Chapter Text
Sasuke Uchiha didn’t care for anybody in his class.
This was an irrefutable truth known by all: the sky is blue, 1 + 1 equals 2, Sasuke Uchiha doesn’t care for anybody in his class.
Why would he? There were idiots all around him all the time. Annoying girls that were more focused on their weird crushes than on the actual lessons they were meant to be learning and snotty nosed children that sucked up to the teacher in ways that were so embarrassingly obvious that he wanted to gouge his eyes out.
(You’re shinobi for goodness sake, at least try to be discreet.)
Even the other clan heirs were irritating: either lazy, bossy, impossibly loud or irritatingly quiet.
(Hinata was sweet, sure, but if he heard one more ‘eep!’ he was going to yank his own hair out.)
In the end, despite his best efforts, he had ended up keeping to himself. It was supposed to be lonely at the top anyway, or at least that’s what he heard Father sighing all the time.
But even Itachi had Shisui!
It was so unfair, why couldn’t he have someone cool in his life? Not to say that his brother or Shisui weren’t cool of course, it was just that-
“Hey,” someone muttered, tapping him lightly and Sasuke finally realised that the class was unnaturally quiet, all eyes turned to him. Mizuki-sensei was watching him expectantly, obviously waiting for an answer to a question that he hadn’t heard in the first place.
“Sometime today would be nice Sasuke,” his teacher sneered.
This was fine, he was an Uchiha and the Uchiha did not panic.
He could feel his face flushing and his hands growing clammy in… exhilaration, yeah exhilaration.
What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn’t ask for the question to be repeated because then they’d know he wasn’t listening and his reputation as a star pupil would be ruined! Itachi would never get himself into a situation like this, dammit-
“Tsunade Senju, one of the three legendary sannin, was the person that spearheaded the campaign for each team to have a field medic,” the boy beside him whispered, noticing his dilemma and Sasuke… Sasuke had never been so grateful in his entire life. He parrotted the response back to their teacher who nodded, content with his answer, and continued taking the lesson.
The second the attention was off of him he sighed deeply, relief washing over him in heavy waves. School had no right to be so stressful.
“Well that was close,” the kid beside him whistled and Sasuke nodded his agreement, finally taking the time to acknowledge him. Pretty blue eyes and long blond hair that framed his face. He’d seen him before but only in passing — a non-clan kid that also kept well to himself most of the time though Sasuke didn’t know much beyond that.
“Thank you…” He didn’t even know his name? He really must’ve thought he was fodder.
“Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto.”
“I’m Uchiha Sasuke,” he blurted, stupidly.
Uzumaki raised a brow, smiling wryly at him. “I know.” Sasuke covered his face as he felt heat rising to his cheeks all over again. Of course he knew, everyone knew who he was, he couldn’t seem to stop embarrassing himself today.
Oh well, Mother always said embarrassment wasn’t real anyway.
“So why is your hair so long? It’s got to be a liability,” Sasuke asked once he’d regathered his wits, fighting the urge to touch it.
“Long hair’s only a liability if you’re weak,” Uzumaki scoffed, brows raised judgmentally again. “Aren’t you an Uchiha? I swear half you guys live by that principle. You knew that right?”.
So that was why Itachi had been so annoyed when Shisui cut it in his sleep…
“Of course I knew that, why would you even think I didn’t? I obviously knew it, I bet you didn’t know it, I bet you got your parents to tell you or someth-”
“I’m an orphan.”
Oh.
The words were a damper on the mood they’d built up but it was his own fault for being so tactless. They were in a hidden village, of course there were orphans. Shisui was an orphan and he still hadn’t thought to be more sensitive. How dumb could he get?
“Look before you start giving me the whole ‘I’m so sorry for you loss’ speech, don’t.”
“But-”
“It is what it is, you know? And besides I’ve still got my brother and he’s,” Uzumaki paused, lost in thought. “He cares about me more than he cares about life itself.”
Sasuke watched the light dance in Naruto’s eyes at the mention of his brother and couldn’t help but feel a kinship.
“He sounds cool,” Sasuke said.
“He is,” Uzumaki nodded, flashing him a lopsided grin. “But he’ll worry if I’m home late. I’ll catch you around Uchiha.”
“Sasuke!” He yelled, voice echoing around the empty - when had that happened? - classroom. Uzumaki turned to face him from where he was standing by the window, confused and for the sake of his mental health Sasuke ignored the warmth of his face. “You can call me Sasuke,” he clarified bashfully.
“I’ll see you then, Sasuke!” He called with a soft laugh and then he was out of the window and gone before he hit the ground. Sasuke could only gaze upon where he had been, astonished.
It seemed that maybe there was a cool person for him after all.
He doubted his life could be boring with someone like Uzumaki around.