Cuts & Bruises

Chapter 10

Naruto woke up to the sound of his alarm. With a yawn, he slowly sat up in bed and stretched. He took a quick glance at his wrist, giving it a twist. His grin grew wide as there was no pain.
Quickly he got ready for school and made his way downstairs into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Naruto.” Iruka greeted him with a bright smile. “Breakfast should be ready shortly.” He began to gather plates from the cabinets. Kakashi gave the blonde a nod and a raise of his coffee mug in greeting.
“I'll set the table!” Naruto volunteered, running up and gently grabbing the plates.
Iruka's eyes widened at the blondes eagerness. He looked to Kakashi who just gave him a shrug and continued to cook breakfast. “Why, thank you. What's got you in such a good mood today?”
Naruto finished setting the last plate and made his way to the cutlery drawer. Taking out the necessary silverware, he turned back to Iruka. “I'm going to ask a girl out today.”
Both Iruka and Kakashi turned to look at him, both their eyes widened in surprise. They gave each other quick glances before looking back at Naruto.
“Is she your soulmate?” Kakashi asked.
Naruto shook his head. “No. At least I'm pretty sure she's not. But she's pretty and nice so why not, right?”
Iruka gave him a big smile. “Of course! Whatever makes you happy, we're supportive of you.” He turned to Kakashi. “Right?”
“You got it! Now, who's ready to eat?”
After breakfast, the three of them drove to the high school. Naruto was dropped off in the front where he met up with Kiba, Neji and Sasuke.
“Hey guys!” Naruto called out, waving to his friends as he ran up to them.
“Naruto!” Kiba greeted him. He threw his arm around his shoulder and gave him a toothy grin.
Neji and Sasuke each gave him a nod and the four of them headed into the school.
“So guys, guess what?” Naruto started, sitting in his seat when they reached homeroom.
The other three gave the blonde their attention and Naruto grinned at them excitedly.
“I'm going to ask a girl out today.”
“What?” The three of them each asked, different levels of reactions.
“Dude, you found your soul mate?” Kiba asked excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat.
Naruto shook his head. “No, at least I'm pretty sure she's not.”
Neji raised an eyebrow up at him. “So even though she's not your soulmate, you're still asking her out?”
“Yep!”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
Kiba, Naruto and Neji all turned to face Sasuke who was looking disgusted.
Naruto shrugged. “Cause she's pretty, and nice. And smart!”
“So?”
Naruto gave a slight glare to the Uchiha. He opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by the bell and soon homeroom began.
As soon as homeroom was finished, Sasuke quickly caught up to Naruto, determined to get an answer. “So why would you ask this girl out if she's not your soulmate?”
Naruto gave a quick glance to the raven to see he was genuinely curious. He stood up straighter. “Why not? It's better than being lonely and I can get in some experience in the meantime as I'm waiting to find my soul mate.”
Sasuke's eyes widened a bit in shock. “I guess. It just seems pointless.” He shook his head.
“What seems pointless?”
“Asking out someone who isn't your soulmate.”
“Why would you say it's pointless?”
They reached their first class where they sat in their seats, waiting for the bell to ring.
“You're just going to break up anyways. Why bother?”
Naruto gave him a sad smile. “Well, what if you never get the chance to meet your soulmate? They're on the other side of the world or God forbid they died. Why not at least have a chance to love and be loved in return. And if you ever do find them, the other person will understand.”
Sasuke was stunned by Naruto's answer. He said nothing, instead, he looked down at his desk.
Naruto just smirked as the bell rung and class began.
The rest of the day passed by slowly for Naruto. But soon enough, he was in art class. He nervously looked around and spotted the familiar head of pink hair. He smiled before walking over to her.
“Hey Sakura,” he greeted. She looked up at him with a smile. “Can I talk with you for a second?”
She gave him a concerned look before placing a well manicured hand on his arm. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
He nodded. Pleased with his answer, she took her hand away and watched as he sat down.
“So,” she started after Naruto was silent for a while. “What's up?”
Naruto let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. “Well, I'm just going to outright say it.” He looked over at her to see her nod. “Do you want to go out with me?” He pursed his lips as he watched her, waiting for an answer.
There was no immediate reaction. She looked at him thoughtfully before she slowly smiled, her eyes closing. “You know what, yeah, I'd like that.”
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, really?” He wasn't expecting her to say yes, at least not that quickly.
She giggled as she nodded at him. “Yeah.”
“Okay, how's tonight?” Naruto gave her a bright smile. “We can catch a movie and then grab a bite to eat?” He gave her a hopeful smile.
“That sounds perfect!” She clapped her hands together, causing the paintbrush in her hand to lightly splatter paint. “I'm sorry!” She gasped as she noticed a spot of paint on his cheek.
“No worries!” Naruto grinned back and was about to go to wipe it off. Before he could do anything, she leaned forward and gently wiped it off with her thumb.
She sat back, a triumphant smirk on her face. “There. That's better.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, I'm almost finished with my painting. How far along are you?”
Naruto blinked owlishly at her before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh, nowhere near close?”
Sakura giggled. "Well then, let me help you out.”
The two of them continued working on their paintings for the remainder of the period. Chatting during the time.
The rest of the day flew by for Naruto and before he knew it, it was the end of the day. Naruto met up with Kiba, Neji and Sasuke at the usual place.
“Guys, I did it!” Naruto exclaimed as he ran up to them, looking at each of them with a proud grin.
“Did what?” Kiba asked blankly.
“Asked the girl out! And she said yes!”
The three other boys looked at him in surprise. They gave glances to each other before giving their attention back to Naruto. “Who'd you ask out?” Neji was the first to ask the question that was on all three of their minds.
“Sakura.” He replied with a smile.
“Sakura?!” The three of them shouted in unison, all shocked by his answer.
He gave them a blank stare. “Yeah.”
“You do know she’s like, the worst girl you can ask out in this school, right?” Kiba asked, looking at Naruto like he grew another head.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. “She’s not bad at all guys. She’s really nice to me, and she’s very smart. And pretty.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “She knows you hang out with me?”
Naruto nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t see why-”
Sasuke quickly cut him off. “She’s just using you.”
“What?”
“Sasuke.” Neji gave the raven a warning look but Sasuke chose to ignore him, instead narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, she’s just using you to get close to me. You can ask anyone at this school about her obsession with me and they’ll tell you. She’s probably being nice and everything so that by dating you, she’ll be able to get closer to me.”
Naruto looked down at his feet. Sasuke’s words hurting more than he felt they should. He rubbed at his chest, hoping to relieve the feeling. “So you don’t think she can ever like me for me?”
“No.” Sasuke was quick to answer.
“And you guys agree?” The blonde looked over at Kiba and Neji. The two brunettes said nothing, but not looking at him either. He took their silence as confirmation. He clenched his fists tightly, the hurt growing inside. “Yeah well you’re wrong, Uchiha! Me and Sakura are going out tonight and we’ll have a great time and your name won’t even be brought up in conversation!”
Sasuke shrugged at Naruto’s response, choosing not to say anything.
“Whatever. Fuck you, then.” Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets before walking away, heading back into the school.
He felt tears sting the corner of his eyes as he walked through the emptying hallways of the school. He wiped at his eyes as he reached Iruka’s classroom. He walked in with the best smile he could muster.
“Naruto!” Iruka greeted with a smile, Kakashi waved at him from one of the desks in the front row. “How was your day?”
“It was good.” Naruto sat down next to Kakashi, throwing his bag on top of the desk. “The girl I asked out said yes. We’re going on a date tonight.”
“Really?” Iruka looked at him, excitement shown on his face. “Congratulations, I’m so proud of you!”
“Yeah, good job, champ!” Kakashi patted the blonde on his shoulder. “So we should probably head out soon so you can get ready.”
“Of course! Here, let me gather my papers.” Iruka quickly stood up before gathering his stuff. “Alright guys, let’s get out of here!”