"What do you mean I can't use it?" Sasaui demanded, crossing her arms defiantly as her lower lip plopped out in a pout. She was very confused with the new situation. After breakfast Sasaui and Sasuke had been sent to make their beds before coming back to wash dishes. Once they'd finished they'd gone into the family room to find both Father and Itachi discussing something quietly. When they'd noticed her, they sent Sasuke away with Itachi promising to go training with him later if he got ready while they talked. Sasaui hadn't expected just what it was they'd needed to discuss.
Father's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the disobedience. "Sasaui, I have my reasons. For now I don't want you using the chakra sensing ability."
After a few attempts of opening her mouth but having no argument, Sasaui stayed quiet for a moment and glanced at Itachi with pleading eyes. Why would Father suddenly order her not to use a technique he had seemed so proud of her learning? Itachi would have an explanation, wouldn't he? At the very least he would defend her. Couldn't he tell how much Sasaui enjoyed her ability to see the little lights?
Rather than help her, however, Itachi simply glanced at Father, trying to get some unheard message through to him. Deciding she'd have to do this herself, Sasaui finally forced out some kind of defense. "But, Father, if this is rare shouldn't I try to use it? If I'm good at it, maybe I can bring more pride to the Uchiha clan," she added gleefully, the mere thought drawing forth a wide grin. Wouldn't that be great? Maybe then Father would accept her rather than always compare her to Itachi. Sasuke may even look up to her like he did Itachi.
"That is enough," Father said sharply, leaving little room for the conversation to continue. "I don't want you to use this technique just yet. Maybe in the future, but not yet, Sasaui."
The protest didn't even have time to form this time. Finally deciding Father wasn't going to understand what he wanted him to, Itachi knelt down before Sasaui, placing his hand on her head. "Father does have his reasons, Sasaui. For example, think of Sasuke," Itachi explained. "Don't you think he'd be jealous if you became super good in a technique he couldn't do? You also will learn things in the Academy that will make handling the sensing ability and learning about it easier in the future. So it may not seem like it, but helping will help more later on."
The fight previously building in the young girl faded at the mere mention of Sasuke's jealousy. She wanted him to look up to her, but she felt cruel wanting to make him jealous. Maybe she didn't like the reasons, but like Itachi said, Father did have ones for her not to use her sensing ability.
"Thank you, Itachi. You as well, Sasaui, for listening."
Sasaui simply nodded, trying her best to hide her growing disappointment. Understanding something and liking it were two totally different things. But it was what Father wanted, so she couldn't complain.
Before she could walk away, Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you come train with Sasuke and me? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Although she wasn't entirely sure that was true - Sasuke enjoyed the special attention of training alone with Itachi - Sasaui didn't argue. "No, thank you," she answered. "I was going to Reinami's today."
Itachi smiled softly, ruffling her dark hair before nodding. "Okay then." His eyes rose to the door. "Sasuke," he said, only slightly raising his voice, "I know you're there. You can come in now."
The small boy peaked into a room, a guilty smile on his face, though he appeared to only have tuned in recently because there was still a gleam of curiosity in his eyes. He was out of his pajamas and in his usual training outfit. "So are we leaving now?"
"In a minute. I just have to grab a few things first."
While Sasuke eagerly waited for Itachi, Sasaui slipped back to their room. By the time she changed and returned to the family room, it had grown empty. Father had apparently gone to work and the two boys left to train. "I'm leaving now, Mother!" Sasaui yelled over her shoulder, knowing her mom would hear her.
"Be back before dinner time," Mother called back from another room.
Sasaui took off after that. The Uchiha was slowly coming to life as the sun rose higher into the sky. Children were beginning to play in the streets and adults headed to their jobs. The occasional animal ran across the street, one frightened dog running for its life from a couple of older kids already in the Academy trying to practice their capturing skills. After all, the next day they'd be back in their classes. They were able to practice and have their fun.
Since they only lived half way through the compound, it didn't take Sasaui too long to find herself at the Compound gates. Just like there, the village was awakening to the new day. The citizens of Konoha were beginning to occupy all the space in the village. Sasaui frowned. Maybe it would have been better to leave at a different time. Everyone was out doing stuff now. With the rush it would take her an extra twenty or so minutes just to get to Reinami's house.
Hm…. What should I do now? Sasaui wondered, doing the best she could to intermingle with the adults until she could find an opening. If she remembered correctly there was another way to Reinami’s house near the edge of the village. Usually it was a longer way, but with how crowded the streets were today, Sasaui doubted that was still true.
Once she found an open area, Sasaui darted out of the throng of people, heading in the direction of the other path. Its opening was in a less populated district, so it proved no problem to find it. Grinning with her success, the young Uchiha slowed down her jog as the concrete road turned to a dirt path. As she suspected very few others were using the path, and most of them were the elderly who knew the village from their years of citizenship.
Because it was so close to the village border there were many trees, though Sasaui could still see a few buildings peaking over the tree tops. It was like training with Itachi in the forests. Aside from the few human presences, nature overtook everything. Despite what her father had said, Sasaui’s grew fascinated with the thought of all the little lights she was sure inhabited just the little path she was on. What was hidden to her eyes on their own?
The temptation began to grow despite her attempts to repress it. Nobody would really know what she was doing, and even if they did, they wouldn’t tell Father. As long as it was only one more time, she wouldn’t be doing anything too bad, right? Sasaui tapped her thighs nervously, biting her lip as she glanced nervously around.
She finally decided one disobedience couldn’t be too bad. After this, though, she couldn’t do it again until Father allowed her. This would just be a temporary goodbye to her newfound ability. Sasaui stepped to the side so she wouldn’t be in the way of the few people walking past. Taking a deep breath, she let her onyx eyes slide shut and focused. Just like the night before, it proved harder than the first time. It took a few minutes of focusing before the first of the lights began to shine. Unlike Sasaui had wanted, it was the light of the humans she had already seen instead of the little creatures she had not. No matter how much she concentrated, though, all she succeeded in doing was give herself a headache.
Maybe she wasn’t able to see the little lights of the life in the forest. Not yet, at least. Sadly she didn’t think she’d get the chance to practice doing so for a very long time. Sasaui sighed, just about to release the sensing jutsu when she finally noticed something different. The was a presence she had not noticed before, which wouldn’t be that big if it was just someone walking around a turn like a couple of lights were in front of her. No, this presence was above her in the tree branches.
Curiosity finally motivated her to let her focus falter. Sasaui opened her eyes, just about to raise her eyes to investigate when she realized the two presences she’d noted before were a couple of men. And they were walking right toward her.
Now that she could see their actual physical appearance, Sasaui had to do all she could not to openly gape and laugh. Both men appeared to be in their thirties. They also looked like they’d been attacked by scissors and paint. The shorter of the two was bald with insults scrawled on the top of his head, his face painted to look like a clown. A poor clown, but a clown nevertheless. His shirt mirrored his head, only with a few more creative insults that Sasaui most likely would have been punished for saying. The taller one did have hair, but it was a black mess of random paint and bald patches. Many holes were cut into his shirt and beneath the holes were random faces. His left side had a huge splatter of paint like it had randomly been thrown on him.
The men’s attempts to look serious as they marched toward Sasaui was ruined by their ridiculous appearances, but it did give away two things. For one, Sasaui was positive they were ninja. There was a way to their movement that made them appear like a shinobi. However, unlike a ninja should be, these two were drunk. The smell rolled off both of them, and although they were acting sober, Sasaui knew they’d had a bit too much sake by the glassiness in their gazes. She had seen very few drunks, but that lack of clarity was something she remembered well.
“Hey, girlie,” the taller of the two said, glaring down at her. “Have you seen a blond boy around here?”
Sasaui shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”
The other man examined Sasaui, his dark green eyes boring into her. “You’re not lying to us, are you?”
Even if she should be more afraid, Sasaui grew annoyed rather than backing down. “I told you, I haven’t saw any blond boy.” She crossed her arms, staring defiantly at the two men as she waited to see what they would do next.
The bald man still appeared skeptical, but the taller one grunted and began glancing around. “Guess we need to keep searching if we’re going to find that demon brat,” he grumbled, beginning to walk off. After a moment the other man followed.
After they had rounded a corner, Sasaui sighed and sagged against a tree. Thankfully the men had been rather controlled. She had heard stories from Father about the drunken actions of men. Finally remembering what she had been about to do before the two men had walked up to her, Sasaui craned her neck back to examine the branches above her.
At first she didn’t see anything. All that was above her was a forest of green leaves occasionally broken by the light blue sky. Confused, Sasaui pushed off the tree and backed away to try and get a better look. There was no figure above her that she could see. Had they moved? Her question was answered by a sudden creak. With a jerk of surprise, she turned to investigate the branch beside the tree she’d been leaning on. She had just located the figure when they suddenly launched themselves off the tree. Right in her direction.
They must have been meaning to tuck and roll because Sasaui glimpsed bright blue eyes before her forehead collided painfully hard with the other person’s forehead. Sasaui yelped in surprise and pain before she went down to the ground, the other landing on top of her.
“Ugh.” The figure got onto their knees above Sasaui, rubbing the place of their collision. “Sheesh, you have a hard head.”
“You’re one to talk,” Sasaui retorted, holding her own painful spot. It was then Sasaui finally was able to see the owner of the little light that had been in the trees. He was a boy around her age with spiky blond hair and six strange lines on his face, three marking each cheek.
The boy’s eyes flickered down to her. Finally realizing he was sitting on top of her, the boy scrambled off. “Sorry about that. I didn’t really look before I jumped.”
Sasaui rolled her eyes, though a smile did spread across her face. “What were you doing in the trees anyway?” she asked, taking a hand he offered to help her up. The answer came before the boy could speak. It wasn’t the blond hair that gave him way, though. It only filled in a piece of the puzzle. The answer came from the bit of red paint staining his green sleeve and the edge of his white shirt. “Hey, you’re that one boy that….”
Her words drifted off as she registered the outright fear that blossomed in the boy’s eyes as Sasaui spoke. He began to slowly back away, his jaws locked and his eyes growing hard. What had happened to cause such a change? Had she said something wrong? She had only realized he was the boy who must have pranked the two men. Was he afraid she was going to go get them?
“Listen, I’m not going to-“
“I’m sorry,” the boy said, not giving her time to finish. He simply turned and took off, leaving Sasaui staring in confused shock. Rather than chase after him, though, she only watched as he vanished into the trees in the direction of the village.
It was only his sudden action that left Sasaui staring. Instead it was because of his eyes. How could a boy no older than her hold such pain in his eyes?
*~*~*~*~
It had been ridiculous. How could he think, even for a moment, there would be someone who didn’t know who he was? Naruto’s hands tightened around the swing ropes, his lips pulled down in a sad frown. Even if the girl had not recognized him immediately, of course she would eventually. Everyone knew who he was, and they knew they were supposed to avoid him.
He raised his eyes to look over the mostly unfamiliar faces in the park. Unlike usual he was at the park on the other end of the village. If he had gone to the other one, he was sure the two men he’d given make overs would find him. In no way would that end well. If he saw them anywhere near this park, he’d just make a getaway to the other one closer to the apartment. If worse came to worse, Naruto could simply escape to the safety of the Hokage. The old man was fun to play pranks on, and he was kind enough to protect Naruto when needed. Of course, he had to pay for what he had done, but not in the way the men would make him if they found him.
Naruto had been so lost in his escape plan he didn’t notice the uneasy glances sent his way by parents as a few of the herded their children out of the parks until one of them started whining loudly about it. When he finally did tune in, he felt a painful wrench at his heart. Another kid who would forever hate him because of their parents. They’d see him and recognize him as the monster their parents told them to avoid now that they’d gotten an actual look at him.
Maybe it would be best if he just went home. At least in solitude he didn’t suffer the constant glares and insults thrown his way. His hands curled into tighter fists around the rope swings, a strong bitterness climbing up from deep within him. Naruto tried to focus on the anger, knowing it was better than the emotion that followed behind it. Anger was better than the stabbing pain and sadness that was his other option to feel. What had he ever done to deserve this?
He was growing fed up with the angry glances and whispered words. If it continued much longer, he decided, he would just head home. It wasn’t worth it to see the other kids happy with their families to enjoy his time at the parks. He didn’t like the angry, depressed moods that sneaked up on him sometimes, but at the moment he saw no reason to fight it.
Despite his better judgment, Naruto continued his torture, watching a couple more families walk away from the park. At least they weren’t leaving because of Naruto, but they were still a happy family. With a sigh, Naruto was just about to drop his gaze when a near arrival caught his interest.
He recognized her immediately. Dark hair and dark eyes standing out against fair skin. A pink short sleeve shirt with a raised color and white shorts. No doubt about it – it was the girl from before. Naruto openly stared at her, glad she didn’t glance his way. After all, it had appeared she had already recognized him earlier today. He’d seen in her eyes that she remembered him. Most likely her parents had described him to her so she knew to avoid him. The marks on his cheeks tended to give him away.
Unlike before, she was no longer alone. Now a blue haired girl walked with her. She was one Naruto actually recognized because she used to go to the other park. He couldn’t quite remember her name, but he did remember that she, like most kids, had held a strong fearful contempt toward him. It was official – the other girl would definitely not like him if she was friends with her.
Naruto yanked his gaze away from her, feeling his heart and stomach twist into knots as he thought of his encounter with the dark haired girl before. For just a few minutes he had hoped to make a friend for the first time. Of course, they had not met on the best terms, but she had not instantly shown any form of hate toward him. He had run away before she could begin, fearing the pain it would undoubtingly bring. Despite trying to force back the hope, he still saw that smile she had given him moments before she’d began to recognize him.
That was it. He couldn’t stay here if that girl was here. It would hurt too much. He’d been given a shred of hope just to have it yanked from him. Seeing her again was the final push. Maybe a bowl of ramen would cheer him up. It was sad his greatest friend was a bowl of ramen he only made to eat.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
The familiar voice drew Naruto’s attention despite his best attempts to avoid looking. His bright blue eyes once again found their way to the girl. She had raised to her feet, her body angled toward the swings while she was looking back at the blue haired girl, who glared up at her. As if feeling her gaze, the dark haired girl turned to face Naruto. And then she did the last thing he expected. She smiled.
*~*~*~*~
She had felt the eyes on her the moment she’d walked into the park. It had taken Sasaui a couple of minutes to realize the stares were coming in the direction in the swings, and when she did, she was shocked to see the blond boy from before. Rather than stop and stare back, though, she’d moved her eyes away, remembering the fearful expression he’d had before running away from her. She didn’t want to cause that again.
In letting her eyes wonder, though, she noticed something. There was nobody around the swings. Any other time she came to the park the swings were one of the main attractions, but now they were vacant except for the boy. Even the area around the swing was avoided. Some kids were playing tag and were making sure not to run too close to the playground equipment. Sasaui’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
Finally letting her curiosity get the best of her, she turned to Reinami and asked, “Why isn’t anybody playing on the swings?”
Reinami appeared slightly annoyed, Sasaui’s question interrupting something she had been saying. She still looked over at the swings, though. When she did, her face instantly paled. They were both on rocking horses, but they’d grown still with the new subject. “People don’t go around that boy,” she explained, sending a quick glare in his direction.
The answer caught Sasaui off guard. “Why don’t they? Has he done something wrong?” she demanded.
“My friends told me to stay away from him. They were saying how they were told he’s such a monster and that he shouldn’t even be here.” Reinami almost appeared proud, warning her friend from a danger she had not previously known about.
Sasaui didn’t see it that way. If anything she was shell-shocked. A monster? How could someone their age be a monster? Even if he was older, he’d only known a few things when it came to ninja arts. It wasn’t like he could kill anyone. “That’s stupid,” Sasaui decided, shaking her head in disagreement. “How could a little kid be a monster?”
Whatever Reinami said was lost on Sasaui. Most of it was simply about what her friends had told. She couldn’t stop thinking about her brief encounter with the boy. He hadn’t seemed monstrous at all. If anything, he had seemed lonely and sad. Was that why he ran away? Did he think she would hate him, too? Those pained eyes she’d seen just before he left flashed in her mind.
If she were to look at the little lights again, would he appear any different than the children around her? He’d be the same, but he’d be all by himself. She thought of her own home when she’d seen the lights. They’d all been there, together, just like they would always be. Nobody deserved to shine by themselves.
It was this line of thinking that caused Sasaui to move before she was even aware of it, one leg swinging over the horse so she was on her feet. She was just becoming conscious of her movement toward the boy when a hand clamped down on her arm. Sasaui flinched, looking over her shoulder at Reinami. “What do you think you’re doing?”
For a while she hadn’t felt the eyes on her, but the moment she did, her head turned so she was facing the boy once more. His eyes were locked on her, wide with surprise as he watched the scene playing out before him. For the first time, Sasaui noticed that even if he tried to hide it, there was pain hidden in his eyes. Not knowing what else she could do to comfort him, she let a friendly smile greet him.
“What do you mean what am I doing? I want to know what you’re doing,” Reinami countered, glowering in turns at Sasaui and the boy. “I just told you people aren’t supposed to go around him. Can’t you just listen?”
It was Sasaui’s turn to glare. “I’m an Uchiha – I’m not afraid of anyone. Even if I was, it’s not a good idea to avoid someone just because others say to. That’s worse than anything he’s done, I’m sure.”
Reinami faltered, dismay evident on her face. It was quickly replaced by fury. “So you’re saying you won’t listen to me as a friend? You’re not a very good friend, then,” she snapped. “If you go over to him and don’t listen to me, we’re not friends anymore.”
Sasaui paused this time, taken aback by her friend’s threat. How had a day she’d been planned to be a nice, happy time with Reinami turn around so much? First with the ban of her little lights, and now the possibility of losing Reinami. Sasaui bit her lip. Would she really risk a friend for a couple of years for a boy she’d met less than an hour before? She didn’t even know his name.
Yet she couldn’t stop imagining his lone little light or those hurt light blue eyes. Her resolve began to harden as she met Reinami’s eyes with a resolute stare. “If you were my friend, you wouldn’t make me choose.”
Before she could change her mind, Sasaui pulled her forearm out of Reinami’s grip. She stood there for only a moment longer, giving Reinami time to retort. When she didn’t, Sasaui continued in the direction she’d meant to go before. Once again she felt eyes on her, only now nearly everyone in the park was watching her. I’m an Uchiha, she reminded herself. Don’t let all these people scare you from doing what you want.
The boy’s eyes never moved from her as she stopped right before him, still smiling kindly. It was hard to not try to comfort him with the constant pain dwelling in his eyes. Sasaui gestured toward the swing beside him. “Is anyone else using this?” It was a stupid question, but she was hoping to get the boy to respond.
He did, but it was with his own question rather than a reply. “Are you serious? This isn’t just some joke, is it?”
The question made Sasaui feel sick. He was so used to being avoided he didn’t believe her attempt to become friends. No person should think that way. “No, it’s not. I promise.” Sasaui sat down in the swing, pushing herself lightly back and forth on her feet. “So, I wanted to ask back on the path before you ran away – were you the one who pranked those men?”
It took the boy a few moments to finally get over his shock enough to speak again. “Yeah, that was me.” After scrutinizing Sasaui a bit more, a grin began to force itself onto his marked face. “You’re serious? You’re not going to run away from me?”
Sasaui was sure then that she had made the right decision. A light had begun to shine in the boy’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. She smiled even more, nodding in answer. “I’m not running away. I want to be your friend.”
Rather than hold it back, the boy let a full blown smile show. Despite this, a few tears spilled from his eyes. It was the first time Sasaui ever saw someone start crying while being so happy. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Believe it!”
“I’m Sasaui Uchiha. It’s nice to meet you.”
Naruto rubbed his eyes, his smile never fading. “Sasaui, huh?” he said, testing the name as it rolled off his lips. Never before had he felt so elated saying a name. “So you liked my handiwork with those two bozo drunks, huh?”
She chuckled, commenting on the fabulous art skills Naruto had shown with his job on the two men. Maybe she had lost a friend that day, but already she was happier hanging out with Naruto than she had been with Reinami. Not only that, but it was worth the price to see happiness overwhelming the sadness that had been there before. If she had to do the day over, she wouldn’t change a thing.
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Chapter notes: *peaks out from under a camouflage sheet like Naruto uses* Hello? There’s no mobs with pitch forks, right? *slowly sneaks out* Gosh, I am so sorry. This has taken me eleven extra days to get this out. I could give you an excuse, which is mostly me never really being in the mood to sit down and type until my family and I went on a three hour trip to my aunt’s house and I had no distractions like my boyfriend or the internet and I could just focus on this. Yeah, that boyfriend thing? Apparently there is a downside to having a beau who lives right beside of you – it takes from your writing time.
Anyway, again I feel iffy about this chapter, but that may again be mostly because I’ve written the scenes with Sasaui being a kid about three times now and this is the first time in third PoV and with my writing style now, so I keep getting worried about it for some reason. I’m pretty sure old readers will notice the differences such as the start, but I think besides that there are only a few minor differences that aren’t very noticeable. Also, could you tell me how I’m doing with writing Sasaui’s maturity levels? Because I’m not sure. Not too much action really has happened, and that probably won’t change for a couple of chapters, so please bear with me if you’re new and don’t know the fun stuff coming up.
Um…. I can’t think of too much else to say really, so please read and enjoy. If you don’t mind I’ll take reviews as well. I’m a writer – they’re my food. Or do you want me to starve? *gasps* Fine then. I see how it is. Also, random note – this is my first chapter release for the new year. Fun XD1-12-14
Chapter end notes: So what do you guys think? Like? Hate? What?