Meeting Them
Chapter 2
Naruto's POV
Naruto yells out "Liar," in sync with Sakura, noticing the change on Kakashi's face. Heh, he's probably the same, tch. What happened to the Will of Fire, Jiji? The love you spoke proudly of? "Sensei, you're always late! Can you even teach us something?!" He shouts, not long before Sakura scolds him, hitting his head.
"Don't disrespect Kakashi-Sensei! Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura shouts again. Naruto pouts, "Sakura-Chan!" whining. You disrespected him too. Hypocrite.
"Hn." It was only 5 hours, 1 since everyone came together; and he was already sick of them. Tch.
"Alright, alright, let's go now." Kakashi says, gathering the three together. "Off to the Hokage tower! Heheh." Naruto shouts, not before escaping Sakura.
"I am becoming Hokage, I'm heading to the Hokage Tower, I sit on the Hokage mountain, I'm getting the hat and the cape! I'm already Genin, my adventure is coming, la la la, la la la! I'm becoming Ho Ka Ge, Me, Naruto Uzumaki! Going to the Hokage Tower for my 15th mission! HEY YEA!" He sings, laughing and joking around. But will I enjoy being Hokage for a village that hates me?
As the others walk behind him, he stares at the sky. Why do I pretend to be an idiot? He watches kids run around the fields, playing and laughing. Why was it me who was chosen? Why am I different? Was it because of him? His eyes wandered and landed on a teenager. He was trying to follow the others, but they mocked and kept outrunning him. His eyes traced him, he looked about 13, his age. He had holes and dirt all over his clothes, he is lean and looks like he hasn't eaten...
He walked over to him and wrote something on it. "Here, take this and come to the place, okay?" He whispered before leaving him.
Hey,
You sure are scrawny. Look, I'll feed you okay?
Come to the 'night' of Konoha, when you get there, there's a tall, filthy apartment.
I live on the top alone, if you have anyone you know or want to bring,
A friend or family, you can. I have to finish my mission so I'll be there in an hour or so.
Don't worry, I won't hurt you.
There is a seal inside, draw some blood and open it. There's a thousand yen ($9.07)
Use it to buy food in the meantime.
You don't have to come, but if you do,
I'll help you.
He wasn't sure he might come, but he hoped he would. Maybe he could help him in to one of the apartment buildings or with him. Maybe I could have someone to live with. . He shook his head and went back to the front. He was sure no one had saw him, but he still had to be careful. He dispelled the clone and took the spot. Hopefully, Kakashi hadn't seen him.
Kakashi's POV
He watched Naruto dispel a clone and walk where the clone once stood. Sighing, he went back to his book. Naruto was probably scheming for another of his dangerous pranks. They soon arrived to the tower and entered. Kakashi could see people glaring at Naruto but shrugged. They need time to get over the loss. "Alright, let's go in kids." He waved.
"Jiji! What's our mission? I'll take anything but Tora again!" Naruto shouted, grinning. He looks awfully happy... I have to watch myself carefully, he was angry about me being late this morning.. Kakashi shivered as he remembered setting off one of Naruto's pranks once. He was grim.
"There's only two for you today. You have to pull out weed around the school and wash the school. I am glad that you are excited Naruto, but please lower your voice." The Hokage smiles and Naruto grins as he scratches the back of his head. A habit I believe.
"Alright team, I will split you up into groups. Naruto, you can work by yourself and pull the weed with your clones, Sakura and Sasuke, you clean the school." He eye smiles and bows to the Hokage before sending his students to leave. "Kakashi, stay here for a moment, I would like to speak with you." The Hokage said.
He could hear his team bickering as they left. "Yes, Hokage? What did you need me for?" Kakashi asks. How I miss being Anbu Commander ...
"I want you to be light on your team, I had doubts about the Chunin Exams and it troubles me. I want you to get them ready for the Exams, I do believe a infiltration will happen. This has only happened once before, and I do not want that to happen again. Understood?" He furrows his brows and stares at me intently.
"Of course Hokage. I believe a C rank will help them see a bit of how life is. They might not be fully ready but if anything happens, I will protect them." He states before bowing again. The Hokage nods and signals he can leave. Kakashi hears him sigh again before he closes the door.
Naruto's POV
When the others leave, Naruto makes 5 clones and send out directions. I'll be done in 30 minutes. This is simple but I do understand why the Hokage assigned this. The world is cruel, they are not ready, nor do I believe they ever will be. They are pathetic and cannot work well together....
After he finished his job, he met his other 2 teammates and offered to help. "Yea right Naruto, you can't clean. I bet you didn't even finish pulling the weed! You're so stupid Naruto! Just go away!" Sakura yells. He nods and leaves. If they want to stay late, that's their problem. I will get my yen and leave.
Naruto entered the Hokage room and told Jiji he was finished and wanted his payment. "You don't want to wait for the others, Naruto? If you help them, you can get 1/3 of their payment." The Hokage asks, watching Naruto tiredly.
"Jiji, they refused my help. Sakura just starting yelling at me and mocked me... Jiji, I don't think they'll ever work with me. I don't understand, I try to be nice, but they always push me away." Naruto sighs. "I should stop pretending, it's not making much of a difference. I'm getting tired of their attitudes, Sakura in general."
"Naruto, I understand it's hard, I just," He breathes heavily and frowns "I just don't want you to get hurt... I promised him I would protect you, but it feels as if you're just holding the weight if the village.. Naruto, I'm so sorry." He sighs.
Naruto smiles sadly, "I know Jiji, I know. It's not your fault, the villagers just want to throw their anger at me, someone to blame.. But I'm so tired, tired of getting hit, tired of wearing this, tired of eating spoiled food, tired of being held, tired of dealing with obnoxious teammates, tired of my classmates, tired, I'm so tired Jiji..." Naruto furrows his brows and massages his forehead.
"I never wanted to use another child after Itachi but... I'll make this right, I promise. You can, I accept this. I think it's time to change the rules of Konoha." Naruto smiles, his eyes watering. He walks to Jiji and hugs him. "Thank you, thank you." He whispers, "I promise I won't let you down."
"Naruto," Jiji ruffles his head "you're still so young, yet just like your father. You will never let me down, I will be proud, no matter what." He smiles at Naruto and gently pushes him off. "Alright, here. I'll give you some extra because of how hard it's been on you, but don't tell anyone, alright. So much paperwork..." The Hokage hands him 6000 yen ($54.40) and tells him to be off. Naruto grins and waves.
I hope the kid is there.
Sakura's POV
CHEE, it's finally me and Sasuke-Kun! I got rid of Naruto and gotten us two alone but.. this is hard and dirty. Maybe I sh- She had finally gotten Sasuke-Kun alone but it wasn't how she was expecting it to be. After 40 minutes of cleaning, she and Sasuke-Kun had finally taken a break. They only gotten around to 2 classrooms and were tired. As she was drinking water, someone suddenly slammed the door open. She turned around to see Naruto. CHEE! I bet he is jealous and wa- "What are you doing here Naruto." She demanded, a little dizzy from working.
"Hey Sakura-Chan, do you guys want me to help you clean? I finis-" Naruto glares at Sasuke for a few seconds before looking back at her "finished pulling weeds all over the school and thought you were tired." Naruto grins. Did he really finish doing all that? Heh, I bet he's lying.
"You'll just break something Naruto." Sasuke-Kun said. She remembered when he accidentally tripped and nodded. "But Sakura-Chan, you look tired and I won't break anything, I promise." He smiles, making Sakura think for a bit. Mayb-Yea right, he just wants to show off! Don't!Yea! He's jealous of Sasuke-Kun and wants to get us together!
"If you want to help, you can shut up and go do your job." Sasuke grinned.
She glared at Naruto and shouted "Yea right Naruto, you can't clean. I bet you didn't even finish pulling the weed! You're so stupid Naruto! Just go away!" To her surprise, Naruto just nodded and walked away. Maybe he was telling the truth... "Naru-" She tried to call him back but he already left. He didn't even put up a fight...
"Sasuke-Kun, you think we were too harsh on him? It would've been faster with him and his clones.." Sakura asked, feeling bad for how she treated Naruto.
"Hn. Whatever, I don't need his help but it would have made it easier. He'll get over it like he always does." He replied, then got up to fill up his bottle. Yea, he'll be okay, besides, he's an idiot. She told herself to make her feel better and got up to help Sasuke clean.
As a kid, she used to see a kid walking around, happy even when others glared at him. Once, when she was being picked on and he had came and rescued her, and smiled when he had been beaten up by the other kids. She thought she found her prince, her savior. They used to play together, and he was her first friend. Sometimes, she would say how she wanted to marry him, how he was all she needed... But one day, her parents found out and hit him. They screamed at her and told her things she wish she could erase.
"If you want to play with that, that monster, you can leave, don't ever come here again! Now go wash your disgusting hands! No wonder he wanted to play with you, your disgusting forehead probably made him think you were like him! You pathetic child!" Her mother screamed and slapped her, threw her to the ground and slammed the door.
She felt tears forming, and everything was a blur. "Sakura-Chan, are you okay?" He had held his hand out, she could see her father's handprint on him. He'll hurt us if we stay with him.. run... She heard a voice call out. She couldn't leave him, she couldn't leave the only one who loved her. They'll hurt us... She could see him smiling.
"Come on, I'll get you a band-aid." She could see his smile stretching. It was fake. She knew it was fake because he forced him to smile when others hurt him. He smiled when he was sad. Don't! She called out again. She couldn't stop the voice calling her. She didn't want to hear it. "Don't worry Sakura-Chan, I promise I'll never leave you." She knew he wasn't lying but... the voice screamed and begged. They'll hurt us! They'll hurt us and lock us in there again! She didn't want to be in the dark again. She slapped his hand. "Leave me alone, you-you monster!" She screamed. "Sakura...."He whispered. They won't love us any more! "Go away, you monster! I hate you!" Tears were falling, spilling down her face. She grabbed a rock and threw it at him.
She saw his smile fall, he looked tired, she noticed his dark eye bags and his mouth was dry. He looked at her and turned around. She hurt him... she tried to call him but she couldn't. She was scared.
Her parents still locked her in the room. The dark room. She cried... and cried... and cried. This time she wasn't scared of her parents... She wasn't sad she was in there. She cried because she lost her prince, the only one who loved her. Since then, she promised herself she would find him.
Find her prince, her savior. Her protector. She promised she would love him until she died.
Sasuke was her savior.
Sasuke's POV
Naruto had come to help them but he and Sakura just mocked him. Maybe I should've just accepted it, Sakura was think about it. Sasuke got up to fill his bottle and start cleaning. He didn't want to seem weak and told Naruto off but he was regretting it. If I ask for help, I can never kill Itachi.. I have to be strong by myself. I don't need help. He told himself.
A few years ago, he and Naruto used to play, but after the massacre, he always told himself that he didn't need friends. Because if he let someone in, they would break him. He knew Naruto saw what happened and why he would try to get Sasuke to talk to him about it, but he had just hurt Naruto instead. Sometimes, he used to ask himself why he had done it, done something so horrible.
"You're a monster, leave me alone. I hate you, go away demon." He remembered the pained look Naruto gave him, he looked hurt, broken, damaged. What would have happened if I had hugged him and said sorry? Would we still been friends? He always knew that Naruto never showed his pain, but he always pretended Naruto was fine. He pretended they were never friend. He pretended he never hurt him. He pretended he was okay. He had to pretend.
He had to pretend.
Naruto's POV
As he walks down the street and to his apartment, he sees the ebony-haired boy again, behind him, there were two others. Naruto smiled and waved, walking towards them. "Did you guys eat? I'm happy you decided to come, I thought you wouldn't." He says softly, trying not to scare them. The boy looks at him before speaking. "I'm Lue, these are my siblings, the one on the right is my sister Renu, and the on the right is my brother Sien. Thank you.. for the money..." He said.
"It's fine if you're scared, around here, you have to be cautious of everything. Let's talk in the apartment. I have some food, you are probably hungry." He says, pointing to his place. Lue nods before walking up the stairs, following Naruto.
He grabs his keys and opens his place. Unlike when others visit, his room is clean. He tells them to sit on the couch and grabs some fruits for them to eat. "Lue, I'm guessing you are the oldest?" Naruto asks. "Sien and I are 15. Renu is 13. He and I are twins." Lue says, making Naruto widen his eyes a bit. I just had to pick up kids that are 2 years older, didn't I. He coughs a bit before regaining composer.
"That's good. What did you eat for lunch? I didn't know there was 3 of you, so I didn't put much." He chuckles a bit, trying to lift up the mood. "That was enough for us. We barely ate for 2 days, so that helped us very much. How old are you?" Sien, Lue's twin says, a bit shy as he grabs an apple.
"My age... Oh. Well," Naruto looks down again "I'm kind of the same as your sister." He says. Lue drops his pear and stares at him. "Your 13? You act more mature. I thought you were as old as us." He gawks. Naruto smiles. "Lue, we got picked up by someone 2 years younger..." Sien says, looking embarrassed.
"I am shocked as you are. I thought you were at least the same age but, guess I was wrong. Well, I am surrounded by older classmates and teammates, so this isn't too surprising." Naruto paused after realizing something. "I guess I didn't tell you my name. I'm Naruto, welcome to my apartment." Lue smiles at him, and I give him one back.
"Can we please stay here?" The littlest, Renu asks. Naruto tries to hold back a laugh, but can't help himself. "I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't want you to." He smiles.
How long has it been since he's met people like them?
First POV Lue
I stand in front of my sister, and my brother next to her. I wasn't sure if we should accept, but after he had given us money to eat, I thought we could try. He didn't look harmful, almost our age. Maybe even older. I could see him walking over, a bit surprised to see me. He waved, smiling and walked to the three of us. "Did you guys eat? I'm happy you decided to come, I thought you wouldn't." He says softly, as if he was talking to a bunny, trying not to scare us. His hair was silky and yellow, he had azure blue eyes, and whisker-like scars on his cheeks. He was about 4,11' inches, wearing a dark blue headband.
"I'm Lue, these are my siblings, the one on the right is my sister Renu, and the on the right is my twin brother Sien. Thank you.. for the money..." I say, trying not to sound rude. I saw him smile. "It's fine if you're scared, around here, you have to be cautious of everything. Let's talk in the apartment. I have some food, you are probably hungry." He says, pointing to his place. I nod and walk after him. I look back to my sister and smile, trying to make her feel better.
After a few flights of stairs, we finally reach the top. He grabs his keys from his pocket and opens the door. Inside, I could see a two-room sized apartment. It was huge compared to where we used to live, the inside was clean and organized. He signed us to sit in the white, soft couch. While we sat, he brought some fruits. I grabbed a pear. "Lue, I'm guessing you are the oldest?" He asks. I stifle a smile.
"Sien and I are 15. Renu is 13." I say, amused that he hadn't noticed we were twins. I saw his eyes widen a bit, pausing before coughing and regaining composer. It was a little cute. "That's good. What did you eat for lunch? I didn't know there was three of you, so I didn't put much." He chuckles a bit, trying to lift up the mood. My brother says "That was enough for us. We barely ate for 2 days, so that helped us very much. How old are you?" He shyly grabs an apple before focusing on him again. I waited for his answer.
"My age... Oh. Well," He looks down "I'm kind of the same as your sister." He says. I drop my apple. 13? He was thirteen? "Your 13? You act more mature. I thought you were old as us." I gawk. I embarrassed myself in front of someone 2 years younger.
"Lue, we got picked up by someone 2 years younger..." Sien says, feeling embarrassed as well. "I am shocked as you are. I thought you were at least the same age but, guess I was wrong. Well, I am surrounded by older classmates and teammates, so this isn't too surprising." He pauses for a few seconds. "I guess I didn't tell you my name. I'm Naruto, welcome to my apartment." I smile, and he returns it. His name sounded yummy... No weird thoughts.
"Can we please stay here?" Surprised at what Renu said, I just opened my mouth slightly and stared at Naruto. His features started to change and I saw him trying to hold back a laugh, but lets it out. It was sweet and almost pure. His eyes shine and he brings his hands to his lips, trying to conceal it. "I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't want you to." He smiles.
"Thank you very much." I say, standing up and bowing. I look back up at him and see he looked surprised. "Don't bow, I-I'll bring you clothes, you all, please shower one by one." His cheeks were a bit pink as he stood up to bring clothes from a room. I was a bit confused. I looked at Sien and he shrugged. "He probably hasn't been bowed to before. Not by someone older either. You probably made him happy or embarrassed." Renu just giggled.