Two Solitudes

Naruto had noticed that the outstanding, handsome boy was just as lonely as he was. It hadn't been like that before, he remembered. Before, he was cheerful, shy, and quite sociable. Naruto didn't talk to him much because he considered him "unreachable," with girls sighing over him and teachers praising him for his excellent grades. He knew his name very well: Sasuke Uchiha. According to Iruka, his precious teacher and father figure, he came from a very ancient and important clan.

Spoiled brat, Naruto thought instantly.

One day he was absent, and that was strange because Sasuke Uchiha was diligent and punctual. Then another day, and another day.

"Did you hear what happened to the Uchiha clan?"
"Yes. They say Sasuke was the only survivor."
"If that's true, where is he?"

The girls' conversations at recess revolved around Sasuke, but Naruto noticed it was no longer to admire his beauty or fight over him. He heard Ino sighing, telling Sakura, "Poor Sasuke," saying he must be very sad.

Naruto wanted to know. He could never calm his curiosity, even on delicate subjects. He went straight to Iruka during his break. The brunette was sitting at his desk checking some things. Small hands pulled at his sleeve to make him look down.

"Iruka-sensei," the boy called. The teacher sat in his chair to be more at the child's level.

"What is it, Naruto? Has someone been bothering you?" the teacher asked, knowing Naruto was too proud to spend recess with him unless someone had said something to make him cry.

"No, it's not that," the boy said, embarrassed that this was his teacher's first impression of him. "It's just... I want to know why Sasuke is missing so much school."

The adult's friendly face darkened.

"Naruto," he searched for a way to say it, "Sasuke is in the hospital right now. He gets discharged tomorrow."

"Is he sick?" Iruka shook his head.

"Someone eliminated his entire clan, his whole family," he revealed. The blonde held his breath. "He was the only one who came out of that massacre alive."

"Sasuke is left without a family?" Iruka nodded.

That left the blonde uneasy. Back home, he couldn't wait for the next day, as Iruka had said Sasuke would be in condition to return to school. Maybe he would see him. He wanted to see him. He didn't know why. It wasn't out of morbid curiosity; he just wanted to be sure he was okay.

Naruto watched the door all morning. Iruka had noticed. He was giving a very important class on shuriken handling. He wanted the blonde to pay attention, as he always had trouble with it.

"Naruto!" he called from below, making the whole class turn to watch him get scolded. "Why are you staring at the door so much? I'm doing a demonstration."

"Sorry," he shrunk into his seat. The eyes of the other children made him nervous. "It's just... Iruka-sensei."

"Do you have a question about the class?" Naruto hesitated. He didn't know if this counted as part of the class; it wasn't about the lesson, but Sasuke was an academy classmate.

"You said Sasuke would come, but he hasn't arrived."

At the mention of that name, his classmates murmured, confused by the blonde's interest. The boy didn't usually evaluate his surroundings before saying something. He was very honest, very innocent.

"Naruto," the teacher said with severity, "that is none of your business."

The blonde looked down and apologized.

A while later, his eyes lit up as the door opened.

Sasuke was there, very changed. Everyone noticed, but no one made a sound as he walked up the bleachers. Naruto noticed the dark circles under his eyes, his empty gaze, the bandage on his forearm.

Naruto didn't hide how much he was staring, unlike the others. He didn't know how to hide anything.

Sasuke noticed, giving him a look that terrified him completely. Having done this, the dark-haired boy sat far in the back. In the row where no one sat because it was too far to see the lessons.

"Sorry I'm late," and when he spoke, there was no life left in his voice. He sounded as if he were asleep, as if he wanted to stay in a dream.

"It's alright, Sasuke," Iruka replied with his gentle voice, the one he usually used with Naruto when he was alone on his abandoned swing. Naruto looked for Sasuke's reaction, but it wasn't what he expected. The boy frowned and bit his lip seconds after that.

He hadn't liked that tone.

At recess, Sasuke was away on the same back bleacher, looking out the window. No one dared to approach, not even the girls who spent their time speculating about his sadness. Naruto restrained himself from correcting them, because he was sure it wasn't just sadness, but a combination of emotions that had no name.

He waited. He wanted to approach, but didn't know how. Then came the moment for the demonstrations. Iruka took them to the training field to learn how to throw shuriken. They had to form pairs to use the targets. Everyone was already in pairs, except Naruto and Sasuke.

Then the blonde thought about how graphic their situation was now. Both were alone. They were completely alone. Naruto had no parents or friends, and he assumed Sasuke had no friends like him, seeing that no one had enough confidence to talk to him about what happened. Naruto felt bad for seeing something good in such horrible circumstances, but he wasn't entirely selfish. He always wanted to talk to someone who understood him, who saw how alone he was. Maybe this was what had to happen. Maybe this was the way Naruto would get some company and do the same favor for someone else.

"Sasuke," the blonde boy called. The one in black didn't even look at him, still sitting by a tree. "Uh... do you want to partner with me? You're really good at throwing shuriken."

The one in black stood up, yes, but only to head into the woods back toward the academy. Iruka watched from afar, knowing he had to go look for him.

Naruto stood there with his hand extended, frustrated by not having achieved his goal.

Suddenly, many thoughts clustered to guess what Sasuke thought of him. Of course, he told himself as if it were obvious. Sasuke felt offended and even more alone, because everyone turned their backs on him so he’d be stuck with the "reject." Naruto growled. He could go to hell. He wanted to say it differently, but Iruka didn't let him use bad words.

Reaching that conclusion, he felt even more foolish and humiliated.

Classes went on as usual: Naruto did all the activities on his own. He saw the children being picked up by their parents until only he was left. He wasn't going to wait for the teacher. He didn't want to feel more humiliated and begging for attention. He walked anywhere, wandering, because he didn't want to go home to be alone in the shadows either. He wasn't even hungry.

In the plaza, everyone played in groups. Naruto wanted to join. The kids noticed they were being watched. When they saw who the owner of those big blue eyes was, some fled and others threw stones to drive him away. Naruto ran off. He didn't care if he looked like a coward; he wasn't in the mood.

The sun was setting. The sky was his favorite color: orange. He wanted it to stay that way, that stage of the day where he didn't have to go back to sleep in the old bed or be in a school where everyone escaped him. He could be there, walking on the pier, him and Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Naruto hadn't realized yet that his problem when observing people was that he didn't hide it. Sasuke was sitting on the edge, dipping his feet and moving them from side to side. Naruto kept moving to get a better perspective. He saw his face in profile. Sasuke had been crying and had grown tired; it was obvious. He was surely dehydrated too, judging by his dry lips.

He admitted to himself that he had been defensive. Surely Sasuke hadn't even registered him. The last thing he would be thinking about was whether Naruto was a reject. He was depressed, without the strength to do something as irrelevant as training after everything he’d experienced. It’s just that Naruto was so used to people running away automatically.

Then their eyes met. Naruto’s hand began to rise in a greeting, but Sasuke gave him a look of annoyance, turning back to the horizon. By inertia, Naruto’s reaction was to mimic him.

Right then, he decided it couldn't end like this.

He waited to see if he would turn back. And he did, shortly after, as if to check if he had gone. Forgetting how they had exchanged looks before, Naruto smiled radiantly. That smile wanted to communicate "I'm safe, really," and Sasuke interpreted it.

Naruto didn't expect Sasuke to return a calm, sad smile.

Fine. He was already there. He would do it. He had to.

He began to walk down to meet him. He noticed that this made the dark-haired boy uncomfortable, but he didn't stop. The blonde arrived at the pier running downhill, almost tripping over Sasuke.

They said nothing. The one in black wouldn't say anything.

"You left," the blonde spoke, to which Sasuke tilted his head, not understanding. "You left the lesson. I wanted to do it with you, really. I was waiting all morning for you to arrive."

That surprised Sasuke.

"How could you know I had to show up at the academy today?" Naruto grumbled at his formal way of speaking.

"Because I asked Iruka why you weren't coming," he revealed without seeing the problem, "and he said you got discharged today, but just when I stopped looking at the door, you walked through it."

Sasuke frowned again. Oh well, he’d have to get used to that.

"How meddlesome you are, he’s right," he said.

"Ah! You heard that?!" Sasuke nodded and sat back on the edge, but leaving a space for someone. Naruto realized he was that someone.

The two sat side by side, so close their feet almost touched in the water. Naruto moved his faster. Those frantic movements disturbed the Uchiha, as he had come to appreciate the calm nature and now even his knees were victims of splashes.

"It’s not that I'm meddlesome," Uzumaki defended himself. "It’s that I know what it’s like to have a house where no one is there to be happy that you've returned."

Sasuke looked at the boy out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want to talk about it. The wound wasn't healing. It wasn't just open; it was bleeding profusely. He considered it a bad idea to have a chat with this child, but his mother always told him he was someone normal. When he asked why his classmates didn't want to be with Naruto, she said not to listen to them and to judge for himself. She said something to his father about a certain Kushina. He didn't remember well. Maybe his mother knew Naruto's parents, but he hadn't considered it until that moment.

He soon understood that Naruto didn't like silence.

"Did I offend you?"
"No."
"You're very quiet."
"I'm quiet and you're very noisy."

The blonde growled.

"You don't want to talk about that, I get it. You don't have to," he said. "But you're alone right now and, guess what, I'm your only company in this place."

Sasuke sighed.

"Yes, I know that," he resigned himself. "Here, at school, and surely in the whole village."

That was curious, as Sasuke was pursued by girls and admired by many boys. He didn't understand how someone so popular could be left so alone. Seriously, no one had approached him all day to ask if he needed anything. At least he hadn't seen it.

"But you have people who notice you," the blonde said to make him feel better. His logic was that if you were popular and good in class, someone would care about you.

"No," the boy denied. "No one can understand what I've been through. Therefore, no one has the guts to come and tell me they support me or want to help. There are no words that work."

Naruto lowered his gaze. They looked at their feet, now equally still.

"I'm not telling you I know what you went through, I'm not you," the blonde mentioned. "But I understand those feelings that won't let you sleep, eat, or cry as you should."

Finally, their eyes connected again.

Yes, Sasuke could see that Naruto knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I’m warning you, I'm not going to form a friendship with you out of convenience," the dark-haired boy said severely. "I'm fine alone if I need to be."

"I know. I'm sure that attracts the girls more," he stuck out his tongue. "Is it wrong that I want to give you a little relief?"

"How are you going to give me relief? Will you bring my parents back?" he challenged, leaning in close enough to make the blonde flinch back.

"No, I'll keep you company and maybe you can vent. I learned some things from Iruka-sensei to make people feel better."

Sasuke gave a short, dry laugh.

"That Iruka with his looks of pity..." Naruto didn't like that. "I can't stand that kind tone, treating me like a baby. I’m sure I saw more blood than he did when he was our age."

"Hey," Naruto stayed calm only because he knew Sasuke was speaking on impulse, "I adore Iruka. He hasn't treated me like the others in this village. He doesn't feel pity. The difference between someone who looks at me with pity and Iruka is that a random person sees from afar that I'm starving and says 'poor thing,' while he invites me to eat."

Then Naruto's lightbulb went off. He had just been given his allowance from the State to support himself for the month. A small expense on someone else wouldn't hurt.

"I'm treating you to a meal!" he said, proud of his idea.

"A meal?"
"It looks like you haven't eaten in days."
"Nothing solid, at least..."
"Fine, I'm taking you to Ichiraku."
"What's that?"
"It's the best ramen stall in the whole world! You'll see. Old man Teuchi makes the best ramen."

Sasuke stood up when Naruto did. And he followed him. He didn't know how far this place was, but it was good not to be alone with his thoughts for a moment.

They arrived at the center of the village. Being dinner time, there were many people out. Naruto turned to see Sasuke, who was walking slower. He seemed in a trance. At one point they had to cross a very busy street. Naruto stopped when two people passed without noticing they had knocked the Uchiha down.

"Sasuke!" he ran to him and knelt.

The boy seemed bewildered. Naruto didn't know medicine; he only knew he had to get him out of there. He dragged him to the side, into an alley.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto called. The boy nodded and rested his eyes for a moment. "What do you feel?"

"The people," his voice was a whisper, "their footsteps, their conversations, the light... they make my head spin."

Naruto nodded, understanding.

"You're dizzy," he said. "I don't think we should go to Ichiraku then. How about we go to my house? The area is quieter."

Sasuke opened his eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" he questioned. "You don't have to take care of me. Are you that desperate to make a friend?"

The blonde snorted.

"If I were desperate and putting myself above you, I wouldn't invite you to my house," he let him know. "I'm embarrassed to show you how I live, but you have to eat something. You're pale and walking like a zombie."

He accepted the invitation, convinced that Naruto preferred the idea of going to Ichiraku.

Sasuke dared to assume he was Naruto's first guest in his entire life. The first thing he saw from the entrance were dirty dishes and clothes scattered around the small room with unmade sheets.

"Sit here!" he offered his only chair. Sasuke scanned for another so as not to offend him.

"And where will you sit?" he asked. The blonde pointed to a pile of tied newspapers. "You're not even at the height of the table."

"It doesn't matter. Iruka-sensei says I should be a good host."

"Don't you prefer we sit on the bed? To be level," Naruto was just as surprised as Sasuke to propose such a thing.

"Yes, sounds good!" the boy smiled.

The meal was instant ramen that Naruto made by heating water in his old kettle. There was no noise, and the lights were too dim to blind him. This was better than Ichiraku. It was better than being in a neighborhood that was a crime scene.

"Enjoy!" Naruto brought them their containers. He devoured his without caring that he was burning himself, while Sasuke blew on his noodles and ate slowly. "Do you like it?"

The dark-haired boy nodded.

They both ate in silence. Color returned to Sasuke's face, and that made Naruto happy.

"Naruto," it felt good to hear Sasuke speak, "have you lived here alone forever?"
"Yes," he answered as if it were nothing.
"Did you never know your parents?" the blonde shook his head. "I see."

"Sasuke, um..." he didn't know if he should. Seeing him hesitate, the boy clarified something.

"If you want to know anything about what happened, I... I don't feel ready to talk about that now."

Naruto nodded frantically.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to stay over tonight."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You're so intense, Naruto," he murmured.

"I'm not intense! Well, maybe I'm not an expert at bringing people home," he admitted softly. "I say it because this area isn't nice so late at night. If you go back alone, they might do something to you—" Sasuke was about to argue, but was interrupted— "Even if you're good with shuriken, it won't save you since you're like a rag doll right now. Besides... do you really want to go back?"

Sasuke didn't look at him as he shook his head. He didn't understand how it was possible for Naruto to know what he was thinking.

Naruto's bed felt large in those days. Sasuke was on the side of the wall. They looked at each other without saying anything.

Sasuke had always wanted to talk to Naruto, even just once. He wanted to know how he was, how he survived the unfounded hatred of the village. However, he didn't want to exchange sorrows. He was tired, but didn't want to sleep.

"Does your arm hurt?" Sasuke remembered the wound on his shoulder.
"No," he said. "I forgot I had it."

The moonlight through the window illuminated Naruto's eyes, a perfect blue. His whiskers were clear, and his hands covering part of his face made Sasuke compare him to a feline—a curious and sweet kitten.

"Naruto," he called softly, "do you hate this village?"

The blonde didn't say anything for a second.

"No," he replied, "because Iruka-sensei is here, the old Hokage is here, and... for some reason, my parents chose to leave me here. If they considered this was the only thing they could leave me, then that's how it should be."

The dark-haired boy made a grimace like a smile.

"I, in your place, would hate every single inhabitant here," he thought aloud. "After all, do you know why they treat you like this?"
"Do you?"
"No, of course not. You wouldn't and didn't do anything wrong to deserve this."

The younger one smiled.

"Do you want to have lunch with me tomorrow too?" that made the other laugh slightly.
"See? You are intense."
"I'm not intense, dummy. Do you want to or not?"
"Yes, I want to, but..."

His mother used to prepare his lunchbox along with his brother's.

"Should we prepare food to take for breakfast?"

Naruto laughed.

"That's right. I don't usually eat lunch," he realized. Sasuke hadn't eaten lunch those days, but he didn't imagine it could be a habit for others. "I've seen the others with a container wrapped in a cloth."

"That's the lunch. Usually, parents prepare it for you," he murmured. They both went quiet for a while.

"We can do it ourselves," Naruto said, determined.

Sasuke agreed.

"Goodnight, Sasuke," Naruto covered himself with the orange blanket, taking one end to cover his companion to the shoulders. That action embarrassed the Uchiha. Naruto was being very considerate without knowing it.

"Goodnight, Naruto."

Iruka looked at the list. Two people were missing. Those two people were quite a case.

"Well, we'll start the class," he announced.

Just as he took the chalk, the sliding door opened in a hurry. A small whiskered boy held the dark-haired boy's hand while their free ones held their small, old containers. Both were breathing fast, not letting go.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice had returned. "Why did you make me run if we were going to be late anyway? Next time set the alarm like I told you!"

"I'm just giving you a workout, bony-legs," the boy replied with more confidence. "We're not that late, right?"

They looked at Iruka. Seeing them like this was surprising, but also adorable. In the long silence, Sasuke looked around to notice everyone else was just as amazed. Naruto only looked at the teacher.

"Fine, fine. It wasn't Sasuke's fault. I didn't set the alarm, even though he told me to before we went to sleep. And making a lunch is harder than I thought! We didn't even have time for breakfast," Naruto told the whole story without being asked. "Just mark me late, please, Iruka-sensei!"

By that point, the dark-haired boy realized his hand was still warm. Ah, that was the weird part, and now Naruto had made it weirder by saying they had spent the night together. Sasuke sighed, knowing that was the most Naruto way to announce they had become friends.

"Naruto," he pulled the hand that united them, "that's enough. Let's go sit down."

"Yes, that would be best," the teacher smiled at them. The boy would have to get used to Naruto's ill-timed sincerity.

Going up the bleachers, eyes followed them. Sasuke wanted to keep moving, but Naruto didn't let him. He pointed to a spot closer to the class, saying they could both see well that way. He agreed. Sasuke didn't yet know the weakness he had for that foxy smile.