American Konoha

Naruto

Algerbra II

It all started when I made the mistake of flunking Algerbra II. The teacher gave me a deal.

"Look, Naruto." He began. "I really, really don't want to fail you."

I'd heard the story about a thousand times and it always ended with the teacher failing me anyway so I shoved my hands into my pockets and pretended there were bubbles popping around his head.

"But if you can ace one group project... Just one." He told me. "I'll pass you."

My eyebrows jumped up and I looked at him in shock.

"You'd really do that Iruka Sensei?" I asked him.

He smiled.

"Of course. I know you're a good kid, Naruto. You just need some help. That's why I'm going to give you access to all the help you need."

At the time, I just assumed he meant a couple textbooks with the answers in the back or a cheat sheet and almost jumped for joy at the aspect of being rewarded and not punished for failing. But then, I ran into the rest of the deal.

"You can come in now!"

The door opened and a boy with jet black feathery hair, dark eyes and pale skin strode into the room.

"Naruto Uzumaki, meet Sasuke Uchiha." He said, grinning at what I'm sure he thought was a hilarious joke. "Your project partner."

I turned to Iruka, slack jawed. He held his finger up, daring me to complain.

"If you fail Algebra, you'll be kicked off the soccer team." He reminded me. "So, which is better...doing one simple project and keeping your extracurriculars or losing it all?"

But why does it have to be him?

"I'll do it." I said simply.

Sasuke hadn't made eye contact with me that entire time but slowly, his eyes rose to mine.

"Don't think I'm doing this just out of the goodness of my heart." He told me. "The more hopeless idiots I tutor, the more collateral I get for scholarships."

I could've thrown up...

So, five days later, I was sitting in the living room of my one story ranch house going over Algebraic equations that this asshole insisted I need to know if we do the project correctly.

"It's simple." He went on. "The numerical formula is nothing more or less than substitutions for symbols."

The way he spoke, it was like everyone and everything were beneath him. It was only our fourth day working on the project together but I felt like I'd been working on it with him for years...

"Once you understand the meaning behind the symbols, work through the problem and answer accordingly."

It's like he believes he's some kind of award winning scientist...which I'm sure he will be someday...

"Are you even listening?"

I blinked, clearing the glaze that had most likely grown over my eyes.

"Yeah." I lied.

"How are we going to do a project about the extra mathematically proven dimensions of the universe if you can't even understand Trigonometry." He said, condescendingly.

I put my head on my arms and sighed.

"This is Algebra." I muttered. "No one said anything about Trig."

"It's all connected." He pointed out. "But what would you know... You're just a jock, right?"

I balled my fists.

I'm sure Iruka- Sensei is getting a big laugh out of pairing me with this guy. Knowing full well we've never held a conversation in our lives and were more opposite than night and day...

He nudged me.

"Usuratonkachi." he muttered. "Get back to work."

"At this point, I feel like I'd rather just fail." I muttered.

He was silent for a while and then he sighed.

"Look." He said, grabbing my collar and forcing my head up.

I reluctantly pulled my head up as he scribbled some numbers down on the paper.

"SOHCAHTOA." I read. "What the hell is that?"

"Your ticket to passing." He said.

He went over it briefly and though I didn't understand it completely, I could finally see a slither of light in the dark tunnel I called math.

"If you can, at least, understand how to work around a right triangle and explain how it works like how I just explained it to you, then I'll do the rest." He said.

"Why didn't you just do this earlier?!" I exclaimed.

He ignored me.

"Can you draw?" he asked.

I shrugged, reflecting on a memory of marking up some poor unsuspecting person's walls with blue, red and green crayon as a child. I considered my art work to be pretty decent.

"Then just work on drawing out examples that you can hold up and I'll do all the talking." He said.

I glanced over him quickly. He wore khaki colored skinny jeans and a navy blue, red and white plaid shirt with a navy blue cardigan over it, both rolled up to his elbows. He always dressed like he was going to a photo shoot or something. It struck me as something a showoff would do.

I was very well acquainted with Sasuke Uchiha. Not personally. I'd never even spoken to the guy until the day Iruka Sensei introduced us but he was in almost every single one of my classes. Always making the highest grades. The kind of kid you hate on sight because he makes all the slackers look worse than they would have otherwise. And also, very quiet and observant. He usually wore dark colors, too. Most people pegged him as the emo, loner type. But he was the prospective valedictorian so even though no one knew him, everyone still knew of him.

I worked on drawing out perfect triangles and making diagrams for them as Sasuke worked out problems we'd be displaying in our presentation.

"So, you're really willing to just fail like that?" he asked me suddenly.

I paused what I was doing and slowly looked up at him.

That's the first time he's ever addressed me without sounding like an asshole...

"Yeah." I replied. "Not like anyone around here cares anyway. All I wanted was to keep my grades high enough to stay on the soccer team. But if that doesn't happen, fuck it. I'll just go to the military."

"Spoken like a true jock."

I rolled my eyes.

Spoke too soon.

"So, what?! Just because I'm not so uptight about my grades like you, Emo boy?"

He grimaced, continuing to look down at his paper.

"Emo boy?" he asked. "Is that what people call me? I wasn't aware..."

I paused for a second, taking in his facial expression. Somehow, he seemed downcast. Then suddenly, he looked up at me with his usual emotionless attitude.

"Get back to work."

I shook my head and bent down over my paper.

Right... No way the all-serious Sasuke Uchiha would ever show a sign of weakness...

A guy like him didn't even know the meaning of true hardship. He'd never failed a test a day in his life. He was incredibly clean-cut and aloof. Just looking at him in school made me pissed, like he thought he was better than everyone or something just because he got good grades and never wore jeans. Girls threw themselves at him left and right but he'd never shown any interest. Just another way for him to show that he was too good...

I was glad when it edged around 7pm.

"Maybe we should call it a-"

The door swung open loudly. I turned to see Tsunade pulling a pissed looking Konohamaru into the house angrily.

"Do you have to cause problems everywhere you go?!" she yelled.

I glanced back at Sasuke wearily but he was already stacking his books. I raised my eyebrows.

"Eager to leave?"

"I have a curfew." He said curtly. "I didn't realize the time."

I watched as he pulled on his backpack, which was more like a messenger bag that went over his left shoulder and hung down across his chest on his right hip, and grabbed his keys.

"We'll probably just have to meet one more time." He said. "Since it'll be due on Monday. See you tomorrow afternoon."

I opened my mouth to say something but my noisy house interrupted me.

"Just leave me alone!" Konohamaru yelled, running around the corner.

There was a very audible door slam a couple seconds later. Sasuke, the king of disinterest, left the table quickly and wordlessly. Tsunade leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed as Sasuke hurried past her.

After the door closed with a clean "click", Tsunade pushed a cigarette into her mouth and blew the smoke out in my direction.

"So, now I don't even get to know who your new friends are?"

"He's not my friend." I said, quickly leaving the room.

Konohamaru

I loped down the hallway pausing in front of Konohamaru's door.

"Hey." I said, knocking quietly.

I heard the bedsprings creak and a second later, the door opened and he poked his head out.

"What happened?" I asked.

He was looking down. His dark brown hair was mostly covered by a dark gray beanie. He played with the doorknob.

"Shit." He replied.

"Like...?"

"It was all Ebisu Sensei's fault! He's had it out for me since day one!"

"What happened, man?" I repeated.

He rolled his eyes and leaned up against the door frame.

"I punched him the face, okay?!"

"The teacher?" I asked, eyes wide.

"I told him to get out of my face." he muttered. "It's not my fault if he didn't take the warning."

"What the hell did he do?"

"He made me read a passage out of the textbook..." he began.

Uh oh...

"And when I kept messing up the words, the kids started laughing at me. So, I told them to fuck off or else I'd kick their asses. And I was about to beat up this one kid, too, but then Ebisu got all up in my face."

He started cracking his knuckles, something I noticed he did when he was irritated.

"He said he'd call my Mom if I didn't sit back down and start reading again. And I told him that if I had a Mom, I'd call her my damn self." He said. "He wouldn't back up and kept trying to threaten me, so I punched him. Big deal."

I shook my head.

Even though punching an entire teacher was definitely going to get him expelled and/or sent to juvie, I couldn't help but admire him. He had some serious balls. That's why I didn't mind having him as a foster brother.

"So how did Tsunade end up in all this?" I asked.

"The principal called her after they expelled me." he said. "Hell if I care."

"How many times do you have to fail the fifth grade before you learn your lesson?" I asked. "At this rate, you'll graduate when you're forty."

"So what?" he asked. "I'll just join the military."

...Doesn't that sound familiar?

I pulled his hat down over his face and pushed him back into his room.

"Go to school, man." I shouted to him. "You'll live longer!"

"Whatever!" he said before closing the door.

I walked back into the living room where Tsunade sat with her feet up on the table covering my Algebra work. I shoved my hands into my pockets.

"Hey!"

She glanced at me.

"What do you want?" she asked. "Food? I'm not cooking anything."

"Since when do you ever cook!?" I retorted.

She took a swig of some alcohol in a bottle on the table and squinted at me.

"Hopefully, you're not here to nitpick because I'll tell you ahead of time, I don't give a damn."

"It's about Konohamaru." I said.

"That bastard child?" she asked.

She was seriously ticking me off. One of the main reasons I avoided talking to her.

"You should take him to a therapist or something." I went on. "Or else he's going to keep getting kicked out of school."

She continued drinking.

"It's not his fault he has dyslexia and he can't read in class but he needs to learn how to deal with his anger issues."

She put her cigarette out on my math notebook.

And now she's testing my anger issues...

"I'm serious." I said.

Finally, she made direct eye contact with me.

"I never wanted to be a mother, you know?" she said. "But the feds told me, the only way I could squeeze out of all my gambling debts was if I became a foster parent."

I rolled my eyes.

The same damn story...

"And now I'm busting my ass, going to work, trying to provide for a couple of insolent brats who aren't even mine and you've got the nerve to tell me that I need to pay EXTRA money for a damn therapist?!" she asked, voice rising with each syllable.

"You don't even go to work!" I protested. "All you do is collect unemployment!"

"That's because I'm sick! How dare you ask a sick woman to pay money that she doesn't have?!" she spat at me.

We're just going to go around in circles... Like we do every time I ask her for something.

"I'm paying all this money for him to go to school!" she went on. "The least he can do is pass the damn grade without them interrupting my precious time to pick him up every other day!"

"You don't pay for public school, you idiot!" I shouted over her.

She glared at me.

"What the hell did you just call me?"

I said nothing. She plucked the cigarette out of her mouth and blew another puff of smoke out at me.

"Why don't you get a job and buy him a therapist yourself if you're so worried about him?" she asked me. "I don't have time for something as ridiculous as that."

"Maybe I will." I muttered, grabbing my jacket and heading toward the front door.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I shouted back.

I passed the hallway on my way to the front door and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Konohamaru leaning against the wall next to his bedroom. We locked eyes momentarily and then I pulled the door open and swung it closed.

Soccer

The truth was that I had no idea where I was going. Usually, when I fought with Tsunade I walked around the block a couple times to clear my head and then came back. But at that time, I had no intention of going back. I ended up in Kiba's backyard about an hour later throwing pebbles at his bedroom window on the second floor. Kiba was one of my soccer teammates. He was a forward, just like I was. We practiced together a lot but we weren't like best friends or anything. My life at home was so hectic, I'd never really gotten close to friends because I was worried they'd find out about my dysfunctional family.

Kiba slowly raised his bedroom window and peeked out.

"Dude, it's like 9pm on a school night." He said. "What do you want?"

"Perfect time for a soccer rematch." I said. "Or are you too much of a bitchass?"

I could tell just by the way his bottom lip curled up that I had him.

"Wait right there."

Kiba was an incredibly simple guy. He never turned down a bet. Ever.

My mind wandered back to a time at the beginning of the year when I was just getting to know my main clique. Choji and Shikamaru, two close friends of ours who weren't soccer players, came camping with us in the forest.

I dipped my hand into the water and shot back up onto the shore.

"Shit! That water is cold!" I exclaimed.

Choji dipped his own finger in and agreed.

"Yeah, let's put our sleeping bags down further up the shore."

"What?!" Kiba asked. "But the sunrise will be perfect from this angle. Naruto's just a bitch, he's probably lying."

I grinned, understanding "gang" initiation perfectly. Even though Shikamaru was too lazy to pick on me and Choji was too hungry, Kiba had been giving me a bit of a tough time. But I was a common street kid, I knew exactly how to "earn my stripes".

"Why don't you try it?" I asked.

He lifted his head cockily and reached down to put his hand it.

"Not like that." I said, nudging him. "Let's make it fun. Why don't you skinny dip? If you're so confident it's not cold."

He appraised me. I kept eye contact with him. Choji whistled as he munched on a bag of chips. Shikamaru didn't even glance up from his cellphone.

"This is so bothersome..." He muttered as he texted.

"Fine." Kiba said, immediately removing his shirt.

I got Shikamaru to video tape Kiba with his Nokia phone as he dove head first into the freezing cold January water.

"AGHHH!" he yelled, screaming so loudly I could hear his voice getting hoarse. "Sofaking cold! Sofaking cold!"

Choji and I were rolling around in the dirt laughing our asses off and Shikamaru could barely hold his phone still. Kiba wadded out of the water with deadly pale skin, shivering from head to toe. Suddenly, he grabbed his crotch and started hoping around.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

We all stared at him running around in circles.

"There's fucking leeches on my balls!" he shouted.

I stared at Choji, both of our faces twitched and we burst into laughter again.

"I'm serious. There's leeches on my balls, dude!" he shouted, running toward us.

"Hey! Don't bring that shit over here!" I yelled at him, through the laughter.

"They won't come off!" Kiba exclaimed, with his voice cracking.

That video's still on Youtube's funniest douchebag moments to this day...

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Kiba asked me.

We were walking to the nearby soccer field and I was still grinning from that memory.

"Oh nothing, just leeches." I joked.

He scoffed.

"I got you back later for that anyway."

I rolled my eyes.

"It's not getting me back if you did it, too." I pointed out.

Kiba dared me to get a crazy tattoo on my face and, smartly, I dared him to do the same thing. So we were both sitting there with ink needles inches above our faces when the tattoo artist asked me what I wanted.

"Uh... I don't know." I said, shrugging. "Something simple."

Kiba already knew what he wanted, red stripes. I didn't want to get something that bold but I didn't want to turn down the bet either.

"Just give me some whiskers." I said, imaging a lion. "Three on each side."

"Got it." The guy said, bringing the needle to life.

I acted as goalie. Kiba kicked the ball to me and it cleared my head and hit the net behind me.

"You suck, man!" he called.

I rolled my eyes and kicked it back to him.

"Coming from the guy who hasn't scored all season!" I retorted.

"What are you talking about, dude?" he asked. "I score all the time at practice!"

"I wasn't talking about soccer!" I retorted.

It took him a second but understanding spread across his face, and then irritation. He kicked the ball at me with ferocity but I caught it that time.

"Shut up!" he said. "Just cause I'm patient doesn't mean I don't score."

I laughed.

"Patient? Who the hell are you waiting for?" I asked, kicking the ball back to him.

"Hinata, of course." He said.

Hinata? Oh yeah, right... Neji's cousin. Neji's a soccer player, too. He's also a forward. He used to be our best player, that is, until yours truly hit the field.

"But she's too busy worrying about your sorry ass." He said, giving me another one of those scary, curved kicks.

I didn't even try to catch that one. There was a good reason I wasn't goalie.

"That reminds me." he said. "Why don't you ever go out with Hinata?"

"Because I knew you liked her, man." I said. "She's all yours."

His irritation fizzed out and he smirked at me.

"You better believe she's all mine."

But that was a lie. The real reason I wasn't interested in Hinata seriously was because she's too...available. Why would I like a girl that I could have any old day? Though...that didn't stop me from smashing a couple of times. I mean, if she's giving, I'm definitely taking...

"So, who the hell have you hooked up with anyway?" he asked.

But I'd never tell Kiba that I'd already been up and through the girl of his dreams...

"Uh, I'm looking at Sakura right now." I said, walking toward him with the ball in hand.

"The head cheerleader?" he asked. "As if. I heard from Rock Lee she likes smart boys."

Oddly, a memory of Sasuke Uchiha popped into my head. I shook it away.

She said smart boys, not nerds...

"Why the hell would Rock Lee know anyway?" I asked.

Kiba laughed as though it was a really funny question.

"Dude, he's liked her since before pre-k!" he told me.

Even though Rock Lee was the goalie of our team, I didn't hang around him excessively so that was something I wouldn't know.

I smirked.

I wonder if Rock Lee would fight me if I won Sakura over from him... Eh, doesn't really matter. I could probably take him.

"So, what makes you like Sakura anyway?" he asked. "It's not like she has any tits."

I cocked my head.

He's right. She's flat as a pancake...

"That confidence she has." I said, passing the ball to him. "She doesn't even have to look the best. It's just like...she thinks she looks awesome."

"That's called vanity, my friend. All the crazy girls have it. I recommend you stay far away."

He kicked the ball up onto his knees and did a couple tricks where he kicked it over his head and onto his heel.

"Besides." He went on. "Ino's way sexier than her. And she's co-head cheerleader."

"Ino seems like a bitch." I remarked.

"She is." He replied. "But dat ass..."

He kicked the ball over to me and I caught it on the side of my ankle and kicked it up onto my head.

"I'd over look her bitchiness any day for a taste of that..." he said. "No lie."

I imagined Ino in my head and nodded.

"True." I agreed.

"Anyway." He said. "I need to get back home. I told my Mom I'd only be out for a couple hours."

"Alright." I said. "But can I keep the ball?"

"Yeah, I don't care." He said. "But hey, man, remember... We're racing Shika's Dad's cars around the wastelands tomorrow! You'll be there, right?"

"Fuck yeah!" I exclaimed, pumping my fists.

I watched as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. It was already eleven at night. I lay down in the grass next to the goal in the middle of the park and sighed. I gazed at the stars over head wondering if it'd be a better idea to just sleep in the field instead of going home.

Sasuke

Brothers

"How are you doing?"

I looked both ways and quickly crossed the street.

"Fine." I mumbled.

I pinned the phone between my shoulder and cheek as I flipped through my wallet.

Dammit, only five dollars? What the hell happened to the rest of my money?

"You don't sound too fine."

But that's a stupid question. The same person always steals my money...

"How good can 'fine' sound?" I replied.

I heard him sigh. I entered the convince store and picked up an energy drink and some poptarts. The best my money could afford.

"So..." he went on. "How's school?"

"Fine."

"Sasuke, please don't blow off every question I ask like-"

"I'm not blowing it off." I replied. "It's fine. School's fine, home's fine, everything's just fine."

"You're lying to me."

"Well, then why don't you come home and find out how everything is going yourself?!"

"You know I can't do that, I'm busy."

I rolled my eyes.

"You just keep yourself busy." I replied. "As an excuse."

"Can I get a break?" he asked.

I didn't reply. I walked into the park and looked around for a bench to sit on.

"You know that I...wish I could've been there for you." He said quietly.

I unwrapped the silver packaging and pushed a piece of the poptart into my mouth.

"I wish things had been different but..."

I swallowed.

"We're all the way across the country from each other." He told me. "And I can't be around you all the time."

But you're never around me. I see you like once every two years...

"I told you I'd pick you up when I got my situation right, didn't I?"

"I know that."

"Be patient, Sasuke." He said. "I have to go now."

I feel like every single one of our conversations end the exact same way...

"Okay."

And even though I promise myself every time I hang up that I won't answer the phone next time, I always, always answer.

"I love you, bro."

"I know." I replied.

And every time I listen to the dial tone after he hangs up I think the same thing...

I hate you, Itachi.

School

I walked around the park after I finished my midnight snack. Not really looking for anything or thinking about anything. It was really random what happened next. Just like everything that had to do with him. I walked through the field, planning to just go home once and for all and saw him lying there next to the goal post. He had his left arm around a soccer ball and slept peacefully like the middle of the park was the most normal place for him to be taking a nap. Half of me wanted to take out my frustrations on him and wake him up and the other half wanted to just ignore him. Wild guess which side won.

"Dobe..." I said kicking him. "Wake up."

He blinked and then scratched his blonde hair and sat up.

"What the hell are you doing sleeping in the middle of a field?"

He looked around sleepily.

"I don't really remember." He said, yawning.

Then he looked down at the soccer ball next to him and slapped his forehead.

"Oh! Right! I was practicing with Kiba." He said, then he looked up at me for the first time. "What are you doing out here?"

"Taking a walk." I said quickly.

That was a bit too quickly...

He seemed to think so, too.

"At this hour?" he questioned.

"Who the hell sleeps in a field at this hour?" I asked, rebounding his question.

"Obviously, I do." He said.

"Then what's so strange about me taking a walk?" I asked.

He shrugged and retook his position lying on his back. I stared down at him as his blue eyes shined up at the stars. The nearest lamp post was all the way across the field. It was actually a pretty decent place to star gaze.

"So, you're not using this extra time to study?" he asked.

"Is that all you think I do?"

"Isn't it?"

I rolled my eyes.

"School is school. But I have other interests."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Like what?"

"Not soccer." I said, bending down and picking the ball up. "How does this stupid sport work anyway?"

He rolled his eyes.

"You kick the ball into the net. Simple."

"As simple as Algebra?" I asked him.

"Way simpler than that shit."

I stepped on the ball, popping it up and then kicked it toward the net we were standing next to. It went clean in and rolled back over to me. He raised his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't make a bad forward." He commented.

"Save it." I muttered.

He smirked at me.

"What? You think you're too good for sports? Emo boy?" he asked, reaching over and punching me in the arm.

I jumped back and held it, wincing. He cocked his head.

"That hurt? Maybe you are weak."

I glared at him.

I'm not weak...

"Shut your stupid mouth!" I retorted.

It's just...

He smiled at me.

"I'm just kidding." He said.

I felt a quick vibration in my pocket and immediately slipped my phone out of my pocket.

"You will remember our conversation if you know what's good for you." the text read.

"Naruto!"

We both turned around to see a mid-height kid with spiky gelled dark brown hair walking toward us in plaid pajama pants, flip-flops and an over-large t-shirt. I immediately recognized the kid from Naruto's house. I assumed it was his younger brother. He looked to be around eleven or twelve years old... He also looked like a punk. One of those troubled kids who always disrupted class and got suspended. Seemed like the kind of kid Naruto would be a role model to...

But Naruto's reaction surprised me.

"What are you doing out so late!?" he exclaimed, walking toward him.

He bowed his head, ashamed in a way I hadn't seen him act with their mother.

"Are you crazy? It's a Friday morning, you have school in like four hours!"

"I'm expelled, remember?"

"I don't care!" he said. "Go home right now."

The kid looked at me from around Naruto.

"What are you doing hanging around this cornball anyway?" he asked me.

Naruto grabbed his head and gently shoved him backwards.

"What I do is none of your business." He said sternly. "I'm serious, Konohamaru. Get your ass home."

He sighed.

"I just wanted to tell you something and I knew you always come here."

"What?"

He hunched his shoulders and his bottom lip stuck out.

"You don't have to get a job for me."

I raised my eyebrows.

A job?

"I can take care of myself, okay? So just worry about you." He went on. "And...come back home...please."

Naruto looked down at him and smiled, slowly bending down onto his level.

"Hey." He said.

Konohamaru looked up slowly.

"I'm not going anywhere. I was just pissed. I'll be home later." He said. "Now, go to sleep."

Konohamaru grinned and they fist bumped. Naruto stood up straight and watched as he made his way across the field in the direction of their ranch house.

"Cornball, huh?" I asked.

Naruto turned and held his hands up surrender.

"You're a math nerd, man. What do you expect him to think?" he asked, between bursts of laughter.

I rolled my eyes. My phone vibrated again. This time I didn't even pick it up. The bruise on my upper shoulder pulsated painfully. Naruto sat back down in the grass and tossed the soccer ball between his fingers.

This guy's such an idiot. He clearly lives for nothing except the glory of scoring a goal. School is his sanctuary. He walks around with his group of soccer jocks, winks at the girls, goes to class late and parties on the weekends. He's that guy. On the other hand, I'm the valedictorian, most likely to succeed, the one everyone tries to talk to at least one time just in case their credit gets fucked up in the future and they need a connection. We're as opposite as night and day...

"Wanna take a seat?" he asked.

"As if I don't have better places to be than wasting my time with you?"

"Well, it's two in the morning and you're in a soccer field...sure does look that way." He joked.

I couldn't find any way to retort so I seemingly reluctantly sat down.

It was impossible not to know of "Naruto Uzumaki". He was the captain of the soccer team. And at our school, soccer was the most heavily watched sport. I couldn't help but glance at him in class, seething over the ease with which everything was given to him. Such an idiot guy probably never had to endure anything difficult or painful in his life. I truthfully hated him.

"So, who do you hang out with anyway?"

"Like...friends?" I mumbled.

Why am I even here?

"Naw, I meant pets."

I sighed.

"No one, really. I'm too busy for playtime."

He laughed.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

"Yeah, well... I'm as dull as it gets." I muttered.

But... the way he acted with his younger brother... It was like he actually cared about that hopeless kid's wellbeing even though it was clear, at least to me, that a kid like that was beyond hope. And somehow... It was like Naruto was the only thing grounding him. It intrigued me...

"So, what's up with your little brother anyway?"

He had his arms crossed on his knees and he was looking up at the stars but then he brought his eyes back down to me.

"Little brother?"

I looked at him.

"You forgot about him that quickly?"

"Oh!" he said.

I could've heard an audible "click" in his brain.

"You mean Konohamaru?" he asked. "He's not my brother."

I continued staring at him.

"Well... I just assumed...because your Mom brought him to your house like that-"

"My Mom?!" he exclaimed.

I paused.

"You've got it all wrong, dude. I'm adopted." He said. "Konohamaru's my foster brother and that asshole woman is the widow of my deceased Godfather."

He smiled at the confusion on my face and laughed.

"My parents died when I was just born." He explained. "I was tossed around a lot in foster homes before I finally settled down with my God father, Jiraiya, and Tsunade when I was twelve. But then... he ended up dying, too. So... I was stuck with Tsunade since then. Konohamaru's just a foster kid that Tsunade's housing for the money. He could be moved somewhere else at any moment."

Could his life really be that rough? That guy? Could he have truly felt some kind of pain?

Just like that, my previous assumptions were dismantled. I tried to hold onto my previous idea of who he was. I hated being wrong. Especially about something I was certain about. I was certain that Naruto Uzumaki was a jerk. I wanted to prove it.

"How did your parents die?"

"A couple of ground mines... Back when the war was really bad."

"They were both soldiers?"

He nodded.

"It was actually a big mistake. My father was a front line soldier but my mother was just a war nurse. They weren't even both supposed to be there at the same time. A freak accident, really." He said, looking back up at the stars. "But hey... Shit happens."

I picked the grass and crushed it between my fingers.

"Right..." I mumbled.

He's even being slightly optimistic about it... Unlike me. I'll probably never understand the optimistic way of life.

"Sorry for having such a dysfunctional family." He went on. "I had a feeling it made you uncomfortable earlier."

And now he's apologizing for something? This... This definitely isn't how I would've expected Naruto Uzumaki to be.

"You're wrong." I replied. "I told you... I had a curfew."

"At 7pm?" he asked, looking back at me. "I might be stupid but I'm not that stupid."

I sighed.

"I'm not lying." I said quietly.

He smirked.

"What? Are you grounded?" he asked.

I didn't reply. He nudged me.

"Well?" he questioned.

"My Uncle's just an asshole." I finally said.

"You're a junior in high school, dude." He joked. "That's child cruelty."

I pretended not to hear him. Instead, I took out my phone which held four more unread messages by the same sender saying the same thing in different ways. I quickly deleted them all.

"You said Uncle." He realized suddenly. "You live with your Uncle?"

"He's not really my Uncle." I said, not looking up from my phone. "More like a distant family relative."

"Yeah, Tsunade's the same way. She's actually a lot older than she looks but you know, those breast implants..."

"'Tch." I muttered. "I wasn't even paying attention to something like that."

He laughed.

"Oh, suuuure you weren't." he said.

I flicked over a message from a girl in my Chemistry class. She'd been texting me almost non-stop ever since I gave her my number. It was slightly annoying.

"Whoa, let me see that!"

I jerked back, startled, as he pulled himself closer to me and grabbed my phone.

"Hey, wait! Give it back!"

"You have Sakura Haruno's phone number?" he asked, with his jaw-dropped.

"I have to have it!" he said.

"We just worked on a Chem project together. I needed to contact her to set up dates." I explained.

"You went on a date?!"

I scoffed.

"It wasn't even like that."

"Oh suuuure it wasn't." he protested, holding me back as he went through my contacts.

I pushed against him, pinning him to the grass. He laughed playfully like a little kid.

"No way!" he exclaimed. "I'm getting this number!"

"I'm seriously going to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try!" he squealed.

He held me back with his arm and thrust the phone far away from me.

"I'll give it back to you if you promise to text me her number!"

"For what?!" I asked.

"What do you mean for what?" he asked. "Clearly, so I can get some!"

Obviously, I spoke too soon... This guy is exactly the kind of girl-crazed, sex maniac I thought he was.

"No!" I said.

"Okay, then just tell me." he said. "Did you smash?"

I squinted at him.

"What?!"

"Did. You. Smash." He repeated.

What the hell does 'smash' mean?

I went through a hundred records of teenage slang in the blink of an eye and used the assistance of context clues to help me along.

Oh! He means...

"No, I didn't have sex with her." I muttered, feeling annoyed. "I told you, it was just a project."

He laughed.

"Yeah... A project on the back of dat ass." He joked, tossing me the phone.

I rolled my eyes and sat up. I looked at the screen to see that my phone had just called a number I didn't recognize.

"Who the hell did you call?" he asked.

Naruto smiled.

"Myself." He replied. "Now I have your number, jerk."

That didn't bother me too much. As long as he didn't text me constantly like all those girls...

"Dude, are you going to sit on me all night?"

"Oh, sorry." I said, rolling off him.

But even as I pulled myself off of him, he stayed in a lying position.

"I don't think I'm going to school today." He muttered.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Why not?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I have all the classes I hate today." He explained.

Which probably included Algebra...

"Let's skip." He suggested to me.

"Don't you have a game or something?" I asked.

"That's tomorrow night." He reminded me. "And besides, that has nothing to do with school."

I looked at my phone again as another message popped up on it.

"Yeah, okay." I agreed.

His eyes widened.

"I can't believe it... I just got the valedictorian of my entire year to play hookey. What else can you do?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever." I remarked.

"But actually, now that I think about it, you are absent often, aren't you?" he pondered.

I shrugged, avoiding his eyes.

"Any ideas on what we should do?" I asked.

He grinned.

"What everyone does when they skip school..." he said. "Skate- Park!"

He rolled farther onto his back and then jumped straight onto his feet and stood up.

"Come on."

He lowered his hand out to me and as I grabbed it, I couldn't help but feel like I was making one of the biggest mistakes of my life...

But what's life if you don't do something incredibly stupid once in a while?

Friends

I stood on top of what Naruto classified as a half pipe watching as he took the twenty foot plunge down the decline. He bolted toward the other side, spun around in the air a couple times, then came back my way landing perfectly on the ledge I was sitting on. He grinned at me.

No helmet... No elbow pads or knee pads... Young and Reckless wasn't even close...

"You want to try it out?"

"Does it look like I want to try something as ridiculous as that?"

He grinned at me.

"Come on, man. You Only Live Once." He said, nudging me.

Something about that phrase resounded with me.

"Fine."

I took the skateboard from him and walked over to the edge of the half pipe. I took a pre-cursory glance around the skate park. It was barely eight in the morning. The place was almost completely deserted. At least if I busted my ass, he'd be the only one to see it.

"Scared?"

Yes...

I scoffed.

"You wish."

I positioned my board over the ledge.

"Have you ever ridden a board before?" he asked.

I shook my head. I heard him snicker and turned around to see his phone propped up in front of his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Dude, if you fuck up, I have to have evidence."

I reached for the phone.

"Stop!" I said.

He jerked his hand back and my jostling moved the board forward ever so slightly. I felt myself drop. Naruto's eyebrows rose so high his hair covered them.

I could've freaked out... Actually, I probably should have freaked out. But I didn't. I had a very abnormal level of control over my actions and emotions. I riding down a decline at almost a straight 90 degree angle and I didn't even blink. I immediately recalled how Naruto controlled himself on the board by bending his knees and flipped up to the other side. I spun around in the air, dropped back down onto the slant and curtly brought the far end of my board up causing the back end to skid across the wood slowing me down to a stop.

I looked up to see Naruto holding his phone out in front of him with his eyes wider than I'd ever seen them.

"No. Fucking. Way." I heard him say.

He dropped down from the top of the half pipe and ran over to me.

"I got that shit all on video, dude!" he yelled. "Oh my god, this gonna get so many hits!"

I rolled my eyes and brushed my hair back into the swoop bang across my forehead.

"And this guy still has time to fix his hair!" he exclaimed, bringing the camera closer to me.

I pushed it out of my face.

"But seriously, though. It took me my whole life it do a 540!" he exclaimed. "How the hell did you manage that your first try?"

I shrugged.

"I just watched how you did it."

He glanced over my head and then a huge smile broke out onto his face. He darted past me. I turned as he jumped over a rail and ran over to three kids who I didn't recognize that just entered the park. I took my time getting over to them.

"I almost didn't think you guys were going to show up today!"

"You know how long it takes these two to get ready." A girl with short brownish blonde hair remarked. "They're like girls."

Naruto laughed.

"You're still doing that black eye-shadow thing?" he asked.

The boy in front of him crossed his arms and shrugged. Naruto glanced back at me and then smiled and grabbed my arm, forcing me forward.

"This is my personal slave, just call him Emo Boy." He introduced.

I jerked my arm out of his and extended my hand to them.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Nice to meet you."

The girl whistled.

"Oooh, a gentleman." She said, taking my hand. "Not too many of those around here, huh boys?"

The brown haired boy next to her stuck his tongue out at her and the slightly shorter red haired boy reached for my hand next.

"I'm Gaara." He said. "And that's my brother Kankuro and my sister Temari."

They both made faces as they were introduced. I smiled pleasantly.

"So, does school start a bit later for you guys?" I asked.

Everyone except me burst into laughter.

"Did this guy just say school?" Kankuro asked.

Temari was laughing so hard tears came to her eyes.

"I haven't been to school in so long, I barely remember how to get there..." Gaara mumbled.

Temari threw a rolled up gum wrapper at Naruto.

"Why'd you'd bring the Nerd anyway?" she asked him.

It took a lot of restraint not to roll my eyes, turn around and walk home.

Clearly, Naruto's made friends with all the local punks...

I observed them all. The girl named Temari wore very short and tight khaki colored shorts with a black and pink hoodie and black skater sneakers. She alone wore a helmet. Her brothers were without protection just like Naruto. Kankuro wore a gray pullover that said "Skate or Die" in dark purple letters on the front with black and gray striped shorts and dark purple Vans. Gaara wore dark blue extremely skinny jeans and a plain burgundy sweat shirt pulled up to his elbows with dark brown sneakers. Over his dark red hair, which I was one-hundred percent sure he'd dyed, he wore a blue snapback with "SandStorm" written on it in red letters. He had a tattoo on his face just like Naruto, except instead of getting a couple stupid whiskers, he got the Japanese characters for "Love" written on the top left side of his forehead.

What idiots... Don't any of them think of how they'll look trying to get a job with all that shit on their face?

Clearly none of them cared. While I watched, Kankuro and Temari both did what Naruto called "grinding" by sliding down the rails next to the stairs and Gaara practiced a "varial kickflip".

"Why does Kankuro have that purple paint on his face?" I asked Naruto as we watched.

Naruto was doing something on his smart phone and slowly turned to me.

"Huh? Oh... I dunno. It's cool, I guess." He said. "Just like how Gaara always wears that black eyeshadow."

I shook my head.

Why did I think I could use normal logic to make sense of these characters?

"Hey, guys! Come over here!" Naruto suddenly called.

They all stopped what they were doing and jogged over to us.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"You wouldn't believe what I got on camera earlier!" he exclaimed.

"Check it out!"

Naruto pressed the play button on his phone but it went black.

"Nothing happened." Temari pointed out.

"Dammit!" Naruto exclaimed. "I must've had my finger on the lense!"

"You idiot." I muttered. "That's what you get."

"Sasuke! Do it again!" he said shoving me.

"No." I said, pushing him back.

"Come on, just do it!"

"Do what?" Gaara asked.

"He just did a 540 on that deep half pipe. No grabs, man." Naruto said. "And I couldn't even get it on tape!"

Kankuro glanced at me and then shook his head and waved his hands.

"Hell no... That guy?!" he asked, motioning towards me. "Even with grabs, he wouldn't be able to do it! There's no way in hell."

"Did he bust his ass?" Temari asked grinning. "Is that the video?"

"No! He landed that shit!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kankuro continued shaking his head.

"Nahhh. No way, man. No way in hell." He said. "You just learned an Ollie 540 like a week ago."

"I know! That's why I'm going crazy, dude!" Naruto protested. "Sasuke, come on, man, please!"

Gaara was staring at me silently, finally he smirked.

"Well, even if he did do it by some weird ass mistake. He can't do it again." He said, crossing his arms.

I'll take that bet...

I grabbed the skateboard and made my way to the half pipe.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed.

By the time I got all the way up there, I was seriously re-thinking my decision.

Why did I say I was going to skip school again? Oh, yeah... Right... 'Cause I'm just stupid as Naruto... And that's saying something.

"We're not liable for you to sue us!" Kankuro yelled up to me.

I rolled my eyes.

Thanks for the encouragement...

"Are you taping this?" I heard Gaara mutter to Temari.

She grinned and propped an official video camera up in front of her face.

"Hell yes... I'm already thinking of titles for this video..." she said.

"How about 'Emo boy busts his ass'?" Gaara suggested.

They both snickered. I glanced at Naruto who was all smiles, nodding at me like there was no way I wouldn't land it again.

I gritted my teeth, positioned my skateboard over the drop again and dove downward. I bent my knees, pumping for extra power, sped toward the opposite side of the ramp, spun into the air and twisted one and a half times like I did before except... This time, I hit it a bit harder causing me to have to bend my knees and grab the front of the board for support so I spun around an extra half turn. Luckily, I finished spinning by the time the wheels hit the surface. I hit one end of Naruto's skateboard down again slowing me down to a stop in the middle of the half-pipe.

I turned to them. Everyone's mouth was open. Even Gaara.

"Didn't I say it?!" Naruto exclaimed jumping to his feet. "Didn't I fucking say it?!"

His voice brought everyone to life. Temari lowered the camera as Kankuro shook her vigorously.

"Did you count that?" Kankuro said, tapping Temari. "Did you? Did anybody count that?"

"It was a 720." Gaara said. "He just landed a 720 on a halfpipe."

"You gotta be fucking me." Kankuro whispered. Then he started yelling: "You gotta be FUCKING me!"

"This is crazy..." Temari muttered.

Naruto was running over to me. Before I could stop him, he tackled me to the ground.

"I told you guys!" he shouted. "He's a ninja! He's a fucking ninja!"

I half-picked me up off the ground and spun me around.

"Get off me!" I shouted.

But oddly, I didn't feel as angry as I usually would at such an encroachment of personal space. Naruto grinned at me and hugged me again.

"He's a skating God!" he shouted.

The rest of them ran over to us, still half-speechless.

"Am I tripping?!" Kankuro yelled. "Did I smoke weed last night?!"

"Yes, you did." Gaara said. "But you're not tripping. This bastard is from another planet."

Naruto and I looked up at Gaara. I felt an odd sense of pressure. For the first time in my life, I wanted someone other than my brother to acknowledge me. Gaara and I stared at each other. Then he smirked and thrust his fist out toward me. Slowly, I raised my arm and fist bumped him.

"It was pretty cool... Emo boy." He said.

It took me a while. A while sitting in the morning sun, listening to Naruto talk about different skateboard tricks and watching the others practice but slowly, I came to realize something. I'd never...had a group of people to go to. A group of people outside my family to identify with. I'd never had...

"Hey, pick your ass up. We're grabbing a bite to eat!" Kankuro said to me.

"Yeah, let's go, Emo boy." Temari called, winking at me.

"Sasuke. Come on." Naruto called to me.

...Friends.

Author's Note: If you like this story, PLEASE comment below and tell me so. I've basically finished the entire thing but it's pretty long so I decided that I wouldn't upload it unless people wanted me to. (Travel deeper into Naruto and Sasuke's American-esque world meeting your new-old Naruto characters all over again in the next chapter!)