You'll Be In My Memories | Team 7

You'll Be In My Memories

  The moonlight reflected off the lake's surface as Sasuke skipped stones. He sat on the pier, surrounded by countless carved circles. As he dug another pebble out of his pocket, he remembered another day, so many years ago...
  Sasuke was slouched on the same pier, in a considerably better state of repair. The sun shone brilliantly above his head, and Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned back. He heard footsteps behind him, and opened an eye. A scrawny blonde boy with scarred cheeks and a pair of leather goggles on his head was looming over him. A ghastly sneer was stretched across his face, exposing sharp fangs that glinted in the sun.
  Sasuke shivered and blinked up at him. The strange boy was smiling, happily smiling. His teeth were brilliantly white, and they didn't look sharp at all. Sasuke shrugged.  
  "Just a trick of the light, I guess."
  "What?"
  "Oh, nothing. Who're you?"
  He grinned and pointed at his chest with a short thumb. "I am the great Uzumaki Naruto!"
  "Uchiha Sasuke. Pleased to meet you."
  Naruto flopped down on his stomach and rested his chin on his hands. "I've seen you at the academy, you know. I dunno how you do it... attracting the kunoichi from blocks away..."
  Sasuke shrugged, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
  "You ever talked to this girl, by the name of Haruno Sakura? Hair like cherry blossoms, and shiny turquoise eyes!!" Naruto traced a circle on the wooden planks of the pier with a kunai and laughed. "Hah, it's not like she's one to notice guys like me and my friends. She's one of your fan club, Sasuke-kun. You MUST have seen her! She really stands out... like she's GLOWING..."
  Sasuke cleared his throat. "I've seen her, yes. Why?"
  Naruto's eyes lit up. "Could you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell her that her secret admirer will meet her on the Academy roof tomorrow at midnight?"
  Sasuke shrugs. "If I see her at some point, I'll let her know. I'll just go out on a limb here and say you REALLY like this girl."
  Naruto laughs. "Not really. My friend Hinata has a cousin named Neji who has a friend named Lee. I was asked to be the messenger. People don't seem to like me very much, though. In fact, most shops in town don't even let me in. Jerks."
  Naruto spat into the lake. "My friends say I talk too much, but I just like people to know what I think. It makes it easier to be indispensable... so that when they ditch you, the silence gets to them. I dunno, but it means they won't leave me behind. It's worth it!"
  Sasuke looked intently at this scruffy-looking kid. Dirt was smudged on his face, and he was covered from head to toe in various injuries. Dried blood was caked on Naruto's lip, and he picked it off absentmindedly as he chattered.
  "Don't your parents treat your wounds? A few of those cuts look deep..."
  "Hmm, these?" Naruto smiles fiercely. "A genin threw me against the wall and beat me with a kunai. But I'm fine, really. I beat him up real good. But thanks for caring! In fact, you're the first person to ask about me in... hmm..." Naruto began to count on his fingers. "Hmm.. Hinata-chan asked if I was eating enough a few months ago, but there're great dumpsters ALL over the place here in Konoha. Hmmm. I guess you're the first person to ask about me in approximately two months!" Naruto beams, and Sasuke sees dried blood in his mouth.
  "But really, Naruto-san, you should get those wounds checked."
  "Haha! You're funny!"
  Sasuke frowned. "About that- you said you eat out of dumpsters? Is your family doing okay?"
  Naruto raised an eyebrow. "We're the only two orphans in our class. Everybody knows about you, but nobody tol'ja bout me? Wow, they suck!" Naruto laughed.
  Sasuke took a deep breath. "If I may ask, how..?"
  "How they died?" Sasuke was astonished at how astute this kid seemed to be, despite the aura of boisterous idiocy he gave off. He nodded mutely, and Naruto continued, with a glint in his eye of seriousness beyond his age.
  "Never knew em. Apparently they died the day I was born, but I dunno. Either way, I took care of myself." Naruto rolled onto his back and squinted into the sun.
  "Don't forget Lee's date, now, Nii-san!"
  Sasuke flinched. "W-what did you just call me..."
  Naruto raised his hands above his head. "I said brother. Why, did I make you uncomfortable? Sorry. You just looked nice... I dunno what I was thinking. I probably was getting on your nerves anyway. How long were we talking? An hour? Gee, that's got to be a record! Nobody's EVER spent that much time talking to me before! Anyhow, I'll go now. Thanks for talking to me! See ya at the Academy!"
  Naruto jumped to his feet and skipped away, the sun reflecting off the lenses of his goggles.
  Behind him, Sasuke was staring out at the water, gazing steadfastly at the blazing reflection of the sun on the lake's surface...
  Sasuke looked up from the moon's reflection as a no-longer so scrawny blonde boy with scarred cheeks walked up behind him. His goggles were long ago replaced with a black headband, and the injuries swept away by the sands of time. (Totally not a Gaara reference!)
  "Hey, Teme." Naruto's smile was faded by years of death and battle, but it was there all the same. The villagers treated him like an angel, not a demon now, but Naruto still smiles at them just as much as he did when he was a kid. They sat down on the pier, and Sasuke brushed his fingers over dozens and dozens of weathered circles. Naruto had carved one every time they met there.
  Naruto pulled a kunai out of his pouch, and carved a new circle, much larger than the rest. It sat between Sasuke and Naruto, and they both scooted over to sit in the center of it. Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder, and they both drifted to sleep. The moonlight cast all the carvings into clear relief, but the large circle was the darkest of all- a barrier to hold off the world for just a few hours while two old friends forgot the battles won and lost.