Chapter 3
Naruto had only one interaction with the black haired boy. It wasn't pleasant, but almost none of Naruto's interactions with anyone was pleasant.
Iruka-sensei had put them against each other for a spar. a short, one-sided spar. Sasuke had Naruto on the floor in three moves. "Cheating bastard!" Naruto had yelled at him, rubbing his sore back. Sasuke had rolled his eyes. "Idiot."
They didn't talk much after that. They didn't talk much before that either. Actually, Sasuke didn't talk much at all. Not to anyone. He came to school, was on top of the class, didn't talk to anyone who didn't speak to him first, and unlike everyone else who stayed after class to play, he ran off home as if he couldn't wait to get back.
Naruto was a bit jealous. He was sure he'd be running back home full force too if he had loving parents and a clan waiting for him.
Sasuke was his opposite. Sasuke was liked by the class, but he didn't want friends, while Naruto wanted friends badly but was disliked by his classmates. Sasuke was on top of the class while Naruto was struggling from the get-go. Sasuke was even liked by Sakura, the girl Naruto thought was so pretty and wanted to be friends with badly, but she didn't give him much of her attention.
Okay, maybe he was a lot jealous, but that's not the point. The point is that Sasuke doesn't care. Sasuke doesn't care about the people in school. Sasuke especially doesn't care about Naruto. Thinking about it, "idiot" was the only thing Sasuke had ever said to him. So it's understandable that Naruto is confused about why Sasuke keeps staring at him.
The first time was when Sasuke came into class that morning.
Naruto was sitting at his desk, not causing trouble, not being loud, not doing anything honestly, just existing. So when Sasuke suddenly loomed over him, he had no idea what the hell the guy wanted.
The Uchiha’s face was blank, but there was something… off. Like he was looking for something. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just stood there, staring down at Naruto like he owed him money or something.
Creepy.
Naruto opened his mouth to snap something rude so the boy would leave, but before he could, a girl that Naruto didn't know fluttered up to Sasuke, giggling as she came to talk to him.
The glare Sasuke shot her was so sharp that Naruto actually flinched. The girl’s smile crumpled, and she turned and fled, her friends running off after her and were those… tears?
Sasuke’s attention snapped back to Naruto, his frown deepening.
Naruto gulped. "Wha—what was that for? Why’d you gotta make her cry?" He tried to sound intimidating. "What do you even want, bastard?"
Sasuke’s expression flattened again. Without a word, he turned and walked back to his seat.
Weird. So damn weird.
The second time happened during Iruka’s lesson.
Naruto had felt it, the weight of eyes burning into the back of his skull. He ignored it at first. he was trying to pay attention, to sit still, to prove he wasn’t just in class to be a troublemaker. Not that it mattered. The teachers never looked at him like they looked at the other kids. Never with patience, never with warmth.
He could turn around and look for the person, but Iruka would notice that he's not paying attention.
He clenched his fists under the desk. He shouldn't turn around. It'll only make Iruka-sensei yell at him in front of the others. Again.
The stare didn’t let up. Not when Iruka explained chakra theory, not when Naruto fumbled through a basic hand sign. Not even when Iruka was asking questions. It was almost impressive. whoever it was had worse focus on the lesson than him
The moment the bell rang, Naruto whirled around.
And there he was. Sasuke. Still watching him, dark eyes unreadable. No smirk, no scowl—just that same unsettling stare
Naruto stuck out his tongue. "What, never seen a future Hokage before?"
Sasuke looked away after that. He didn't retort. But after a few more minutes, he felt that the eyes were back, though looking at Sasuke showed he wasn't the one staring.
the third time was now, at the end of classes. Naruto kicked at the dirt beneath the swing, watching as clusters of kids ran to waiting parents or dashed off together, their laughter sharp in his ears.
He felt a tap on his shoulder.
Sasuke was standing behind him, not saying anything but seeming like he wanted to say something. Naruto had had enough. "Seriously bastard, what is wrong with you today? did someone cut your tongue or something? why do you keep looking at me like a creep? Say something, you weirdo!"
Sasuke looked at him for a few seconds, the slight twitch of his eyes the only indication that he even heard Naruto. "I am not a creep." He said flatly.
"You keep looking at me all creepy. You are a creep." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest.
Sasuke looked like he wanted to argue for a few seconds, but in the end, he just sighed. "Sure. whatever you say."
Naruto was a little surprised but recovered quickly. "So what do you want? why have you been staring at me so much today?"
Sasuke held out a bento box. "My mom told me to give you this."
Naruto looked at the bag for a few seconds, not making any moves. Sasuke held the bag steady. He didn't say anything else, nor did his expression change from indifference.
Naruto clenched and unclenched his hand, not sure if this was a trick, but after a few more seconds, he took the bag.
"Why?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I guess my mom likes you."
Naruto's heart clenched, he felt like he was going to cry. he was sure that it was apparent on his face, but Sasuke didn't comment. He was happy. This was something to be happy about, so why did his heart hurt? Why did he want to cry?
Before he could drown in his feelings, Sasuke's voice broke him out of it. "She also told me to tell you that if you're out of money or need help with making food... tell me and I'll tell my mom."
"Okay." Naruto managed to say without his voice breaking. He really didn't know what else to say. "Thank you" didn't seem like enough
Sasuke left with a nod, but not in the direction he usually went. Naruto didn't think much of it, too focused on trying not to cry as he ran off to his own house with a bento that smelled a lot like baked tomatoes.
the next day, Naruto woke up to the sound of knocking on his door.
Naruto groaned into his pillow. At first, he thought he was dreaming since the academy was closed and the Hokage never came over so early. So there was absolutely no reason for someone to be pounding on his door at
he squinted at the cracked clock
six in the damn morning!
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" he said groggily, stumbling over empty ramen cups. Probably a noise complaint. Again.
He swung the door open and froze.
Sasuke stood on his doorstep, dark circles under his eyes, hair slightly mussed, like he’d rolled straight out of bed and into Naruto’s shitty apartment complex.
Naruto’s brain short-circuited.
"Sasuke?!" he screeched, voice cracking. "What the—how the hell do you even know where I—"
Sasuke didn’t answer. Just shouldered past him like he owned the place, leaving Naruto gaping at the space where he’d been.
"HEY! You can’t just—!" Naruto whirled around, panic spiking. The apartment was a disaster. clothes strewn everywhere, ramen cups stacked like sad little towers, and even some spoiled food on the floors. His face burned. "I was gonna clean, y’know! It’s not usually—!"
Sasuke ignored him. Dropped a plastic bag on the wobbly table. "Food," he said flatly. Then, with the gravitas of a man announcing his own execution: "I’m going to sleep."
Naruto blinked. "What."
Surely Sasuke didn't mean he was going to sleep here.
Sasuke didn’t elaborate. Just tossed a small pouch of ryo onto the table next to the food. "And get me military ration pills."
Silence.
Naruto’s eye twitched. "Excuse me?!"
Sasuke finally looked at him, just a quick, dead-eyed glance—like Naruto was the unreasonable one here. "You heard me."
"OH, I HEARD YOU, YOU PSYCHO!" Naruto exploded, arms flailing. "Since when do I run errands for you?! And since when do you just break into my house and do whatever the hell this is?!" He gestured wildly at Sasuke, the food, the money, the sheer... hell, Naruto didn't even know what to call it.
A beat. Then, as if he hadn't heard Naruto’s outburst, "Military ration pills. The green ones. Not the red."
Naruto made a sound like a boiling kettle.
Sasuke didn’t wait for a response. Just turned and—oh god—headed straight for Naruto’s bedroom. How did he even know where it was?!
"OH NO YOU DON’T!" Naruto ran after him, but Sasuke was already inside and collapsing face-first into the mattress, one arm slung over his eyes like a dramatic corpse.
"Five hours," came his muffled voice. "Then I want my pills and I'm out of here. Use genjutsu if you need to. And don't bother me. If you wake me up, I will torture you." The last part was said in a tone that Naruto didn't know whether Sasuke was joking or not.
"But I don't know how to use genjutsu." His voice came out weaker than he wanted. Genjutsu was taught only a few days ago, and Naruto hadn't yet gotten the hang of it.
Sasuke looked at him then, a slight frown on his face. "I saw you turn into a girl to distract Iruka before."
Naruto blushed a little. So the bastard had seen that... but what did that even have to do with genjutsu.
The confusion he was feeling must have translated to his face cause Sasuke looked at him with a little disbelief. "You're using genjutsu when you turn into a girl. You're putting up an illusion over yourself... unless you're actually transforming... You know what, it doesn't matter. Do what you're doing to turn into a girl but try to become Iruka-sensei or any other recognizable shinobi, then find a civilian selling the pills. Make sure they are a civilian. And buy the pills from them. Try not to run into any shinobi."
And with that Sasuke turned around and fell asleep.