EPIPHANY
(n.) A moment of sudden revelation.
Sasuke stared at the tattered, chipped hairbrush which he grasped in his pale fingers, finding himself rub along the surface as it gave Sasuke an odd sense of thoughtful melancholy.
The idiot blond must have rushed over and accidentally shoved in his hairbrush. Sasuke debated whether he should throw it out since he knew Naruto could afford another brush, a better one at that. Then a question popped up, why did Naruto keep it then?
What was so special about it? Sasuke stare intently on the messy words inked on the smooth surface.
He noticed a faded patch of white and blue, he would've assumed that it was a poke ball from the anime Pokemon, but something urged him that this was not the case, since when did Pokemon distribute hairbrushes?
Sasuke then sighed in frustration, massaging the skin on his temple with his thumb and forefinger. He was too stressed and tired, even with his nap which stretched to five hours.
Why was he even bothering with the brush? Throwing it away should've been a no brainer. If Naruto got passed then he could give Naruto the money to buy a new one of he was the poor.
Naruto didn't need a brush anyway, his spiky hair was a tragic mess of knots, it didn't seem like Naruto brushed at all, or if he did, he was doing a horrible job of taming his hair for an adult.
Aureate hair that stuck out in every angle like an explosion of sparks, but appearing to be soft to tou-
Why was Sasuke Uchiha thinking about Naruto's hair? What was he doing daydreaming? And over Naruto? He must have been terminally ill; Sasuke was beginning to daydream, about Naruto, which was a clear sign he was going crackers.
From a sober point, Naruto was handsome with his charismatic charm, freshly tanned skin, sprinkled with the occasional cinnamon, playful smile, and drowning topaz eyes. It wasn't an opinion, it was a fact. At least that's what Sasuke told himself.
The flaxen man possessed a smooth timbre that was sexy, but always retained a soothing tone whenever he calm, when he was angered, the tone would blink right into fire.
In contrast, his personality left little to be desired, at least for Sasuke, he was outspoken, impulsive, brave, compassionate, stubborn, and naïve.
Or so Neji insisted. What was their relationship anyway? They acted friendly towards each other(or in this case, Neji), like they had been long lost friends, it was rather sickening to witness.
Now that Sasuke was reflecting back on it, Neji had arrived to school one day with multiple scrapes, bruises, and a twisted wrist. Needless to say Neji's personality was just as unusual.
When Sasuke asked indirectly, Neji would only give vague answers to him and anyone else who couldn't help themselves from their burning need to know who had accomplished in beating Neji Hyuuga, the martial artist.
Being the reserved man Neji was, his answers came off restrained, like it didn't matter when it was clear that it did with the new impact on his attitude.
What used to by a cynical teenager that doubted every good thing, was someone renewed and at peace with the realities the world contained. The standard way of treating people was a chore for Neji since the beginning with his strict cultural background, since that day he arrived in a dilapidated state, Neji moved with purpose, spoke with emotion. From day one in school, Sasuke and Neji had been close, their peers all in the same tight community which provided Sasuke a challenge to single out who had won in a fight with Neji; not many lied to Sasuke with the way he addressed others with aggressively passive techniques.
Not a single person had any idea who it was either. Sasuke then realized he was curious out of his obsessive interest in power. Sasuke never once scored a match with Neji, they always tied, which irritated Sasuke to no end when he heard of someone else that was stronger than him.
All this time, Sasuke just didn't expect it have been Naruto, whom was recklessly impudent which left the brunette feeling foolish for believing he was incompetent in high school.
Naruto was clearly below him.
Sasuke took out Naruto's resume he smartly kept, setting the brush in his drawer before his attention began skimming through papers, probing around highlighted information. Nothing stood out as Sasuke had taken the initiative to memorize Naruto's resume, he just couldn't ignore the strange urge to find something else about Naruto.
Working with dozens of partners, Sasuke picked up the ability to single out people with potential, something that made them stand out from the rest, out of the unique crowd of people Sasuke had used to get to the top, Naruto somehow made them seem characterless to his rambunctious ways.
The annoying urge in his head insisted Sasuke to look further into Naruto's past. Stupidly, he listened out of sheer boredom.
When he slipped out his smartphone to call Shikamaru, he was given three surprises.
First, Naruto and Shikamaru had been orphans. Second, Naruto had been moved to Shikamaru's orphanage because at Naruto's last one, there had been a near death incident. Third, Naruto was closed off when it came to his previous experience at the old orphanage.
Generally Sasuke was prepared for any new info regarding a person's past, Sasuke saw too easily what sort of incidents cause certain attributes to arise in people; but he was caught off guard to the new information regarding Naruto.
Usually Sasuke's colder heart didn't care if a person lost others, he took pride in his unmovable icy demeanor; but here he was, feeling the cold churn in his chest. He felt empathy for Naruto.
Feeling scorn, Sasuke glared at the brush that laid in the pulled out drawer.
Naruto may have lost his parents, but Sasuke lost everything as child, he didn't have room in his heart to give Naruto any compassion.
Everything was black or white for Sasuke, simple order. He either hated it something or liked it, there is was no gray middle, but with Naruto, he hated his annoying antics from the start, but here he was pondering about him, feelings invading his tired body.
Then there was the small squeak of a door being slung open, the squeak stretched to a creaking whisper. A patch of blond hair peaked through.
Obsidian eyes met navy ones. Sasuke assumed Naruto came by to retrieve the brush he had left in his bag. Naruto mumbled something under his breath, most likely a curse word when Naruto realized Sasuke was awake, which meant Naruto would have to deal with a snappy brunette.
Clear cobalt eyes glanced at the ground, then back to Sasuke, his mouth parting to form a word of his sentence, but silence was what came out of his mouth before closing his mouth again.
Narrowing his eyes a little, Sasuke waited a bit longer.
Silence continued, and Sasuke felt himself already uncomfortable with Naruto's presence that invaded his office like, the smell of musky paint filling the corners of the room until Sasuke felt himself drowning. So his instincts kicked in, trying anything to scare off the growing idea of companionship.
"Spit it out you brainless moron. I actually have work I need to do." He glared at Naruto, feeling anger churn in his stomach, heating his face a little.
Naruto wasn't fazed by Sasuke's attitude, in fact his expression looked somewhat surprised, he took on a calmer attitude, offering a clean smile.
"Listen, I get that you're cranky, but maybe you should head to bed." He took a step forward and placed a hand over his forehead, his other hand brushing softly on Sasuke's temple.
The burning cold of Naruto's hand caused Sasuke to flinch from the searing hand, the temperature change brought flashes of a boy freezing to death in a snowy river.
"Seriously, you've stressed yourself to a fever. Give it a rest." The young blond snapped. Sasuke rubbed his temple gently to ease away the unsought memory. Sasuke didn't want to remember the severe grief of watching someone close die away, cold hands; a cold body. He had been useless, incapable of saving one life that mattered to him, a stranger had done a better job than him.
"Alright." He bitingly agreed, slapping away the blonde's pleasant hand, annoyed at his own body for yearning the contact.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke but thankfully remained wordless, eyes satisfied with Sasuke's agreement.
"If you promise to leave me alone." He continued, finding Naruto's eyes that flared in mild rebellion quite appeasing and annoying.
"Then I want to see your ass heading home." Naruto demanded.
Sasuke glared at Naruto once more with the stubbornness he had to deal with.
"Just leave Naruto, why are you even here?" Sasuke fumed tiredly, getting of his seat and grabbing the brush to throw at Naruto before the tanned man could explain himself.
"Catch." Before he headed towards the door, his steps retaining a calm confidant stride, ignoring the yelp Naruto made when he missed catching the brush.
After a few moments, Sasuke was disappointed to see that Naruto was following behind like overexcited monkey. Sasuke cocked his head to the side, glancing at Naruto with an almost condemning glare.
"What are you doing?" He questioned.
The cheerful man simply grinned and said
"Just making sure you reach the elevator." He assured. Sasuke scowled but that only encouraged Naruto to widen his smile.
"Do you have to act so obnoxious?"
"Yes, I'm trying to rub off on you and brighten your aura."
Soon they reached the elevator entrance.
Sasuke pressed the grey dull arrow that pointed down with his thumb, when he lifted it off, the button glowed a warm yellow. Silently, Sasuke decided to pray that Naruto would magically hit a mental growth spurt to act civil for once.
Naruto examined the brush before grinning once again like a fool after he heard Sasuke sigh.
"Thanks for not throwing it away, most people would have trashed it since it's worn out..."
"I've seen too many artists reference to odd objects that for some reason, keeps them inspired, I'd be a poor sort of person to disregard that."
"Still, it's nice of you. Though next time, instead of giving me an excuse to maintain your 'cool' attitude, a 'you're welcome' would suffice."
Clicking his tongue at the overwhelming naivety, Sasuke felt impatience stir in the depths of his stomach.
"How could I?"
"You can speak English."
"I'd rather not say it."
"Why?"
"Everyone expects something back in return."
Naruto pursed his lips, finding his lips drying a little, Naruto poked out his tongue to wet the skin, feeling the air conditioning bitingly cold.
"Some people yeah, but I didn't get that sort of vibe from you."
The entrance opened with a ding as metal doors slid open, clutters of people exiting out, nodding at Sasuke in silent acknowledgment, some brave enough to mutter a "Have a good evening."
Sasuke walked into the mirrored elevator, Naruto followed immediately, preventing Sasuke from even attempting to close the doors before the irritating blonde could jump in. Perhaps next time he'd succeed. Chopin played beautifully in the air from the speakers, it was Sasuke's favored one, Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2.
"I was planning to throw it out..." Sasuke stretched his right arm to hit the bottom floor button.
"...But then I remembered it'd be bad publicity for my company if I failed to keep my representative inspired. Even if it is a piece of trash."
Naruto jerked his head to Sasuke's direction; His nostrils flared in anger as his bared his teeth. Sasuke felt a shot of shallow arrogance over what he presumed was a sensitive jab to Naruto.
"Don't say that. The brush is important to me. You don't know what you're talking about." Naruto spat, his angry eyes glaring through Sasuke's uncaring ones.
After a second, Naruto understood that Sasuke wasn't a guilty type of person because he simply didn't care, which was why stepped away and withdrew his temper.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, you know that right?" he asked, hoping Sasuke would at least try to act apologetic.
Sasuke sneered, seeing through Naruto's expectations, purposely disappointing him
"Obviously."
The classical music soon faded, Owl City taking over for the rest of the ride down which brought a frown to Sasuke. He wasn't a fan of electro music, it was too glitchy, loud, and layered for his tastes.
Silence had remained in place, until Sasuke found himself frustrated for feeling uncomfortable. Silence and Naruto did not mix, it wasn't right.
Cursing himself for instigating a conversation that wouldn't be favorable to him, Sasuke asked quietly "Why does it say 'pokemon'?"
"Huh?"
"I won't repeat myself. Did you write it?"
"The original logo reminded me of one." Naruto replied, nodding his head as an answer as he gave reason.
"The person who gave it to me always had the logo on him, in some form..." he added.
They stayed silent together, with the exception of the faint music in the background, Owl City, singing away.
We got older, and I should have known
(Do you feel alive?)
That I feel colder when I walk alone
(Oh, but you'll survive.)
Sasuke cleared his voice, the song shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did, it just reminded him of his old friend he left, Sasuke never had another friendship that could replace his old one since then, it didn't feel right.
The worst part of it, was that Sasuke couldn't even remember his friend's face or name, it made him despise himself for forgetting someone so important, he just felt lonelier living like this, but he couldn't give up his search for Itachi.
All of this effort was for the sake of finding his brother, then… Sasuke had the choice what to do next. Everything wouldn't matter once he found him.
"Then what was the logo?" Sasuke's eyes curiously glanced at the floor level indicator, they still had 5 floors left to pass down.
Naruto shrugged a little. "Does it matter?" he questioned, yawning to the side, feeling fatigue lingering from waking up unusually early.
"Just checking if you can even remember with that dim brain of yours." Sasuke mocked with a nudged smirk.
Naruto shot a fake glare at Sasuke's sudden playfulness, luckily for Naruto, he sucked at acting.
Silence returned, though not as awkward anymore
Amazingly, there were no interruptions as the elevator continued to descend smoothly and slowly past each floor, it seemed many people had the day off, it made sense though, it was the weekend.
The music playing continued, the volume increasing along with the voice.
Circle me and the needle moves gracefully
Back and forth
If my heart was a compass you'd be north
Risk it all and I'll catch you if you fall
Wherever you go
If my heart was a house you'd be home
Naruto eventually began to hum gently, which grew louder second by second. Sasuke turned to Naruto when he began dancing along.
"Would you stop that?" He asked politely but Naruto feigned fake innocence, trying to piss Sasuke off purposely.
Sasuke thought about kicking Naruto for him to cease by keeling over but he knew better.
It makes me smile because you said it best
I would clearly feel blessed if the sun rose up from the west
Flower balm perfume
All my clothes smell like you cause your favorite shade is navy blue
I walk slowly when I'm on my own
(Do you feel alive?)
Yeah, but frankly I still feel alone
(Oh but you'll survive)
So I may as well ditch my dismay
(Bombs away)
The elevator dinged softly, signalling that they had finally reached the last floor. The metal door slid open. Naruto was the first to walk out.
After five or six steps, he stopped and turned his head to the side for a moment, considering what he'd say to Sasuke. During his pondering, Sasuke took the moment to appreciate the way the light shined past his blond hair, and lashes, making them glow warmly.
His skin defined by the tan that stretched evenly on his body, making Sasuke curious to see how far that tan might go.
This time, much more softly the lyrics repeated in an affectionate manner
Circle me and the needle moves gracefully
Back and forth
The sunlight also highlighted the passionate blue in Naruto's eyes pass, yet as passionate as the shade was, the eyes had muddles traces of something bitter, like Naruto was recalling something sad.
He looked at Sasuke for a moment, successfully giving a sincere smile that spoke of loss and something gray.
"...It was a fan..." He said in a low tone, his voice cracking in a shake hush, as if he was telling himself.
Sasuke's eyebrows knitted tightly at the center of his temple.
"A what?" He asked once more.
Naruto turns his head forward.
"A white and red fan." He repeated before his silhouette disappeared out the building, leaving Sasuke in the elevator with his opened mouth, and frozen wide eyes.
The music soon faded.
Sasuke stood there at that moment. Questions and confusion invaded his mind, it was unlikely that it was a coincidence.
But one question screamed out of all the whimpering ones.
Who are you Naruto Uzumaki?