For people who are new to my stories -meaning those who have not read Love's such a drag- the words that are in bold and italics are indication of memory.
Some contents have changed from a recollection of Sasuke and Naruto's past in order to compensate Chapter 9.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
September 24th, Monday.
Naruto stretched as he and Sasuke walked to school. He yawned greatly and mumbled as he fumbled with his book bag. Yesterday, he and Sasuke had gone to the mall to find something for Shikamaru. It had been his birthday Saturday and he didn't say so until the next day cause he thought it was too troublesome. Feeling like he had to get something, Naruto dragged Sasuke to find something even though he had just met Shikamaru.
He had dared to pick a pineapple because it reminded him of Shikamaru's hair, but Sasuke threatened Naruto that if he did that he'd stuff that pineapple down his throat. Eventually, Naruto had picked up something nice after hours of looking.
Now he was tired after doing homework and wrapping the gift. He had stayed up quite late just to finish all of it, and he was regretting it. As they reached the entrance to the school he groaned and sat down on a low wall. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and sat down next to him.
"What's up?" Sasuke asked as Naruto yawned again making him yawn.
"I'm just tired and don't want to go to school."
"You have to."
"I don't want to."
"Yes, I heard you the first time. Stop complaining and get up."
"You're not very sympathetic." Naruto pouted glaring at Sasuke.
Sasuke stood up and began to walk away waving his hand backwards. "I'm not the one who stayed up doing homework that should have been done the day of school." Naruto stuck his tongue out as Sasuke went into the building.
A few moments later he glanced up at the sky and cocked his head at the mascots. It was the first time he'd really looked at them. He thought they were goofy as they weren't very threatening looking then a few boys came up to him, and they definitely looked threatening.
"Um. You need something?" He asked them. They examined him then clenched their hands grinning.
"You… You're the boy that ruined our fun that weekend."
"Fun?" Naruto raised an eyebrow not really recognizing them.
"Yeah! You beat us up pretty good. We're here to take our revenge." There were four boys total. One grabbed Naruto by his sleeve and pulled him to his feet. Naruto frowned and examined them carefully. His eyes lit up when he recognized them finally.
"YOU! You guys were the one that were trying to hurt Hinata-chan!"
"We weren't going to hurt her." The boy who spoke first sighed shaking his head. "It was just a little-" He didn't get to finish for Naruto punched him square in the stomach. He coughed and fell to his knees. Angered, the other boys grabbed Naruto and began to hit him.
Naruto's eyes widen then dulled out. He took the beatings as the other students watched in horror. Shikamaru and Gaara came into the schoolyard surprised at the noise that was becoming increasingly louder. They got through the crowd to see Naruto on the ground with the four boys kicking him.
"Naruto!" Gaara tried getting through the crowd with Shikamaru, but they were held back. A few students mumbled that those boys were dangerous to get involved with. Gaara began to worry then turned to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru. I'm going to go look for Sasuke. Please keep an eye on Naruto." Shikamaru nodded and Gaara ran off.
One of the boys picked up Naruto and threw him into the fence. Naruto winced greatly as pain shot through his back. He coughed out a small bit of blood as he lay on the ground.
"What is this?" The boys snickered, coming around him. "You're so weak compared to last time. Heh. I tell you what." The boy knelt down next to Naruto getting close to his ear.
"What…" Naruto managed to spit out, but he remained motionless.
"I'll bring that little Hinata here and then give you a show. You can also have a piece of her if you want." The boy grinned. Naruto's eyes widened then closed as he gripped his hands tightly. With effort he got up slowly holding himself against the wall. "Ah, did that upset you?" The boy laughed as he got up then he lifted his leg up to kick.
Naruto reacted quickly. He dodged the kick and gave his own. The boy went flying into his friends into a tangled mess, but Naruto didn't give them a chance to retaliate. He raced over and picked two boys up swinging them together. One boy tried to escape, he didn't get far. Naruto grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him into the low concrete wall. He went out cold. The last boy looked to Naruto, scared. Then his eyes widened as he looked into Naruto's cold eyes. Naruto took a few steps toward him then stopped glaring down. He slowly began to reach for him, but stopped as his name was called.
Sasuke came running over and broke through the crowd. He grabbed a hold of Naruto and pulled him back. Naruto gripped his hands and continued to glare at the boy, but Sasuke grabbed a hold of his shoulders forcing him to look in his direction. He didn't like what he saw.
Naruto's eyes were now red instead of his natural gentle blue. Sasuke knew what this meant and it was definitely not a good thing. "Naruto! Snap out of it!" He shook Naruto who shook away from him and looked away. "Naruto come on… It's me Sasuke. I'm here; you don't need to fight anymore." Sasuke carefully took a step toward him. Naruto didn't move. Another step. No movement. One more step. A look toward Sasuke, eyes still a red but dying away.
Suddenly, Naruto was hit in the face and fell to the ground. Sasuke looked to his right quickly to see that the boy Naruto had tried to attack had hit him. Anger burned in Sasuke and he twirled around kicking the boy in the head sending him flying. Satisfied, he turned to Naruto and helped him to his feet. The red in his eyes was gone replaced by the gentle blue.
Naruto rubbed his head. "That hurt…"
"Yeah, are you hurt anywhere else?" Sasuke asked examining him. Gaara and Shikamaru came over and knelt down.
"Naruto… Why did they attack you?" Gaara picked up Naruto's bag handing it to him.
"Err… well they…"
"What is going on here?" Someone shouted and suddenly a couple of teachers appeared. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened as they looked around. This looked bad. Two boys were unconscious against the walls while the other two were not moving anymore. "What have you boys done?"
"I can explain that!" Naruto winced as he tried to stand.
"Yes. I'm sure you can, to the Principal." The teachers grabbed Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and Shikamaru.
"Wait! Shikamaru and Gaara," Naruto pointed to them as he said their names, "weren't involved in this at all. They only were concerned if I was hurt, and Sasuke was only protecting me when that boy hit me." Naruto tried to explain to the teacher. The teacher gave a frown then nodded. Shikamaru and Gaara were let go, but Sasuke wasn't.
"C'mon, you two are heading to the Principal." The teacher pushed Naruto and Sasuke toward the building while the other teachers went to the hurt boys. Naruto glanced back giving a frown.
Serves them right even if I am getting in trouble. They'll think triple before doing anything again.
-oO0-o)
Naruto and Sasuke stared blankly at the wall in front of them. They were sitting outside of the Principal's office waiting for their guardians to come in. Those guardians were going to be Minato and Itachi. They gave a groan together knowing how much trouble they were going to be in. Minato would have to be called from work while Itachi would be pulled from college. Neither of them would be very pleased about that.
Naruto hung his head placing it in his hands. "I'm sorry Sasuke." Sasuke glanced at Naruto then gently patted his back.
"No… it's okay Naruto, and I'm sorry. I should have been there to stop you."
"Meh…" Naruto brought his head up with a sad expression upon his face. Sasuke tried to smile, but it didn't work to help lift Naruto's mood.
"So… Naruto why did they attack you?" Sasuke asked what Gaara tried asking. Naruto leaned back against his chair staring at the ceiling.
"Is it alright if I tell you later?"
"Yeah." Naruto closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, but didn't get the chance. Sasuke nudged him in the side making him look up to see his father and Sasuke's brother. "Oh no…"
Minato came over with a frown on his face. Itachi shook his head at the boys and went past them into the Principal's office. Minato stared at Naruto before heading in as well. Naruto and Sasuke looked after them as the door shut. Naruto slumped in his chair groaning again.
This day couldn't get any worse now could it? Wait! Thinking that and it will… Naruto gave a sigh and waited impatiently.
Soon, Naruto and Sasuke were called into the office. They sat down next to Itachi keeping their eyes on the Principal. The Principal had long, spiky white hair making him seem like he was in his fifties. From his eyes were two red, long lines that went down his cheeks. He stared at Sasuke and Naruto for a few moments before turning to Minato and Itachi.
"Minato-san, Itachi-san. The usual punishment for this is expulsion," Naruto and Sasuke gulped, "but seeing as they have only been here for a few weeks I am considering just ISS."
"In school suspension." Minato glanced at Naruto. "How long, Jiraiya-sama?" Naruto bit his lip and didn't dare catch his father's eye.
"Mmm…" Jiraiya rubbed his face leaning back some in his chair taking a look at Naruto and Sasuke. "One week, this week. It'll start tomorrow."
"I see that as acceptable, don't you Minato?" Itachi looked to Minato. Minato nodded in response.
"Yes that'll work. For now I want you to take your boys home. There are enough problems already." Jiraiya stood up making everyone else as well. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun. You will come in tomorrow to my office at 7 a.m., do you understand?"
"Yes, Jiraiya-sama." Naruto and Sasuke both bowed their heads.
"Then you are dismissed." Jiraiya sat down and Minato and Itachi led the boys out of the office. The four walked down the hall in silence until they got outside.
Itachi stopped in front of Sasuke and Naruto with a frown. "Who started this?" They both remained silent. "Well?"
"I did." Naruto spoke up giving a glare at Sasuke who was about to speak up himself. Naruto looked back to Itachi standing up straight. "It was self-defense."
"Was it?"
"They attacked me first. They were holding a grudge against me for something I did a couple of weeks ago. I swear I was only protecting myself…"
Itachi gave a look then turned to Minato who came up and knelt in front of Naruto. "Naruto. Why did you keep attacking them? If it was self-defense they would have not been as hurt as I was told." Naruto looked away from his father not wanting to answer. "You can either tell me now, or later."
"It was something they said. It pissed me off." Naruto walked past his father and Itachi heading out of the gates. Sasuke followed after Naruto giving a sigh. Itachi and Minato looked at each before following after.
-oO0-o)
Naruto walked into his home and shut the door while Itachi led Sasuke into their house. Sasuke looked up at Itachi then started to head to his room, but was pulled back.
"Sasuke. Can I talk to about what happened?"
"Do we have to?" Sasuke frowned crossing his arms. Itachi gave him a stern look. "Alright, fine. What do you want to know?" Itachi let Sasuke go then he sat down indication for Sasuke to do the same. Sasuke sat placing his bag on the chair.
"How did it start?"
"I'm not sure. I left Naruto to head into class. He was tired from wrapping a gift and doing homework."
"Do you know who those boys were?"
"Not a clue. Naruto promised to tell me later."
"If you weren't there, Sasuke, how did you manage to get in trouble as well?"
Sasuke sighed and leaned backwards. "When I came out, the brawl was practically over and Naruto was about to… beat the living hell out of the last boy. I stopped him and he was calming down, but then that boy hit Naruto, and well… I reacted." Itachi sighed and shook his head.
"Did anything else happen?"
"…That happened." Itachi's eyes widened then he sighed again. "Yeah, I know. It's showing up again…" Sasuke got up grabbing his bag.
"Tell me what happened after you're finished talking with him." Itachi commanded getting up as well. "I'll make you some food if you're hungry."
"No, not now Itachi. Maybe in a few hours. Don't you have class to get to?"
"I explained where I was going. The teacher excused me for the rest of the day." Sasuke gave a small nod then headed into his room. He threw his bag onto his bed then pulled out his cell phone dialing Naruto's number. It rang for awhile then went to voicemail.
Naruto is talking with his mother. I'll wait for him to call me back. Sasuke hung up without leaving a message then pulled out his books. He reached over to his bedside table to grab a pencil, and in result knocked over a picture in a frame. He stopped mid-reach looking down at the picture. It was of him, Naruto and a girl with pink hair. They were about 10 years old in the picture. All three of them were on top of each other with smiles on their faces.
Sasuke grabbed the picture and stared at it. A smile came to his face when he began to remember it. Itachi took this picture. Out of everyone in our family, Itachi was the only one that knew Naruto and I had a friend. Sasuke's smile turned into a frown when he couldn't remember the girl's name then it struck him. Sakura. Her hair was like that of cherry blossom trees and those trees were called Sakura. He smiled again placing the picture down as his phone rang. It was Naruto. He answered and laid back onto his bed.
"Sasuke! My mom has said no games or manga for the entire week!" Naruto groaned the second Sasuke answered.
"Naruto, is that what you do instead of homework?" Sasuke accused him instead of being sympathetic.
"Err. No." Naruto sheepishly laughed then gave a light sigh.
"So what really happened to make those boys attack you?"
"Well…" Naruto paused. Sasuke heard him move on the bed most likely getting into a better position. "Remember that day where I was in a bad mood cause of that dog boy?"
"Yeah? You went into Konoha City to cool your head."
"Yeah! And I got this awesome frog coin pouch. It's green and I think I'm going to call it Gama-chan-"
"Naruto, you're getting off subject." Sasuke interrupted giving a roll of his eyes.
"Ha… sorry Sasuke." Naruto cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway… I ended up in the Estates District where the wealthier people live, and when I was trying to leave I heard this girl's desperate screams. I followed to where it was and it was those four boys. They were trying to assault Hinata-chan!"
"Wait, who's that Naruto?"
"Oh, uh. I think that's the girl that was with… um… err… Neji Hyuuga. They might be related, but I don't know."
"Oh, alright, continue."
"Well I couldn't let them hurt Hinata-chan, could I? At that time I didn't know her name or who she was, but that didn't matter to me. I attacked them, got her out of there, and then I took her home. They were upset that I interrupted their assault, and decided to take revenge on me. They mustn't have known I went to Kitsune High cause they didn't know who I was at first. And Sasuke I swear. They struck first, I didn't. I took quite a bit of a beating before I attacked back." Naruto took a deep breath then went silent.
Sasuke sat up and switched the cell to his other ear. "I suppose the school won't see it as self-defense since you beat them up so much."
"Yeah… Sorry I got you involved."
"I got myself involved Naruto, so don't apologize… But Naruto… you turned." Sasuke hadn't wanted to bring it up, but he needed to. There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments before Naruto responded.
"I… am not going to apologize for that."
"Naruto!"
"No, Sasuke. They deserve what they got for what they were trying to do to Hinata-chan. I turned because he dare say he was going to do it again, even offer for me to do it to her! I will not tolerate that kind of attitude…" Naruto closed his mouth and remained quiet. Sasuke took a slow breath before going silent himself. Both boys remained on the phone and didn't utter a word. Eventually, Sasuke heard Kushina's voice in the background. "I got to go Sasuke. Mom's calling for me. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that Naruto hung up. Sasuke looked at his phone before placing it down.
After a few moments there was a knock on the door. Itachi came in and sat on the bed. "So?"
"I assume you were half-way listening." Sasuke glared at him.
"Only a little." Itachi gave him a smile making Sasuke sigh then Sasuke explained to Itachi what happened. "Mmm… is that so? Well I can understand why Naruto would do that. He's turned for no reason before, just be glad he did it for a reason."
"I'm not glad he did it at all. I'm worried, Itachi… What if he gets into something he won't be able to get out of?" Sasuke looked at Itachi biting his lip. Itachi blinked at him then smiled softly.
"That's what you're for, yes?" Sasuke blinked at that response then gave a small smile and a nod. Itachi ruffled his hair before getting up. "I have homework, so I'll leave you be… little brother." Sasuke twitched as Itachi left the room laughing. Mumbling, he grabbed his pencil and began to work on his own homework.
-oO0-o)
Next day. 7 o'clock in the morning.
Naruto stared at the door that led into the Principal's office. Sasuke was standing next to him with a blank look on his face. They had no desire to enter, but knew they were going to have to. Taking a deep breath Naruto knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Naruto opened the door and went inside with Sasuke. They sat down and looked to Jiraiya who was looking down at papers. He looked up and gave a smile. "Ah, looks like you two have arrived. Here." He handed each of them papers. Naruto read over his quickly with a frown.
"This is to give to our teachers?" Sasuke asked looking to Jiraiya. He nodded to him. "So… we're not going to be in any of our classes this week, are we?"
"No, you are not. Now I want you to go to your teachers then come back to me once you have your work done. I'll have someone show you to the detention room where Ibiki is waiting for your arrival." Jiraiya looked back to his papers showing he was finished talking to them. Sasuke and Naruto hung their heads then left the room and headed to Obito first.
Sasuke slowly stuck his head into the room when they arrived to see if his cousin was there while Naruto peeked from behind looking back and forth. There was no one inside, but the lights were on. The boys looked to each thinking the same thing; let's just come back. As they turned around to leave they froze and slowly looked up to see Obito blinking down at them.
"What are you boys doing here? Miss me?" Obito asked them with a smile. Sasuke turned his head away with a frown and Naruto gave him a sour expression. "Ah… I'm guessing that's a no. What's the paper for?" He went past them into the room. Sasuke took a glance at Naruto before walking into the room.
"We need you to sign it and give us work." Sasuke handed the paper to his cousin as did Naruto. Obito looked over it frowning before turning to the boys.
"You guys got into a fight?"
"Correction," Naruto leaned onto the desk. "I got into a fight, Sasuke tried to stop me thus getting him in trouble as well." Obito sighed shaking his head then went to the papers.
"We're not doing much right now except reading through the rest of chapter 4. Do the review questions at the end of each section. I'll be here until 5 Friday, so just drop them in." Naruto and Sasuke both nodded to Obito before turning to leave. "Oh, don't argue with Ibiki… He's not mean, but he's strict, okay?"
"Thanks Cousin Obito… We'll keep that in mind." Sasuke waved and shut the door then with Naruto they headed to their other teachers.
-oO0-o)
Naruto stared up at the bald man that stood in front of him. He and Sasuke had been shown were the detention room was, and were now looking at the detention officer. He was fairly tall and had a cap over his head. There were two scars along his face and cheek that made him look a bit frightening. He turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke giving them a blank stare.
"So… um…" Naruto began, although he was a little bit scared to go on with his sentence.
"My name is Ibiki Morino. You can just call me Ibiki or Morino. Whichever you prefer. All you need to do is sit there, and not be a disturbance. I don't care if you talk, but you better be doing something. Now give me your cell phones." Ibiki placed his hand out. Naruto raised an eyebrow but pulled out his cell phone, turned it off, and gave it to Ibiki. Sasuke did the same then went and sat down. Naruto stared at Ibiki for a few more seconds before coming next to Sasuke. Afraid Ibiki would do something Naruto quickly took out his homework and began to work on it.
Ibiki watched the boys for a few moments before sitting down and pulling out a book. He rested his feet on the desk in front of himself then ignored all that was around him.
A couple of hours past and Naruto and Sasuke had not spoken a word. They acted as if each other were not in the room and only worked on their schoolwork. Eventually, Naruto looked up at the clock giving a frown. It was almost noon, and his stomach was slowly beginning to growl. Sasuke looked up and at Naruto when it got louder and gave a smirk. Naruto blushed in embarrassment then cleared his throat in hopes to get Ibiki's attention. It didn't work.
Naruto sighed. "Um… Ibiki?" Ibiki looked from his book giving Naruto a blank stare. "Do… we… uh get lunch?"
"…. You've been quiet, so I suppose so, but you have to come straight back here. I'll give you ten minutes to go get food and come back. And if you don't come back…" Ibiki gave a threatening glare before going back to his book and ignoring them. Naruto shivered biting his lip before looking to Sasuke.
"You coming?"
"Bring me back something." Sasuke took out his wallet and a few dollars. "As long as it ISN'T ramen." Naruto grinned taking the money. He bent down rummaging through his bag bringing out his own wallet before leaving.
First lunch had gone back to their classrooms and now there was 20 minutes until second lunch would start. Naruto hurried through the hallways toward the lunchroom. He hoped that they would still be open to serve.
As he came to the doors he peeked inside. The windows to order food were closed making Naruto frown. "Now what?" He asked aloud to no one.
"You're still in ISS, right?"
"Yup… WAIT, WHO?" Naruto turned around to see Kakashi standing behind him with a tray of food.
"Here." Kakashi grabbed Naruto and dragged him into an open doorway that was next to the cafeteria. Naruto blinked several times as was he brought into the room. It was a miniature lunchroom with a few tables and a counter to order food. Kakashi brought Naruto over to the counter. "People from ISS can order here."
Naruto stared at Kakashi with gratitude then turned and ordered ramen and pizza with fries. Then he ordered two sodas and a large candy bar. Kakashi watched as Naruto paid for the food then began to carry all of it. He sweat dropped as Naruto almost dropped his food.
"Naruto-kun, hold on for a moment." Naruto stopped and looked to Kakashi as he grabbed a tray and placed it on a table. "Use this. You can leave it in the ISS room, and then use it for back and forth use for the entire week."
"Okay! Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Naruto placed the food down and lifted up the tray. He smiled to Kakashi before heading back to the ISS room. As he entered the room Ibiki gave him a look that Naruto tried smiling to but failed. He looked down going over to Sasuke. "Here, I hope this will do."
Sasuke looked at his food and nodded. "Yeah, that's good." Satisfied, Naruto and Sasuke began to eat, and then after they began to work again.
A few hours later school ended. They looked to Ibiki who stared back at them.
"You can go. Be in here by the time school starts or I will have security look for you." And with that Ibiki pointed out the room. The boys shuffled out with worried expressions on their faces then they relaxed once away.
"Maa! They really are serious about ISS, aren't they?" Naruto groaned as they began to walk home. "I mean send security after us if we aren't in there? That's strict." Sasuke only gave a nod; his mind was elsewhere. Naruto cocked his head at Sasuke then looked to the sky. If Sasuke wanted to share his thoughts, he would. Naruto wasn't about to pester him about it.
Soon, they arrived home and went their separate ways. Sasuke did a quick wave before going into the house and into his room. He placed his bag onto the ground and picked up the picture he was messing with the night before. For some reason this had been on his mind all day after he saw a cherry blossom tree in one of his books. The girl, Sakura, had been on his mind the entire time, but he only saw her as a child. There was something about it that he felt like he forgot, and it was annoying him very much that he could not pinpoint what that was.
He sat on his bed and stared at the picture trying to remember what had been forgotten. Nothing came to mind and eventually he groaned loudly hitting his face with the picture. He stayed like that even when his door opened. His ever so curious brother came in. Itachi had a look of concern on his face as he came up to Sasuke.
"Sasuke? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Sasuke mumbled around the picture. Itachi lifted up an eyebrow then took the picture. "HEY!"
"Oh? I didn't know you still kept this around. This is of you, Naruto, and the little girl Sakura-chan when we lived in Oto." Itachi smiled and sat down next to Sasuke giving him the picture.
Sasuke looked to him then back to the picture. "How do you manage to always pop in when I'm frustrated?"
Itachi laughed. "Isn't that what big brothers are for?"
"Oh, I thought they were there to use as a prop." A grin appeared on Sasuke face making Itachi roll his eyes. "So… how much do you know about this?" Sasuke pointed to the picture.
"Well I do remember you used to always go to her house whenever you could. Before we moved, I took this picture then printed it for all of you. Each of you has a different colored frame. You have this blue one, Naruto has an orange one, and Sakura-chan has a pink one. That is, of course, assuming you all kept the pictures. As far as I know… she was your only friend besides Naruto, but that's about as much as I know."
"I see…" Sasuke continued to stare at the girl still feeling as if what he wanted to remember was forgotten. Soon, Itachi left Sasuke to his thinking going to prepare dinner. Sasuke flopped back on his bed and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath he concentrated in hopes of finding the memory he wanted.
…Sasuke-kun. Find me…
-oO0-o)
September 26th, Wednesday.
"Naruto. Do you remember the little, pink haired girl we used to play with in Oto?" Naruto blinked at Sasuke. They were in ISS and this had been the first time Sasuke had told Naruto his thoughts.
Naruto frowned thinking slowly then gave a small shake of his head, but as he did that the girl popped into his mind. "OH, wait, yeah. I remember her. Her name was…. Um… Sakura-chan wasn't it?" Sasuke gave a nod with a smile. "What about her?"
"Remember the first time we met her?"
"…Heh, yeah. I do actually. It was playtime at school, and you had just gotten me out of a fight…"
-oO0)
"Naruto! Are you sure you're okay?" Sasuke asked as he helped his friend to his feet.
Naruto brushed himself off and gave a quick smile to Sasuke. "YUP!" He had a few bruises but was otherwise unhurt. Sasuke sighed relief then punched his arm.
"Idiot! That wasn't smart."
"I beat them, didn't I?"
"With my help!"
"I could have-"
"UGLY GIRL!" Sasuke and Naruto looked up and blinked slowly. Another insult was thrown out and a small cry followed after as if someone had been hurt. The boys looked to each other then raced toward the noise.
They found it. In the school gardens under a cherry blossom tree was a group of girls. Those girls were surrounding a small girl with short pink hair. They were pulling on it left and right, and laughing as they did so. The girl was crying and looked at the point of giving up until Naruto and Sasuke stepped forward.
"Stop it!" They shouted. The girls turned quickly looking at them. At first they were hesitant to leave, but some of the girls liked Sasuke. Finally, they let the girl go and raced off. Sasuke and Naruto watched after them before helping the girl to her feet. They smiled and started to brush her off.
"Eh… you… you aren't going to… t-tease me?" The pink haired girl asked with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Sasuke looked at her and tilted her head. "Why would we do that?"
"YEAH! That's mean to tease a girl, especially cute ones." Naruto grinned agreeing. The girl blushed and gave a small smile.
"I'm Sasuke by the way."
"And I'm Naruto!"
The girl looked between them. "S-Sasuke-kun… N-Naruto-kun?"
"Yup! That's right!" Naruto smiled. "But you can just call me Naruto." Sasuke punched Naruto's arm rolling his eyes then Sasuke placed his hand out to the girl.
"What's your name?"
"…S-Sakura…" She responded shyly. She saw his hand then gently took it with a blush still on her cheeks.
"That's a pretty name!" Sasuke gently pulled her along with Naruto next to them. "Just like the cherry blossom trees!"
"Ah! Oh… n-no… I'm not that pretty." Sakura looked away timidly. Sasuke and Naruto laughed and patted her head in reassurance. They took Sakura and led her to the playground.
"Let's be friends, Sakura-chan!" Sasuke and Naruto said at the same time. She looked to them then hugged them making them blush this time.
A tear ran down her cheek as she clenched onto them. "Thank you… thank you!"
-oO0)
"Eeeeeh! You aren't allowed to leave your house?" Naruto shouted throwing up his hands. Sakura nodded. "Why nooooot?"
"Ah… well… my mom doesn't want me to. It's because of all the other kids out there that… pick on me…" Sakura looked down sad. Sasuke gave a thought then smiled brightly.
"I know! My Nii-san can bring me and Naruto to your house to play then! That way you won't have to leave and we can still see you."
"Eh? R-really? You'd do that for me?" Sakura blinked in surprise. Sasuke smiled and Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "Thank you Sasuke-kun! Naruto!"
"You're welcome Sakura-chan! Now come on, let's go play!" Sasuke grinned. "And the game is…TAG!" Sasuke pushed Naruto over indicating he was it then he grabbed Sakura's hand fleeing. Naruto growled chasing after them.
-oO0)
Sakura stared at Sasuke with unbelieving eyes. Naruto was gone as he had gotten sick staying at home. "Your… parents are dead?"
Sasuke nodded. "They died during summer. They were on their way home from a business trip… Their car crashed on the way here…" Sasuke brought his knees up and buried his face in them. "Nii-san and I went to the hospital where they were dying. I couldn't believe what was going on, so Nii-san made me wait as he checked on them."
Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's back and gently rubbed. "I'm so sorry…"
Sasuke took a deep breath. "No, don't apologize." After a moment he sat properly and looked to Sakura. "That's when Naruto came to me. He was in the hospital as well His grandfather was dying. He told me that my parents would always be in my heart. It was of a great comfort to me more than I realized. When Itachi came to get me I wanted Naruto to come along. He agreed making me feel less afraid to see my parents.….. I got to say goodbye to my parents and Naruto stayed with me the entire time. From that day he's always been my friend." Sasuke gave a small smile then looked to the sky.
"Naruto… is very kind."
"Mmhmm! I don't know why everyone has to pick on him! If Naruto hadn't been there I would have never been able to recover… and meet you, Sakura-chan." Sasuke smiled at Sakura making her blush deeply as she looked away.
"Hehe…I'm glad to have met you as well, Sasuke-kun."
-oO0)
Naruto and Sasuke stood on the doorstep to Sakura's house. Itachi was behind them blinking slowly. All four of them had sad expressions on their faces.
"Y…You're moving?" It was Sasuke who spoke first. Sakura gave a nod not looking to them. "Why?"
"My… parents don't like it here. They want to move to a city with more e…econ…" Sakura bit her lip as she tried to pronounce the word her parents told her.
"Economy." Itachi produced for her. She nodded. "I can understand that…"
Naruto and Sasuke looked up to Itachi giving him a look then Naruto asked, "what's eh-con-uh-mee?"
"Uh…um… well when people move to a city… the living and the ability to buy things are usually better than countries like Oto." Itachi tried to explain it to where the children could understand. Naruto gave him this look still not understanding. "Just… think of it where you could buy much more ramen than here."
"AH! REALLY? That's awesome!" Naruto grinned then looked to Sakura sad. "But I don't want you to leave."
"I… don't either. I… I won't be able to see you again…" Sakura began to cry making the boys become even sadder. Sasuke stared at her face helplessly then grabbed her hands making her look at him.
"Sakura-chan. We'll see each other again, right Naruto?" Sasuke asked Naruto smiling.
"Yeah! And… When we get older we promise to come and find you! We'll be together again!" Naruto gave her a cheerful smile grabbing her hands as well. She looked between the boys then hugged him.
"Thank you…I'll wait for that day."
"As I interrupt this, I have an idea. Let's take a picture." Itachi suggested holding up a camera. "Then we can put them in frames and you guys can always have a picture of each other."
"YEAH!" They three shouted to each other at the same time. They ran into the gardens giggling and holding hands, but then suddenly they tripped and fell on top of each other.
"Stay like that, it's perfect." Itachi grinned and they all smiled as he took the picture then they all rolled around the fallen leaves continuing to play.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
By the way, if you haven't figured it out by now the year is 2012.
Sasuke's and Naruto's meeting will be told in Chapter 8.
Thank you very much for your support and comments! They fuel me to write very much. ^^