Aren't fillers the best? Still the proud owner of nothing other than 4 prime ninja cats - off I go.

What if...

by achitka

Episode 2:

Like Minds

Uzumaki Naruto’s first day at the Ninja academy was, so far, uneventful. Sitting atop a low bookcase in an empty classroom Naruto stared out the window. He’d been left here by Iruka-Sensei while the other children attended the welcoming ceremony being held in the courtyard below with their various family members. While Naruto knew he should have known better, some part of him really wanted to be down there with everyone else. He didn’t understand why his being at a stupid ceremony would upset things like his new Sensei said it would. Naruto was used to this sort of thing but an unwanted stab of jealousy caused him to frown.

Things were finishing up in the courtyard below and it was a good thing too, since Naruto was bored with watching. Momentary anger welled up from that dark place he didn't like to think about and the boy began pulling at the zipper of his orange jacket in an attempt to distract himself when he felt that frown deepen. Why he ever expected thing to be different he had no clue, but the more he thought about it, the more it pissed him off.

Having found, what he thought was the perfect ninja uniform, Naruto had paid special attention to how he looked today. Normally he didn’t care about his clothes, but since being told he’d be going to the Ninja academy, he decided step one in his grand plan to become the Hokage meant he’d have to stand out more. These clothes would definitely help that. He’d not seen even one nin in all of Konoha wearing orange. The fact that he'd managed to find a matching pair of pants the same color, just made it all the better. His biggest problem was that the clothes were a bit big on him but he figured he grow into them eventually. So for now he’d just roll them up.

After a while of brooding Naruto talked himself out of his funk and realized no one was coming to get him. He wondered if anyone even remembered they left him here. It certainly wouldn’t surprise him if they had forgotten but since it was past noon, he was actually kinda hungry. Letting out a sigh he smiled as he looked at the door Iruka-Sensei had closed without a backward glance and decided he might as well have a look around before heading home for some lunch.

Sticking his head out into the quiet hallway, Naruto glanced down it and noticed there was someone there. That was strange all by itself and piqued his curiosity as Naruto spent the next few minutes watching the boy. His black hair stuck out in a funny way and he looked almost as bored as Naruto felt. The boy was sitting outside of the Dean of Student’s office. He knew that because Iruka-sensei mad a point of telling him that, that was where he would go if he acted up and it made Naruto wonder what that kid did to get sent there. Classes hadn't even started yet.

He didn’t move at all and Naruto wondered how he could sit there like that without even swinging his legs and thought maybe he was dead. Even if the boy’s eyes were open, Naruto had never seen anyone with such pale skin, but after thinking about it he realized, he'd never seen a dead person either.

“If you're gonna stare, at least tell me your name.”

Naruto started at the sound of the other's voice and forcibly shoved the image of a talking zombie out of his head. Still, he thought he was being pretty quiet, but what really left him speechless was the fact that the boy spoke to him. It was not something Naruto was used to. People just didn't do things like that...at all. So instead of answering, he just continued to stare.

An exasperated sound escaped the dark haired boy as he got up off the bench and walked over to where Naruto was crouched. Staring down, the boy tilted his head and asked, “Well?”

Naruto wanted to answer, but was struck by a wave of shyness that for the first time in his life, left him unable to say anything. They remained like that until the door to the Dean's office opened and a pair of men came out. Naruto wasn't familiar with either one, but they apparently knew him as the round fat one snapped, “You there, stay away for him.”

Naruto looked over at the man knowing immediately he was speaking to him and favored him with a glare. The boy still in front of him for some reason must have thought the man was speaking to him because he turned back around and asked, “Why should I?”

The man that had spoken appeared startled by the question and flustered a bit but he never got a chance to say anything as the other man with him said, “Sasuke, we're finished here for today. Come along.”

“Yes, Father,” Sasuke responded trailing behind him, but not before he looked back at Naruto and winked.

Naruto blinked at the unexpected gesture and decided he'd better get the hell out of there before the fat guy got another chance to scold him. Racing down the hallway in the opposite direction, he burst from the building and didn't stop until he was almost all the way home. Breathing hard, Naruto collapsed in a small open field. Doing so, caused a flurry of small butterflies to flutter around his face while Naruto mulled over the days events. Even if he didn't get to be apart of the welcoming ceremony, he did meet someone that didn't immediately scowl or frown when they talked to him. The sensation was weird but not at all something he remembered feeling before and left him completely baffled but not in a bad way.

Things were definitely looking up.

Turning over on his side, Naruto watched the grass as the wind picked up. It bent almost flat in front of him as he struggled to hold onto the boy's name in his not so reliable memory.

Samuru? No that wasn't it...Sataro?...Suke? Hmmm, maybe...no that wasn't it either. Naruto took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sasuke? Yeah, that was it. Sasuke. Filing the information away Naruto sat up and jumped when he opened his eyes to find a pair of dark ones watching him.

“What the hell!” Naruto shouted as he scooted back. This guy appeared out of no where and was squatting right next to him. “What's the idea sneaking up on me like that?”

“Why are you laying in the middle of this field? Are you hurt?”

Naruto was struck dumb by the question and after a moment realized this guy looked familiar. He was older than Naruto, but not by very much. In fact he was dressed like the kid with the funny hair 'cept his hair was long and pulled back in a ponytail. Still Naruto was not used to people asking if he was hurt. Most didn't care if he was and certainly wouldn't bother to ask. This day was definitely getting weirder and weirder.

“You're not hurt then?” the older boy asked again jolting Naruto out of his musings.

This time Naruto responded with a shake of his head and asked as the other stood up, “Are you a ninja?”

The older boy regarded Naruto with an odd look of curiosity for a moment and Naruto squirmed a bit under the scrutiny, but he wasn't really surprised the other didn't answer the question. Instead he said as he walked away, “You should head over to the park, you might find it a better place to play.”

Naruto watched the other until he disappeared from view then slowly rose from the grass. What a strange guy, he thought. Naruto's stomach growled reminding him of his original plans to get some lunch but he was just as interested in finding out what was going on in the park.

Truth told, Naruto didn't go to the park very often. There were usually other kids there, that was true, but none of them ever really played with him. He just sort of played around them and he wasn't so sure he was in the mood to be ignored after the whole sitting around in the classroom thing. Digging into his pocket he pulled out gama-chan and looked inside the frog shaped change purse to see how much money he still had with him. Naruto frowned at the few ryou there. His ninja gear had cost him dearly of the small amount of money he'd managed to scrimp together, but it looked like enough to buy something small to eat. This was assuming he could find someone to sell him something. Shoving gama back in his pocket, Naruto stood there trying to make up his mind.

Decisions, decisions.

Deciding not knowing would just bother him for the rest of the day, Naruto headed in the direction of the park.

Sasuke tapped the back of his foot against the elm tree he was standing under while he waited for his older brother.

Itachi sure is taking his time today, he thought.

This was actually a bit strange, since Itachi was usually never late, but lately his brother was acting really weird. Still he did promise to help Sasuke get a little training in before his first day at the academy. Classes were going to begin next week and Sasuke planned to be at the head of his class.

Scanning the field beyond the playground, Sasuke paused when he noticed a flash of orange and realized it was that same kid he'd seen in the hallway at the academy earlier. He never did find out the kid's name and taking a look back at the tree, Sasuke decided Itachi was probably held up on some mission or something and started across the field toward the other boy. Halfway there he was stopped by group of other children playing tag and lost track of where the other kid went. This irritated him enough that he let out a growl that caused a few of the others nearby to take a step away from him.

A group of giggling girls made him look in their direction, but what caught his attention was that the tree branches above them were moving independently of the wind. Being careful not to be spotted by the females, Sasuke found his way quietly into the tree and found his intended quarry. The blond kid never even looked up and was perched on a branch watching the girls below him.

Sasuke followed his line of sight and decided he was staring at one of them in particular. He wasn't sure if it was the blond or pink haired girl, but it was definitely one of them since they were a little off to the side from the rest. What was this kid's problem didn't he know that all girls were just...annoying?

Well, whatever, it wasn't like it was his problem and Sasuke turned to leave but stopped when a voice behind him shouted, “Hey! You're that kid from the hallway!”

Everyone below looked up and girls now scattered in every direction up and Sasuke ducked for cover as he covered his ears to shut out the ensuing screams. When he looked again the blond was gone.

Where'd he go now?

Sasuke dropped out of the tree and looked around. Only one of the girls the boy was watching remained. It was the pink haired girl. From her position on the ground Sasuke guessed she must have fallen in her attempt to run away.

“Thank you for saving me! Who are you?” she asked as she climbed to her feet.

Sasuke didn't answer, he was too busy wondering where the blond kid went. Why would all the girls scream and run away?

“My name is Haruno Sakura. What's yours?”

Sasuke refocused his attention on the girl and this time replied, “Uchiha Sasuke. Do you know where that blond kid went?”

She thought for a moment, then gasped, looking a bit startled. She clutched the few flowers she was still holding along with a red ribbon in front of her face and her voice held a hint of fear as she asked, “You don't mean 'that one', do you?”

That one? Sasuke remembered then that his father said he should not concern himself with 'that one' when he'd asked who the blond was. At the time, Sasuke had agreed to the restriction, but now he just wondered why. The kid sure seemed harmless enough. “Yeah,” he replied and tilted his head.

“You should stay away from him. My parents say he's trouble,” she paused seeing his confusion and her green eyes grew even larger as she whispered, “You didn't know?”

Sasuke realized then those girls had run from the blond. Maybe his father was right about that kid. Still he didn't understand what they could possibly be afraid of, that kid couldn't hurt a fly and he certainly didn't look dangerous. Irritated, Sasuke walked away.

“Be careful, Sasuke-kun!”

He didn't reply as he walk up a nearby embankment. Standing at its crest Sasuke paused to look around. Just an empty lake and seeing nothing of interest, he decided to head back to his original waiting place by the elm tree. Just as he was about to turn though, he noticed a pair of feet sticking up from the back a bench. Moving down the hill, Sasuke stopped just short of the bench when the feet dropped out of sight. Examining the bench he was a little surprised to see a pair of blue eyes watching him from the space between the seat and the back.

“Why are you following me?” the blond asked.

“I'm not following you.”

“Then why are you here?”

Sasuke couldn't answer that question since he hadn't really thought about it much up until that moment and thought, Why am I here? but said instead, “I'm waiting for my brother.”

“Oh,” was the only reply but there was a note of sadness in the blonde's voice that didn't make any sense to Sasuke and it irked him when the brat turned away. He was about to say so when the other whipped back around and asked, “You were at the academy...does that mean you're going to be a ninja too?”

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the sudden change of mood but nodded.

“I am too,” the blond said standing up on the bench. “In fact, I'm gonna be the most powerful ninja Konoha has ever seen!” This caused a Sasuke to snicker and the blond shouted, “Just wait, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the Hokage someday!”

“Hokage? You're weird,” Sasuke said and gave the blonde a shove. Naruto wobbled but managed to not fall off the bench. He glared at the other and said, “And what would you know about it?”

“I know there's no way you're ever going to be that strong.”

“And how would you know that, you jerk?”

“Cause I'm an Uchiha that's why.”

Naruto stopped dead and tilted his head. Sasuke took this to mean the blond was finally realizing who his was but instead Naruto asked, “What's a nuchina?”

“It's U-chi-ha, you idiot, and we're the strongest clan in all of Konoha. In fact, my dad is the Chief of Police.”

“So what, that doesn't make you better.”

“Does too, and I'll prove it. Follow me!”

Sasuke took off running up the hill back toward the park. He heard the footfalls of the blond behind him and made for a copse of trees near the center of the park. Coming to a stop, Sasuke waited until Naruto caught up with him and asked, “You see that tree?” Naruto nodded and Sasuke stated, “I'm gonna burn it down!”

It was Naruto's turn to snicker and he said with a dismissive wave, “No...way.”

“Shut up! What the hell do you know?” Sasuke snapped and formed the seals with his hands before he cupped one around his mouth as he sucked in a deep breath through his nose. After holding it for a moment, Sasuke blew it out in the direction of a small elm tree he'd been standing under earlier. Naruto took a step back as the tree exploded in a super heated fireball.

Naruto gaped at the other and after he shook himself out of it said, “Wow, that was so cool, you weren’t kidding.”

“That’s cause the Uchiha Clan is the best!”

“Too bad you burned up the old man's favorite tree. You know what? I think he even named it," Naruto was poking at the ashes with a stick he'd found nearby and Sasuke heard him add, "Wish I thought of that.”

“Thought of what? And which old man?”

“Burnin' up the tree!" Naruto said as if this should have been obvious and his smile was widening by the second.

"But which old man, Naruto?"

"You know, old man Sarutobi.”

Sarutobi? Sasuke heard that name before and felt his stomach drop when he remembered where.

“Oh crap…why didn't you tell me!” he shouted and grabbed the other by the front of his orange jacket giving him a little shake.

Naruto paused in his in his laughter long enough to push Sasuke away and shot back, “Like I knew you were really gonna blow it up!”

The tree was already reduced to pile of smoldering cinders and Naruto, was now laughing so hard, he fell over.

oh my...what sort of trouble is bound to come from this.