(no subject)
Wow. I think I just wrote my first fanfic in, like, three years. It's only three pages, though. Doesn't even have a title. Not Sasu/Naru, seeing as they're only, like, seven in this.
This is done in two different times, the second being, like, three years after the first.
When Naruto was still a little boy in his first years at the Academy, rainy days meant spending recess playing indoor games. One of these games was “Make me Smile”. It was fairly simple. A small group of the children in the class went to the front of the room and tried to keep a straight face while the rest of the class tried to make them laugh.
“Not only is this fun,” the teacher would say encouragingly, “but it will help train your ninja skills! A shinobi should be able to hide all facial expressions!” And so the class generally had a great time when playing this game. Seven year old Sasuke Uchiha in particular loved the challenge of trying not to smile when his classmates pulled funny faces. He was good at it, he thought, although no where near as good as that boy, Naruto. Sasuke didn’t know what to make of the blond haired boy who sat next to him in class, and usually he didn’t bother to think anything of him at all. The only time he came into his mind was when the blond had his random bursts of energy that annoyed the whole class, and also at times like these, when he could actually beat Sasuke at a game.
‘He’s very good at controlling his features,’ Sasuke would think, watching the other children make grotesque expressions at him. Naruto stared at them, wide eyes somber and unblinking. ‘Of course, I don’t think anyone’s really trying to make him laugh. They just seem to be picking on him.’
Sasuke wasn’t a fool. He was the smartest kid in his class, after all. He knew that Naruto had no parents or siblings, and lived all alone. He also knew that Naruto was an outcast, and that nobody wanted to be associated with him. He himself had been told by his father never to play or excessively converse with the boy. “Only when necessary,” his father had said sternly, and Sasuke usually obeyed. Today, though…Sasuke didn’t like the far off, almost sad look in Naruto’s blue eyes. When everyone else had tried and given up making the blond twitch, he walked forward and peered into Nartuto’s face. “Hey,” he said, grabbing his attention.
Naruto stared back, expressionlessly. “Why don’t you smile?” Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged listlessly. “It’s a game,” he said shortly. Sasuke shook his head. “No, not just now. Ever. I mean, sometimes you seem really happy, and you’re annoying then,” he missed the small cringe Naruto gave, “but usually you’re really sad looking.” Blue eyes stared at him, and Sasuke didn’t think he could stand the sadness in them, so he looked away.
“Because I’m all alone.” Sasuke stared in surprise. “What do you mean?! There are people all around!” But Naruto frowned, and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. “There’s no reason for me to smile.”
Sasuke was going to ask him to explain further, but one of the girls called out to him, and told him to stop messing around with the Loser and to practice hand seals with her. Sasuke gave one last look at the blue eyes that were now looking pleadingly at him, and turned away. “Sorry,” he said over his shoulder. “You should go make a friend or something.”
*************
Naruto skipped into the classroom ten minutes late, babbling an apology to the irked teacher at the lecture board. He fell into his seat with a relieved sigh, happy to have made it to school for once without having food or rocks thrown at him. He grinned. Maybe people were finally starting to accept him, even a little bit! Hey, he could hope!
His good mood lasted all of three minutes, until he realized his pencil’s lead had snapped off in his rush to get to school. Scowling at the broken point, he looked around to see if anyone had an extra he could borrow. On his right was a boy who regularly taunted, poked, and pushed Naruto, so there would be no help there. On his left sat Uchiha Sasuke, the prodigy of their class. Naruto made a face at the dark, stoic boy. ‘He probably thinks he’s too cool to lend me a pencil. Oh well. I didn’t need notes anyway.’
Since he didn’t have anything else to occupy his mind (the teacher’s droning was annoying, and he couldn’t understand what she was saying), he continued to look at the Uchiha. As usual, the ten year old was facing forward and seemed to be paying rapt attention. Only close examination could see the annoyance and slight boredom in his face, as if he already knew what the teacher was going to say before she said it. He had a permanent frown etched at his face, and Naruto stared at it, suddenly remembering something that had happened a few years back.
‘Hey. Why don’t you smile?’ Naruto remembered how young Sasuke had seemed back then. How…happy.
‘It looks like the tables have turned!’ he thought, grinning to himself and nodding sagely. ‘Now I’m the one who is always laughing and smiling, while you look like you’ll never see the sun again.’ He smirked at the wonders of the world, and turned back to stare at Sasuke. His smirk faded though, as he really tried to connect the cheerful child Sasuke had been with his current self. ‘I guess he’s lonely too.’
When Sasuke suddenly turned and glared at him, Naruto blushed and whipped his head forward, determined to think of something else for the rest of class.
Soon (though not soon enough for Naruto) the bell for lunch and recess had rung, and children began milling out in groups. Naruto took his bag lunch out at prepared to get out of his chair. He paused, though, and gave another glance at Sasuke. The black haired boy had taken out his own bento and was about to start eating it right there in the classroom. By now they were the only two left in the room.
Naruto sat back down. Sasuke threw him a quick glance, and then seemed determined to ignore him.
“You know,” Naruto began slowing, wondering if he should bother conversing with the stuck up Uchiha, “I was thinking about something.”
Sasuke frowned to himself and seemed to mutter something like “Good for you,” under his breath, before taking another bite of his lunch. Naruto ignored the response, and continued.
“Remember…remember a few years ago? When we were playing that game?” He looked over at Sasuke, but the boy just turned away and shrugged. Undaunted, Naruto said “It was that game where you tried to make the other person smile. I always won.” This was said with a slight bitterness that surprised Naruto. He cleared his throat and stopped talking.
‘This is stupid. I don’t know why I’m bothering with him. Spoiled princess.’ He stood up with his bag to leave, but stopped with Sasuke spoke.
“What about it?” He sounded mildly interested, as if he had no idea why Naruto would bring this up or where it would lead. Naruto looked at him, an unreadable expression on his face. “You asked me why I wouldn’t smile. Do you remember?” Slowly, as if digging the memory from a deep pit in his mind, Sasuke nodded. “What about it?” he repeated. Now instead of sounding curious, he sounded cautious.
“Well,” Naruto shuffled around, not looking him in the eye. “I was just wondering…Do you know what I meant, now? I don’t think you got it, back then.”
‘Because I’m all alone.’
Sasuke’s eyes widened, and for a minute Naruto saw a mirror of his own expression, misery and loneliness, shining in them. Then they narrowed as Sasuke glared at Naruto. It didn’t seem to be the hateful glares Naruto was used to, though. This one seemed more…resentful. As if he had been forced to acknowledge something he would rather have left alone.
Naruto nodded, his question answered. He was surprised with Sasuke spoke again.“Why are you always grinning so stupidly now, then? What’s changed?” Sasuke seemed hostile at this point. “Why do you now have a reason to smile?”
Naruto blinked. “I got tired of being sad,” he said truthfully. “You should try smiling too. Maybe it will help.”
This time when he stood to leave he wasn’t stopped. He got all the way to the door before turning around and casually saying "And it’s not as easy as you said. Just going out and making good friends and a good life. Is it?” Sasuke wasn’t looking at him, and Naruto felt a short burst of anger. “At least you have a chance,” he spat, “At least they don’t all hate you. But you’re pushing them away on purpose. It’s your own fault you’re alone.”
He ran out the door as Sasuke jumped up, fists pounding the table. When he came back from lunch the two studiously ignored each other as if the conversation hadn’t existed.
From that day on, Naruto vowed never to let himself be alone like Sasuke was. He would grow up with precious companions, and make his own family, and never again surrender to the loneliness that loomed under his smile, which always threatening to engulf him. And maybe-he glanced occasionally to his left during dull moments in class-maybe he would be nice, and help Sasuke onto the same path.
This is done in two different times, the second being, like, three years after the first.
When Naruto was still a little boy in his first years at the Academy, rainy days meant spending recess playing indoor games. One of these games was “Make me Smile”. It was fairly simple. A small group of the children in the class went to the front of the room and tried to keep a straight face while the rest of the class tried to make them laugh.
“Not only is this fun,” the teacher would say encouragingly, “but it will help train your ninja skills! A shinobi should be able to hide all facial expressions!” And so the class generally had a great time when playing this game. Seven year old Sasuke Uchiha in particular loved the challenge of trying not to smile when his classmates pulled funny faces. He was good at it, he thought, although no where near as good as that boy, Naruto. Sasuke didn’t know what to make of the blond haired boy who sat next to him in class, and usually he didn’t bother to think anything of him at all. The only time he came into his mind was when the blond had his random bursts of energy that annoyed the whole class, and also at times like these, when he could actually beat Sasuke at a game.
‘He’s very good at controlling his features,’ Sasuke would think, watching the other children make grotesque expressions at him. Naruto stared at them, wide eyes somber and unblinking. ‘Of course, I don’t think anyone’s really trying to make him laugh. They just seem to be picking on him.’
Sasuke wasn’t a fool. He was the smartest kid in his class, after all. He knew that Naruto had no parents or siblings, and lived all alone. He also knew that Naruto was an outcast, and that nobody wanted to be associated with him. He himself had been told by his father never to play or excessively converse with the boy. “Only when necessary,” his father had said sternly, and Sasuke usually obeyed. Today, though…Sasuke didn’t like the far off, almost sad look in Naruto’s blue eyes. When everyone else had tried and given up making the blond twitch, he walked forward and peered into Nartuto’s face. “Hey,” he said, grabbing his attention.
Naruto stared back, expressionlessly. “Why don’t you smile?” Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged listlessly. “It’s a game,” he said shortly. Sasuke shook his head. “No, not just now. Ever. I mean, sometimes you seem really happy, and you’re annoying then,” he missed the small cringe Naruto gave, “but usually you’re really sad looking.” Blue eyes stared at him, and Sasuke didn’t think he could stand the sadness in them, so he looked away.
“Because I’m all alone.” Sasuke stared in surprise. “What do you mean?! There are people all around!” But Naruto frowned, and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. “There’s no reason for me to smile.”
Sasuke was going to ask him to explain further, but one of the girls called out to him, and told him to stop messing around with the Loser and to practice hand seals with her. Sasuke gave one last look at the blue eyes that were now looking pleadingly at him, and turned away. “Sorry,” he said over his shoulder. “You should go make a friend or something.”
*************
Naruto skipped into the classroom ten minutes late, babbling an apology to the irked teacher at the lecture board. He fell into his seat with a relieved sigh, happy to have made it to school for once without having food or rocks thrown at him. He grinned. Maybe people were finally starting to accept him, even a little bit! Hey, he could hope!
His good mood lasted all of three minutes, until he realized his pencil’s lead had snapped off in his rush to get to school. Scowling at the broken point, he looked around to see if anyone had an extra he could borrow. On his right was a boy who regularly taunted, poked, and pushed Naruto, so there would be no help there. On his left sat Uchiha Sasuke, the prodigy of their class. Naruto made a face at the dark, stoic boy. ‘He probably thinks he’s too cool to lend me a pencil. Oh well. I didn’t need notes anyway.’
Since he didn’t have anything else to occupy his mind (the teacher’s droning was annoying, and he couldn’t understand what she was saying), he continued to look at the Uchiha. As usual, the ten year old was facing forward and seemed to be paying rapt attention. Only close examination could see the annoyance and slight boredom in his face, as if he already knew what the teacher was going to say before she said it. He had a permanent frown etched at his face, and Naruto stared at it, suddenly remembering something that had happened a few years back.
‘Hey. Why don’t you smile?’ Naruto remembered how young Sasuke had seemed back then. How…happy.
‘It looks like the tables have turned!’ he thought, grinning to himself and nodding sagely. ‘Now I’m the one who is always laughing and smiling, while you look like you’ll never see the sun again.’ He smirked at the wonders of the world, and turned back to stare at Sasuke. His smirk faded though, as he really tried to connect the cheerful child Sasuke had been with his current self. ‘I guess he’s lonely too.’
When Sasuke suddenly turned and glared at him, Naruto blushed and whipped his head forward, determined to think of something else for the rest of class.
Soon (though not soon enough for Naruto) the bell for lunch and recess had rung, and children began milling out in groups. Naruto took his bag lunch out at prepared to get out of his chair. He paused, though, and gave another glance at Sasuke. The black haired boy had taken out his own bento and was about to start eating it right there in the classroom. By now they were the only two left in the room.
Naruto sat back down. Sasuke threw him a quick glance, and then seemed determined to ignore him.
“You know,” Naruto began slowing, wondering if he should bother conversing with the stuck up Uchiha, “I was thinking about something.”
Sasuke frowned to himself and seemed to mutter something like “Good for you,” under his breath, before taking another bite of his lunch. Naruto ignored the response, and continued.
“Remember…remember a few years ago? When we were playing that game?” He looked over at Sasuke, but the boy just turned away and shrugged. Undaunted, Naruto said “It was that game where you tried to make the other person smile. I always won.” This was said with a slight bitterness that surprised Naruto. He cleared his throat and stopped talking.
‘This is stupid. I don’t know why I’m bothering with him. Spoiled princess.’ He stood up with his bag to leave, but stopped with Sasuke spoke.
“What about it?” He sounded mildly interested, as if he had no idea why Naruto would bring this up or where it would lead. Naruto looked at him, an unreadable expression on his face. “You asked me why I wouldn’t smile. Do you remember?” Slowly, as if digging the memory from a deep pit in his mind, Sasuke nodded. “What about it?” he repeated. Now instead of sounding curious, he sounded cautious.
“Well,” Naruto shuffled around, not looking him in the eye. “I was just wondering…Do you know what I meant, now? I don’t think you got it, back then.”
‘Because I’m all alone.’
Sasuke’s eyes widened, and for a minute Naruto saw a mirror of his own expression, misery and loneliness, shining in them. Then they narrowed as Sasuke glared at Naruto. It didn’t seem to be the hateful glares Naruto was used to, though. This one seemed more…resentful. As if he had been forced to acknowledge something he would rather have left alone.
Naruto nodded, his question answered. He was surprised with Sasuke spoke again.“Why are you always grinning so stupidly now, then? What’s changed?” Sasuke seemed hostile at this point. “Why do you now have a reason to smile?”
Naruto blinked. “I got tired of being sad,” he said truthfully. “You should try smiling too. Maybe it will help.”
This time when he stood to leave he wasn’t stopped. He got all the way to the door before turning around and casually saying "And it’s not as easy as you said. Just going out and making good friends and a good life. Is it?” Sasuke wasn’t looking at him, and Naruto felt a short burst of anger. “At least you have a chance,” he spat, “At least they don’t all hate you. But you’re pushing them away on purpose. It’s your own fault you’re alone.”
He ran out the door as Sasuke jumped up, fists pounding the table. When he came back from lunch the two studiously ignored each other as if the conversation hadn’t existed.
From that day on, Naruto vowed never to let himself be alone like Sasuke was. He would grow up with precious companions, and make his own family, and never again surrender to the loneliness that loomed under his smile, which always threatening to engulf him. And maybe-he glanced occasionally to his left during dull moments in class-maybe he would be nice, and help Sasuke onto the same path.