Academy Arc: On That Day by the River

Vaulting over a low stone wall Naruto put on a burst of speed. A swinging bar forced him into an evasive roll costing him precious seconds. Racing forward he came up against a castle wall far too tall to simply jump over.

I'm running out of time! He thought scrambling up the wall as fast as he could go. Cresting the obstacle his objective was in sight. He paused for a split second to chart a path to it, then sprang into action.

Leaping forwards he landed on a tree branch and lunged for another, arms outstretched to pull him into a swing. It was right then that everything went horribly wrong.

Naruto managed to grab the branch but he'd misjudged his speed. As he swung forwards his grip failed and he plummeted to the ground, landing in a rather large puddle of mud with a very loud splat.

Giggling trickled in from the sidelines of the obstacle course, drawing a moan from Naruto. He'd been so close. However Naruto was used to such disappointments and he'd gotten the furthest of anyone in his class; so the sting of failure quickly faded. As he was about to get up the mud covered boy realized he had an opportunity to perform before his classmates.

Ever the jester Naruto performed a backwards roll, rising into a gymnasts salute. Then he gave his class an exaggerated bow. "Thank you. Thank you" he said in a snooty upper class voice. Some mud dribbled from his hair, completing the ridiculous image.

For his performance Naruto received a surge of laughter from his classmates. He grinned, basking in their attention and humor for a brief moment.

"Yes Naruto your complete and utter failure was most amusing" the teacher drawled. "Now get back in line!" she added sharply.

"Yes, yes I'm going" Naruto drawled back, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"Detention Uzumaki!" Fuyuko-sensei snapped out.

"What! What the hell for?!"

"For your disrespectful tone and language Uzumaki. Now get your ass in line before I start coming up with more creative punishments."

At this point most anyone with self preservation instincts would have probably meekly gotten in line, recognizing their precarious position. However Uzumaki Naruto is not one for such petty things as self preservation instincts. So, rather than try and keep his situation from degrading further he looked Fuyoko-sensei in the eye and said "Screw you sensei".

Things collapsed pretty quickly after that point. Details are unnecessary but suffice to say Naruto ended up with several weeks of after school detention.

XoXoXo

About half an hour later lunch time rolled round and the class let out, much to Naruto's relief. He and the rest of the kids collected their lunches and dispersed across the courtyard behind the academy. The other students naturally dispersed into their groups.

Knowing full well that he would not be welcome amongst them Naruto headed over his usual spot beneath a large oak tree at the edge of the field. He sunk to the ground, unwrapped his lunch and began to eat.

As he ate he gazed out across the courtyard, observing the other kids. Shikamaru was lying on his back staring at the clouds, while Choji sat beside him devouring his lunch with a look of intense focus on his face.

Kiba was laughing loudly with a group of kids whose names Naruto wouldn't be able to remember even if you offered him ramen for a month.

Ino and Sakura's groups were on opposite sides of the field and were alternating between chatting with each other about various subjects and, when they thought no one was looking, staring at Sasuke.

It was Sasuke to whom Naruto's eyes drifted next. Sasuke, who's completion of the obstacle course earlier in the day had only enhanced his standing with the class, whereas Naruto's near miss had brought him nothing but derision. Sasuke, who had succeeded where Naruto failed. Like always. Sasuke who everyone praised as a genius. Sasuke who...Hang on...

Just for a brief moment the two of them made eye contact and Naruto was startled to see the loneliness he felt reflected in the eyes of his rival.

Now, no one would ever accuse Naruto of being the most observant person. But as he looked at Sasuke, sitting alone on the low stone wall that bordered the courtyard he couldn't help but recognize the parallels to his own isolation.

Then Naruto shook himself. Nah he thought. Uchiha Sasuke lonely? The teachers love him and the other kids like him too. There's no way he of all people is all alone.

Then where are all these friends he should have? Asked a little voice in the back of Naruto's mind. Have you ever seen him sit with anyone else? Even talk to anyone else if he wasn't approached first?

Naruto shook his head again. What am I thinking? This is Uchiha Sasuke we're talking about. He probably just considers things like friends beneath his dignity or something.

Successfully dismissing the subject of Sasuke, Naruto's eyes gradually drifted up to the sky. That cloud looks kinda like a duck. He thought idly as he rested his back against the tree.

XoXoXo

Several hours (and one detention) later Naruto was walking home. His hands were in his pockets and his back was slightly slouched. The light from the setting sun cast the nearby river in an orange glow.

As he wandered along the dirt path he noticed a figure sitting slumped on a small wooden dock. As he got closer he could make out more details. It was a kid about his age. Somewhat small with a dark shirt and black hair.

It wasn't until the figure turned to look at him that he realized it was Sasuke. Once again Naruto was taken aback by the loneliness he recognized on his rivals face. And Naruto made a split second decision. It was a small choice, but it would change the future of the entire shinobi world. He smiled down at his rival. Sasuke started briefly then offered him a small smile in return.

Naruto slid down the riverbank and clattered onto the dock as Sasuke rose to greet him. "Hi." Naruto said.

"Hi" Sasuke responded. There was an awkward pause as Naruto realized he hadn't really thought this through. It's not like he could just say "Hey you looked lonely and I don't get why a genius like you wouldn't have friends but we could be friends if you wanted". Even he had a little more tact than that. Not a lot granted but enough.

"Sooo… What are you doing here?" he asked hoping Sasuke would provide a subject of conversation.

"Just… Looking at the river I suppose" Sasuke replied.

Naruto stared intently into the river for several long seconds. "Hmmm… Nope can't see anything interesting" he decided.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well what would you do with a river? It's just a lot of moving water" he said.

"Well…" Naruto thought for a moment. "How about skipping stones?" he suggested.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You've never done it?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"It's kinda like throwing a shuriken. You wanna find a flat stone…" Naruto said looking around the river bank for an appropriate pebble. Finding one he held it up so Sasuke could see.

"Then you throw like this" he said flicking the stone across the water. It skipped twice then sunk.

"So like this?" Sasuke asked, taking a similar pebble. He flicked his wrist, imitating Naruto as best as he could. The stone skipped once and sunk.

"Yeah exactly." Naruto agreed grinning.

The two of them skipped stones together until the light started to fade.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"It's getting hard to see the stones. We should go soon"

"I guess. One last throw? See who gets the most skips?"

"Sure. What's the bet?"

"I wouldn't wanna make a bet of it Sasuke. You just learned this today after all."

"Scared I'll beat you?"

"Fine then you're on. Loser has to walk home backwards."

"Agreed"

Sasuke threw first. His stone only skipped once before striking a low hanging tree branch and sinking.

"Wow, great shot Sasuke." Naruto said sarcastically.

"The tree got in the way." Sasuke grumbled.

"You're blaming the tree?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Sasuke glared at him. Naruto relented. "Fine, fine. We won't count that one. You can go again after me. But only because you're new at this!"

Naruto fired off his stone. It was a great throw, skipping four times before sinking.

"Ha! Beat that Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed exuberantly.

"Don't get cocky" Sasuke growled, though he wasn't looking nearly so confident. He threw his final stone. It splashed into the water and sunk to the bottom without even skipping once.

"Yes! Backwards you go!" Naruto crowed.

"Didn't I tell you not to get cocky loser? I'll kick your ass next time!" Sasuke said, but his words had no real heat in them.

"Sure Sasuke. Maybe tomorrow your stones won't instantly sink. And no tree branches will bother you." Naruto taunted.

"That was just a fluke! Shut up." Sasuke grumbled.

"Sure. Sure." Naruto said walking back up the hill. "See you tomorrow Sasuke. Assuming you can find your way to the school"

"Oh screw you Naruto!" Sasuke said as he struggled to climb up the riverbank backwards. After a few moments he gave up trying to do this the normal way and crabwalked up the slope.

XoXoXo

As Naruto lay in bed that night he reflected on the events of the day. He'd been yelled at by a teacher for doing well, fallen in mud, failed a test, gotten detention for a month, and maybe, just maybe he'd made a friend. A proper friend. For the first time in his life. All in all a pretty good day he decided as he drifted off to sleep.