the streets, singing a happy tune. She stopped every few feet to talk to a stranger or to pet an animal. Sasuke tried his very best to pretend that he didn't know her. It was quite hard, seeing that in between Naruto would remember him and turn around to chat to him.
"Ne, ne, Sauske-teme?"
"What?"
"Sheesh. I'm not a bug, you know. Don't treat me like one. I was thinking, do you know any good places to just sit down and rest? I'm tired."
Inner Sasuke: You're tired? You're tired? I'm the one holding twenty pounds worth of the shit that you're gonna feast on for this week! And you're telling that you're tired?
But he didn't say that. For that would've earned him a very hard smack on the head, and Sasuke didn't feel like getting one right now. "Hn," he answered. "Not really."
She sulked, cerulean eyes growing wider and wider. "You're the emo guy. You should at least have some place where you get all depressed and just think, you know…"
"I'm not emo, dobe."
"Yes, yes, your Bastardness."
"Your Bastardness?"
"Sure. Kiba-kun made that nickname for you."
"Kiba?" His voice sounded confused, and Naruto sighed despondently.
"You don't know who that is, do you?"
He growled. "No."
The blonde threw her hands up in the air in disgust, and began waving them wildly around. "What are you, blind? Dude—"
Sasuke choked, and something like a laugh and a snort mixed into one came out of his throat. "D-dude?"
Naruto blinked. Then realization dawned in her azure eyes, and she gave Sasuke a quick grin. "Yeah, picked that up from Kiba-kun." She sighed. "Oh dear. I'm becoming more and more like Kiba… And about him. You know, the spiky, brown haired dude? With the dog on his head?"
"Oh." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in thought. "That was a dog?"
"No, it was a pig."
"That's not what I meant," Sasuke snapped. "I thought that it was just a stuffed animal."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and the blonde burst out laughing, hugging her sides as her shoulder shook with mirth. "Kiba? Stuffed animal? Oh gods, if I told him that…" Her voiced dissolved into hysteric giggles. "Lord, how he would kill me…" she muttered to herself, wiping away at her tears. It was then when Sasuke noticed something about her cheeks. He reached out his hand and gently touched her face.
"What are these?" he asked, frowning. His eyebrows were knitted in bewilderment, his eyes clouded with thought. He gently stroked the three faded whisker markings on both of Naruto's cheeks. "They look like fox whiskers."
Naruto tipped her head to one side and pouted. "My face? Where?" She looked around the stores for a mirror and ran up to it. She gasped when she saw her reflection. "Why, teme, you're right! I never noticed them before. They're like really old scars or something…"
He walked up to her. "You didn't notice them?"
"No. Why would I? I hardly look in a mirror anyways."
"What?" He was shocked. "You don't? But… But don't all girls do that?"
"There it is! The sexism that boys all seem to possess," Naruto snapped. "Can't you guys just accept that we girls aren't all exactly the same? Sheesh, that Kiba. Assuming that every girl in the damn class has a crush on you." She scowled ferociously at the memory, and Sasuke blinked.
"Me?" he questioned curiously.
Naruto glared at him. "Yes, you. Why do the girls all like you anyways? I mean, you hardly talk. You sit in class and send death vibes off in toxic waves. You'll practically kill them if they overdose on your emoness!" she ranted. "And the damn Kiba, saying that I have a crush on you only because I live with you. What kind of reasoning is that?" The blonde huffed madly and crossed her arms. She made ugly faces at the mirror in front of her, and the store woman decided to keep away from the two children.
Sasuke had no comment. He didn't know how to respond. This… this girl was simply too complicated for him to understand. One day, she acts like a normal girl. Then a child. Then a mature lady. Then a boy. She was just… just too weird. And considering all the psycho girls who Sasuke met in class, that was saying a lot.
Naruto sighed after some silence. "Sorry. I need to control my moods. Let's go home now, ne, Sasuke-teme?"
The boy shrugged, trying to compose himself. "Hn."
XXX
"Tadaima!" the little girl said as she walked through the door. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes and dropped the bags of ramen in the kitchen.
"Do you always have to be so loud, usuratonkachi?" he muttered to himself, but she still heard him.
"Well why not?" Naruto sniffed indignantly. "Dude, your house is too quiet. It needs some noise. Why don't we invite people over?"
A look of pure terror flashed through Sasuke's face before he bellowed, "WHAT?!"
Naruto covered her eyes delicately. "Dude, super hearing? I can hear you just fine. And who was the one talking about being too loud, teme?" The girl then sighed. "I didn't mean your fan girls, Sasuke-yarou. I can hardly stand them either. But I meant like, you know, the boys. To get to know them better." She scowled. "To at least memorize their names, teme."
"I don't want to," he said. "They're too—"
"Troublesome?" Naruto cut in just like Shikamaru did earlier in the day. She laughed freely.
He glared at her, not comprehending her sudden happiness. "So?"
"So that makes you emo." He glowered, and Naruto shot him a grin. "Don't worry. As I said earlier, you and Neji can form a club. I'll join just for the heck of it." She laughed again, snorting at the thought, and her laugh hung in the air. Sasuke made an angry face, but Naruto ignored him.
"Naruto? Sasuke? Are you guys home yet?" Mikoto and Fugaku appeared at the doorway, and their eyes widened at the scene that greeted them. Naruto sat on the kitchen table, her cerulean eyes twinkling as a smirk twitched mockingly in the corner of her lips. Sasuke was leaning against the refrigerator door, rolling his eyes just as the couple came in.
However, the mood changed quickly. Sasuke straightened up instantly, and Naruto jumped of the table with haste, landing gracefully on her feet. She dusted her black shorts and looked up shyly at Mikoto and Fugaku.
"Mikoto-neesan, Uchiha-san," she murmured coyly, curtsying and pretending that nothing had happened before the two came in.
"Father, Mother," Sasuke said with the same respect.
Fugaku played along, since Mikoto was still too surprised to make a sound. "Good day. We were wondering what took you guys so late. School ends at around three, but now it's already six thirty."
"Crap!" Naruto burst out. She then reddened as Fugaku raised an inquiring eyebrow. "I mean, that is most unfortunate." Inner Sasuke doubled over with laughter at Naruto's acting.
"May I ask why?" the Uchiha Lord said calmly.
"Er, well you see, Uchiha-san," Naruto explained courteously. "Sasuke-san and I are going to see a meteor shower with our friends tonight at eight. I had no idea that it was already six thirty. It made me wonder what I had actually accomplished today."
Sasuke had to hide a laugh by pretending he had a really bad sneeze. Naruto wasn't fooled, and she shot him a venomous glance behind the two parents' backs. He smartly averted his eyes from her accusing glare.
Mikoto got enough of her voice back to whisper, "I heard you say 'Sasuke and I.' Sasuke, do you mean…"
He scowled fiercely, and it was Naruto's turn this time to hide the laugh. "Yes, Mother, I'm going as well."
It was too much for the poor mother. She wavered dangerously, and Fugaku had to steady her by placing his hands on her shoulders. "I can't believe it…" she murmured afterwards. "That's a miracle…"
Sasuke fumed silently while Naruto snorted.
"I'm home..."
Itachi suddenly appeared in the room, and he nodded to the four of them. "Father. Mother. Baby brother. Baby sister."
Naruto blinked, and then she smiled widely. "Sister? Really? You mean it?"
The older of the two Uchiha brothers looked mildly surprised. "Of course. Or do you prefer for me to call you—"
Glomp.
There was a big clang and the sound of two head knocking loudly against each other was heard. Itachi fell over onto the ground, and Naruto ended up in his lap. "Not at all, Ichi-niichan!" she squealed. "Welcome home!" The girl ignored the bump that was sporting speedily on her forehead and hugged the stunned Itachi tightly again.
Sasuke was flabbergasted, but his amazement was nothing compared to the two parents. After all, it was their first time seeing Naruto and Itachi in the same room. Sasuke had experienced it at least once. And the lightheadedness that struck the two parents dumb… It gave them quite a headache, and Mikoto – with Fugaku this time – decided to call their eye doctor.
"Ne ne," Naruto then said, grinning. "Itachi-niichan, wanna come see the meteor shower with us tonight?"
"Us?" was his questioning answer.
"Yeah, me and Sasuke."
Itachi looked at Sasuke, who became pink. "Brother, you're attending?"
"Yes, niisan."
Itachi was always a man of few words. But on this rare occasion, he was a man of no words.
"Well?" Naruto asked, tipping her blonde head sideways. "Your answer, Ichi?"
"I… have work to do."
"Aw!" she pouted. "No fair!" Naruto got off of Itachi's body and walked over to Sasuke. "Oi, teme, do you wanna eat dinner now? Or are you still full?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Dobe, you're the one who ate ramen crap. I was merely observing you gulping the shit down."
Smack. Sasuke nursed his bruising head, scowling. Naruto glared at the injured raven boy. "Don't insult my ramen, teme. A mere shitty human like you cannot understand the beauty of such a thing like ramen."
"Hn," he replied sulkily. "Whatever."
Naruto finally seemed to have remembered there were other people present in the room, and she gave out a little gasp. "My deepest apologies, Mikoto-neesan, Uchiha-san," she cried, bowing hastily. "I beg your pardon…"
Fugaku cleared his throat. "Yes, no matter. Naruto, the Hokage came by today. He asked how you were faring. I told him I'd ask you today and give him the answer tomorrow. So, what is your answer, Naruto?"
The little blonde looked thoughtful for a few seconds before grinning widely. "Tell the jiji that everything is awesome, Uchiha-san!" She giggled and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Konoha rocks!"
Fugaku smiled kindly at Naruto. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll make sure to tell Hokage-sama tomorrow."
She nodded happily at him. "Mhmm!"
XXX
Dinner was a cheerful event for the first time in the Uchiha family. Naruto was the main center of the fountain of joy. She would blubber speedily to the frowning Sasuke for a while, flip to chatting animatedly with the impassive Itachi, then talk civilly to Fugaku, and finally converse sweetly with Mikoto. It seemed like she had no end to her train of thought; she could've rattled on for hours and hours if it weren't for the shouting of one obnoxious classmate.
"Oi! Naruto! Get your butt out here!" came the all too familiar voice. A dog yipping furiously confirmed Naruto's guess.
"Kiba!" she gasped happily. "It's Kiba!" The blonde leapt out of her chair and dashed to the window before rolling it up. Sure enough, a crowd of people stood in front of the street. "Everyone's here!"
Kiba grinned. "'Cept for you, Naru-chan. C'mon, let's go! It's gonna start in about thirty minutes. I don't wanna miss it." Akamaru barked, wagging his white tail furiously.
"How troublesome," came Shikamaru's tired response. "And so noisy too. Can we just get this over with?"
Meanwhile, however, the girls were very busy gushing over the fact that they were very close to Sasuke's house. Their delighted squeals reminded Naruto of pigs, and she sweatdropped. Oh dear… Turning, she looked questioning at the suddenly pale Sasuke. "Teme, chickening out?"
His glare said clearly that he wanted to throttle her. "No!"
Giggling, she said, "Betcha that you'll snap sometime tonight."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Sasuke thought for a while. "How much you wanna bet?"
"Hmm… If I win, you hafta treat me to another lunch-ish snack in Ichiraku Ramen. If I lose…" Here, she wrinkled her nose and made a disgusted face. "I'll eat five filthy tomatoes. Deal?"
The grin that shot across Sasuke's face was alarmingly rare and startling, but Naruto decided it fit on his face perfectly. If only he'd smile more… "Deal!" he said, and stood up. "Excuse us, brother, Mother, Father."
Naruto ran over, grabbed Sasuke's hand, and was out the door in a blink of an eye. "We're leaving now!"
Mikoto wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She shared a happy, brief look with her husband before shaking her head and standing up to clear away the table. "She's the hope for Sasuke, that Naruto," the woman whispered. "Hokage-sama was right when he put her in our family. Thank the gods for giving us such a blessed child. Thank the gods…"
XXX
No.
He was not gonna snap.
He wasn't. End of story.
The girls squealing and trying to cuddle by his side… He was going to ignore them and not snap.
No.
There was no way that he'll ever treat Naruto again at Ichiraku Ramen. It was like letting a monster off its leash. Seeing her eat that crap… It freaked him out. And freaking out an icy bastard like Uchiha Sasuke was very hard.
No.
He was not going to snap.
Meanwhile, Naruto was just lying on the grass contentedly. Finally, some peace as Kiba was chasing the others around. A fresh breeze floated over and ruffled her hair ever so playfully. It was nice, to be surrounded by so many dear friends. The sense of comfort and security that bound her… She had never felt this way before, and she only knew that she didn't want it to stop.
"You invited me over for this?" asked a cool voice. Naruto's eyes snapped open, and she stared into Hyuuga Neji's face.
She grinned. "Yo, Neji-san. I'm so glad that you came!" The boy sat down next to Naruto and looked at her in some sort of mild amusement.
"I remembered that I had almost no choice but to come, Naruto," he replied softly. His eyes were such a clear shade of white, Naruto noticed. They reminded her of water in a glass. Pure and mystical. The blonde sat up so she could talk to him easier.
"I get the notion that you feel regret at coming, Neji-san," Naruto giggled.
"I believe you would be correct. There is nothing happening for the time being."
The blonde rolled her eyes. "The meteor shower is at eight, Neji."
"I'm aware of that fact."
Snort. "Then what's your point?"
"My point?" Neji frowned slightly. "Why did you invite me over?"
"Me?" Naruto said, surprised. "So you can see the meteor showers."
"But why? You don't know me."
"So I'll know you better, duh," Naruto replied. "What else?"
"I was under the impression that people were afraid of me. It seems that you are different?" Neji asked politely. Naruto blinked once before laughing.
"Oh jeez!" she giggled uncontrollably. "That's what you were thinking? Well, it might be true that people are afraid of your… coldness, but to me, you're just another Sasuke-teme." The blonde shrugged. "You're just like him, didja notice?"
Blink. "I'm afraid I did not."
"That's right. You barely know him. Lemme call that bastard over. Where is he?" Naruto lifted her head and glanced around. She finally noticed a bunch of girls crowded around this object… ah, Sasuke. The blonde smirked. "Why, ain't he the player? Oi, teme!" she shouted. "Come here, now!"
The raven-haired boy glared at her. He jerked his head at the girls surrounding him, and mouthed something like "How?!" Naruto rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. That got Sasuke fuming, and he managed push the drooling girls off of him. He quickly jogged over to where Naruto and Neji were.
"Get them away from me," he panted, snarling at Naruto.
"Oh? Lovely. Tell me how, teme."
"I don't know! I'm not a girl!"
Neji cleared his throat. "I may have a solution." Naruto and Sasuke both turned to look at him, and Neji continued. "The girls are suffocating you simply because they want to go out with you, correct?" Sasuke nodded slowly. "Then tell them you already have a girlfriend. But it will work best if you say it's someone that you hang out with a lot, and someone that the girls know."
Sasuke and Neji both glanced cautiously at the Naruto who was blithely unaware of the "girl" Neji was talking about. "What…" Sasuke spluttered. "No way!"
Neji replied coldly, "Unless you have someone else." He looked over Sasuke's shoulder. "They're coming."
The raven-haired boy was desperate. "Naruto, play along, okay? I'll pay you back with ramen later! Tell them you're going out with me!"
She finally caught on, and her reaction was not one of the best. "WHAT?! You mean me? Sasuke, hell to the n—"
Kiba suddenly appeared. "Shaddup, Naru-chan, and look up! It's starting!" With those words, all activities paused, and every head was tilted upwards towards the sky.
In the beginning, Naruto thought that Kiba was only playing with them. But soon, little streaks of silver flashed in the starry, dark night. Leaving trails of whitish blue, they sparkled with a mysterious joy. Naruto was mesmerized as she stared upward. More and more shooting stars emerged in the sky, and the show they put was truly a wondrous sight. Soon, the sky no longer was just light blue; it shone with red, pink, purple, and all the bright colors there were in this world.
"It's beautiful," someone whispered. Naruto smiled – beautiful was too shallow of a word for it… no human word can describe such a spectacular thing.
"Sasuke," Naruto murmured to the boy standing beside her. His eyes turned to meet hers, and the blonde gave him a small smile. "It makes you feel kinda small, doesn't it? This event hosted by the heavens?"
His eyebrows furrowed. "I suppose… It does, now that you've mentioned it." Sasuke fell silent, and suddenly, he felt a hand grasp his. He looked at Naruto in surprise, and she rolled her eyes.
"It's good for pretending while you're at it," she giggled softly. Then her cerulean eyes became serious. "Ne, ne, Sasuke-teme? Do you believe in other worlds? Do you think that they exist?" Her face was deep in thought when she said these words.
Sasuke glanced at her to see if she were joking, but the frown on her face said otherwise. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "Why do you ask?"
"Because… Because what happens if I'm not from this world?"
The boy started and realized the girl's eyes were worried and quite frightened. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "That doesn't matter. You're still Naruto. That part doesn't change, dobe."
"R-really? You mean it?"
"I mean it."
She smiled genuinely. "Thank you, Sasuke-teme."
"Hn."
They resumed back to watching the sky in silence, and Naruto decided that if this peace would last forever, how happy she would be… How happy all of them would be… But she knew that it was not the case. The girl knew it completely in her heart.
Nothing lasts forever.
Don't lose him.
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