Naruto's pov

The rest of the day dragged on, Iruka's boring ass lectures making it a thousand times worse, my mind focused on the upcoming visit. When the bell to freedom finally did ring, I got up and went over to Menma, making sure to tell him so my dad didn't throw a hissy fit about me being gone. He's gotten so protective of me for some reason, I always have to sneak out now.

Menma, being the emotionless bastard he is, just looked at me with plain eyes and said okay. Sometimes I just want to see him lose his shit, just once. I'll make him one day, just for fun.

I met Sasuke at the door and we began our walk to his house. It was farther than I thought it would be but not hella far, like a good distance. He was quiet the entire time, picking at his nails as we walked. I wanted to tell him to stop, but I didn't know how he'd react, so I didn't. I tried to start a conversation with him but he was too in his head to actually respond.

Is he okay? He's like genuinely tweaking out. He's even mumbling under his breath like he's on drugs.

When we got to his house, he made me wait outside. This doesn't seem very good etiquette like. And for the son of the Hokage? How mean of him. I heard some yelling from inside, then tumbling around, then Sasuke's mom, who I could instantly point out from the picture, opened the door for me.

"Mommy, no!! I told you not to open it yet, Ita and Dei need to go to the room!!" Was that... Sasuke? Whining like that? This is so interesting. His mom smiled at me before excusing herself and closing the door for a second. There was yelling, then it was quiet for a second and this time Sasuke opened the door, mumbling an apology.

I took my shoes off at the door and looked around. It was big as hell and elegant, fitting for the prestigious Uchiha clan that I've heard so much about.

I greeted and introduced myself to Sasuke's parents who gave Sasuke weird and knowing looks for some reason. Oh, that's right. I always forget people still don't like me because I'm a jinchuriki. They've just stopped beating me about it. I don't feel all that welcome now. Fucking great.

Sasuke led me to his room, which was surprisingly modest compared to the rest of the house. There were more sketches pinned to the walls, and a few framed drawings on his desk. I tried to get my mind off of the whole situation that might not even be a situation, but it wasn't that easy. This is why I'd rather just walk around in uniform all day. I hate this village.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you have more," I said, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.

Sasuke smiled a little, "I've been drawing for a long time. It's just something I do."

He went to his closet and pulled out a box from the top shelf, almost falling over from the weight of it. He plopped it down on the bed and started taking out stack after stack of old sketch books. There were some on his desk as well but he quickly looked through them and only gave me two out of the three, putting the other one, along with his one from today, in his drawer.

He picked up a random book and handed it to me. I flipped through the pages, seeing the progression of his skill. There were portraits of his family, landscapes, and even a few of his friends from the academy which I didn't know he had.

"Why don't you make money off this?" I asked, genuinely impressed. "You've got real talent." "Exploiter." 'Kiss my ass'

He looked pleased but a little embarrassed. "Thanks."

I continued flipping through the book until I came across a sketch of me. It wasn't me, but it was me. In uniform. But this wasn't recent, this was a while ago, like two years ago. I didn't say anything yet because it might not actually be me.

That's a lie, I'm the only mother fucker that wields dual blades, has that mask, and wears all black bandages!!

I wasn't looking for pictures of anyone anymore, I was looking for me. And fucking hell did I find them. Me, me, me, and some more me. He's this obsessed with ANBU me but can't communicate with actual me?!

"Naruto, are you... jealous of yourself?" 'I'm not fucking jealous! Shut up!'

"Sasuke, who's this?" I asked, showing him the drawing of me which seemed most recent. He looked a bit taken aback by my question, like he's shocked I found those pictures. If anyone should be shocked, it's me! Isn't this borderline stalking!?

He put his book down and went to go grab the book from me, "It's nobody..." So I'm nobody now? He's so cruel!! "That's an ANBU, no?" I'll push the topic until he tells me. "Well, yeah... don't tell my brother! I swear to God, Naruto, you better not tell him!"

"Okay, okay, I won't, I promise." Trust me, there is not a single thing I could possibly gain from telling him anything.

Sasuke laid on his bed and covered his head with his pillow. "He's such an asswipe. I had like so many more drawings of him, but Itachi found them and burned them, then started yelling and screaming at me!"

That must be why he was so upset with him when he found him out there talking to me. Sasuke's so obsessed. And then he was gonna talk to me like he didn't know who I was. He knew what he was doing.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"Maybe he's just trying to look out for you?", I offered. Or maybe he is just upset that I joined the ranks younger than him and I'm so much better than him. It's probably neither, I'm an absolute mess and after all the missions he's done with me, it makes sense he doesn't want his little brother anywhere near me.

Someone opened Sasuke's door and a couple people crowded in, none of them taking their eyes off of me. This feels all too familiar, I hate it. Sasuke sat up and looked at them, then followed their eyes to me, then turned a little pink, "Mom!!" "Sasuke, are you sure you want the door closed?", she asked, glancing at him for a split second.

"Yes! Why are you guys so weird about everything??", he groaned. "Well, it's just... y'know.." she looked back at me.

Yeah, I definitely don't feel welcome here. "Burn this place to the ground." 'I'm tempted.' I followed the scarring along my cheek with my tongue, finding my favorite spot and chewing on it. I want to go home.

"Just... don't do anything bad, you two." Right, so just because I'm a jinchuriki I'm inherently evil. I hate when people sugar coat shit, like say whatever you have to say with your chest or shut up. "Mom, we won't, can you close the door??", he put his face in his hands. He was red. Like not pink, red.

She closed the door but I can tell they didn't go anywhere. I listened to them gossip. It's always the same. "Isn't that...?" Some woman said. "Yeah, it is," Mikoto laughed a little. "And Sasuke brought him here??" A different woman. "He did..." "What are we going to do? Just let it happen??" That was a guys voice, though I'm not sure who. "Well, what can we do? I don't want to hurt him, you remember what happened last time. And you know Itachi holds grudges."

I'm not listening to anything else. I want to go home. I looked at Sasuke, ready to tell him that I was going to leave. He still had his face in his hands and although the color was subsiding, he looked dead. He looked up at me and I could tell he was trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry, please don't hate me." Me? Hate him? For why? He must be apologizing for his family. He continued, "I didn't know they'd react like this, I thought they'd be normal about it, seeing as how we've been hanging out for a while and everything." Oh, so he did know about me being one... It's just them who have a problem with it. Well, some things never change.

"Yeah, it's fine, I'm used to it. We should just stop hanging out though, I don't want anything to be a problem with your family," I sighed as I stood up off the bed. There goes my entertainment. Straight out the window.

"I'm sorry, kid." "It's not your fault, I don't blame you, so don't take it personally, you're a great person, it's just... I don't feel like... yeah. Y'know? But it's getting kinda late and my dad's gonna be home soon, so I have to get going." "Are you talking to him or me?" 'Both.'

Sasuke didn't say anything, he just looked beyond embarrassed. His ears were pink and he looked like he was going to cry. I felt kinda bad. But I told myself long ago that I was going to stop trying to change for anyone, if they had a problem with me, they could kiss my ass. I don't need anyone.

"Oh, okay, yeah. I'll– I'll walk you out." He stood up and turned around, wiping the tears that had accumulated.

"I'll ask Iruka if he can change my seat if you want. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything," I added.

It seemed to add insult to injury.

"No, it's okay. I don't want that. I'm sorry again, I don't know why I'm like this, please don't hate me." How could I ever hate him? He did nothing wrong to me, ever.

On our way out, I recognized the voices that called out to Sasuke. One of them was his mother. "Sasuke, where's your friend going?" Sasuke stopped and wiped his eyes before turning around, "He has to be home for dinner, so he has to go.." 

She walked over to us and looked at Sasuke, furrowing her eyebrows at his expression and probably wondering why he couldn't meet her gaze. She looked at me and I looked away, going to put my shoes on. I don't have to put up with this, it's not my problem how other people feel about me.

Sasuke followed me to the door and held it open for me, his mom following close behind. "It was nice to meet you Naruto," she said to me. Fake ass bullshit. People like her are the worst kinds of people. "Yeah, you too. I'll see you at school, Sasuke," I mumbled before walking out the door. The door closed behind me and instantly all I heard was sobbing. I don't care about how other people feel. It isn't my problem.

So why does my heart hurt so badly right now?? It doesn't matter, to the forest I go. I'll deal with dad later.

Tbccc