Lost in the Whirlwind (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 10

"I don't like you."

I blinked, not sure if I heard him right.

"Excuse me?"

The young Sasuke was anything but a brooding emotionally constipated boy. Apparently he was very open about his feelings too.

"That's right!" Sasuke exclaimed. He turned to Itachi and repeated. "Nii-san! I don't like her!"

Itachi gently put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "That is very rude, Sasuke. You should never say that to someone you just met."

Sasuke huffed and turned away.

I stared at Sasuke. "Why though?" I asked, more curious than offended.

"Because you look dirty!" He replied, glancing at my clothes.

Here I thought children weren't judgmental beings. Adults had already taken up the job, full time. Looking at Sasuke once more, I realized I was apparently wrong, but at least he was being honest.

"Is that all?" I asked once more. He blinked and I continued. "You have to know that I simply cannot do anything about that right now."

"She's an orphan, Sasu-chan," Shisui interrupted from beside of me. "So she doesn't have any money from her parents like we do."

I swiveled my head to look at the oldest of them. "Was that your story to tell?" My brows knitted together. It probably wasn't a reaction Shisui expected, judging from his surprised face.

"What your little cousin said, I can understand. But you are old enough to know that what you said was completely uncalled for. Whether I have parents or not is not your business."

Shisui blinked. "Ah sorry, Naka-chan. I'll keep in mind from now on that it is a sensitive topic for you."

To be honest, it wasn't the fact that I didn't have parents here in Naruto-verse. It was the fact I had never particularly liked it when people declare personal details about me without my permission. It irked me to no end, especially when it called for a pity party.

Itachi seemed to have expected that I was an orphan already because he didn't even blink when Shisui had officially declared it. The genius probably figured it out the moment his eyes landed on me.

As for Sasuke, however, things took quite a turn.

"N-No parents?" The young boy repeated, appalled.

He really should get out of his compound more if he wasn't used to those kind of things. But then again, he was only a child.

"I'm Naka." I introduced myself, trying to divert the conversation.

Sasuke immediately straightened up and puffed his chest out a little. "Uchiha Sasuke. I turned 4 this year."

"Ah, I'll turn four in a few weeks."

When our introduction was over, Sasuke's back hunched a little and he adverted the conversation back to the original topic.

"If you're an orphan, then how do you buy food?"

"I didn't. The orphanage provides them." Barely. "But now, I have to buy them on my own."

"Buy them on your own?" This time it was Shisui. So it was news to him too.

"I moved." I replied curtly.

"Why?" Sasuke interrogated.

"Didn't you know? It's part of growing up." I cracked a joke.

Although Shisui seemed to have already pieced together the scar on my face and the move to a new place, judging from his quiet stance.

Sasuke dropped his bag onto the floor, and frantically searched for something. His eyes brightened when he found it.

"Here!" He exclaimed, handing me a tomato.

I stared at it in surprise for a long while, before taking the tomato into my hands and taking a bite. It was the first time eating a tomato in Konoha.

"This tastes good." And it really did, it was a whole lot better than the food the orphanage made us eat. I made a mental note to buy Naruto one of these later. "Thanks."

Sasuke grinned brightly and swung the bag back onto his back.

"Sasuke," Itachi started. "Have you been snatching tomatoes from the kitchen again?"

Despite trying to sound reprimanding, his eyes held a proud and pleased look on his face. He had it the moment Sasuke handed the tomato to me.

"Umm... no?" The young Uchiha replied sheepishly.

Itachi gave a barely visible smile and poked Sasuke's forehead. "Don't let mother catch you." He turned to look at Shisui. "Sasuke and I should head back. Mother would be worried if we were gone for too long."

Shisui waved his hand. "Alright then! You guys go on ahead."

I looked at the sibling. "Bye Itachi, bye Sasuke."

Sasuke gave me a weird look before whispering something to his brother, the two of them walking away.

I raised an eyebrow at Shisui. "What did I do?"

"You didn't use honorifics. Again."

"Oh, okay." Usually the lack of honorifics meant that we were close friends, something we weren't, but I just couldn't bother about them. Except when I'm with the hokage. But that was quite a different story.

"So, Naka-chan." Shisui turned to me, a serious look on his face. "Has the matron been hurting you or Naruto?"

I sighed and stayed silent.

Shisui ran a hand through his hair. "You know that you can always turn to me right? I'm your friend. If you have any troubles, just tell me and I'll be willing to listen to you."

"She was drunk." I said reluctantly.

"She?"

"The matron was drunk and she was grieving about her son. I mean, on other days, she wasn't mean or abusive. At least, not directly. She wouldn't stoop so low." I gulped. "I have a suspicion that she hadn't been grieving about her son properly when he died. So the regret and sadness would undoubtedly hit her quite hard yesterday."

"So she hit you?" He frowned.

"She was aiming for Naruto but I got into the way. Some events happened and it led to a new apartment. Not that I am complaining." I shrugged. "The apartment is quite close to the library too."

He looked at my face. "That scar is going to last for quite a while."

"Again, it drives idiots away from me. That, and it makes me look cool."

Shisui chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"Quite a day for you yesterday, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." My lips twitched into a barely visible smile.

Shisui grinned. "I know the perfect way to cheer you up. Come on, let's go get some dango!"