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"WHY ARE YOU SO STRONG, SENSEI?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of ramen. 10 bowls already stood in a tower, stacked on the counter next to the one he was eating.
"Hm. Well, I was fueled by something. Everyone needs a motivation to grow stronger. Lucky for you two, you've already found your motivations. Sasuke, your brother." The Uchiha tensed. "Naruto, your goal to be hokage." The yellow haired boy cheered, spitting noodles onto Sasuke's face.
"God-that's disgusting, close your fucking mouth you little-" The boy snatched Sakura's napkin and wiped his face, shooting daggers at the Uzumaki.
"Er-yes anyway, that goal can change, but that's ok. As long as you HAVE a goal. Although I suspect your goal won't change that much, Naruto." At this, the boy cheered again, louder, this time spitting ramen all over Sakura's face.
"..."
The shop was silent, both boys looking at her to see what her reaction would be.
"She's going to kill me." Naruto whispered to Sasuke, hiding behind him.
"Heh. Serves you right."
Sakura coughed, shutting them both up.
"That's an automatic 100 laps around the village-" hearing this the Uchiha smirked at Naruto. "Both of you."
The Uzumaki snickered, secretly glad he wouldn't be alone.
-
"I can't believe I have to join you. This is your fault." Later, the raven haired boy grumbled to a yellow haired one, as they both jogged around the streets of Konoha.
"How is it my fault? ...Actually it's my fault, sorry bro. I promise I'll make it-woah, isn't that Sakura Sensei?"
The two quickly his behind a corner as the pink haired girl walked out of a flower shop.
"She's...heading towards the graveyard. Let's follow her."
Surprisingly the Uchiha was the one to say so, pulling Naruto with him and sneaking after his teacher.
"She stopped in front of two stones, that's the civilian area isn't it?"
And she had. Obviously Sakura had sensed the two boys since the beginning, but what better way to reveal her losses was there than to get exposed?
She silently took out a cigarette and lit it with a flame summoned on her finger.
"Is that a cigarette? But she's like six! Or ten, I forgot. But still, isn't that like really bad for you? A dude from my orphanage let me try it once, it was disgusting."
Sasuke nodded, gazing at the pink haired girl still standing in front of the graves. He himself had tried smoking once, after the massacre, but had quit it immediately because of how terrible it was.
Were those the graves of people she knew?
"Uh-yeah. This is where my parents are buried." As if reading his mind, Sakura called out into the silence, turning her head towards where the duo stood behind a tree.
"Shit." Sasuke whispered.
"You two need to learn to hide your presence better." She said before Naruto could ask how she knew they were there.
"You're like us?" He asked instead, blurting the question out like the noodles he had ejected from his mouth earlier.
"I guess you could say that. I'll tell you the story some other time. Shouldn't you two be running some laps? Or are you done already?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, we finished and saw you. We were curious, sorry." He said without hesitation, and certainly without an ounce of apology.
Naruto sweat dropped despite the gloomy setting. They were definitely not finished, they had just started. But he kept silent out of exhaustion.
"Riiight. Well, today we'll all sleep in Sasuke's house." Sakura knew the two were lying, but she let it go. Instead, she decided to annoy the Uchiha. "His house is closer anyway."
The boy open and closed his mouth, ready to protest, but then just glared. There was no point in arguing anyway.
"Fine, but only because you paid for the meal, sensei."
-
The walk to the Uchiha compound was silent. Not an awkward silence, but a necessary one, as each child focused on their own thoughts.
Eventually they arrived, and Sasuke let them into the main branch's home.
The three put their shoes on to the ground, and stepped up into the house.
"Uh...welcome I guess." The Uchiha awkwardly scratched his head, before heading into the living room.
"We could all just sleep here." He suggested, looking at the other two, who had followed him.
"Good idea. It'll be funner too." Sakura agreed.
-
When the other two boys were sleeping, the girl slipped out from under the covers, and walked outside. Stars were visible, and the air was still.
This was what she'd call a perfect night.
Dry, warm breeze, and the sound of crickets.
She took out another cigarette, lighting it.
Taking a drag, the pink haired girl gazed up at the sky, trying to find all the stars she had learned about from one of her astrology books.
"Stop."
Sasuke's voice came from behind her, as a kunai pierced her cigarette and stuck it into the trunk of a nearby tree.
"Dude. That's rude."
"And that shit will kill you."
"All the shit we do will kill us. Becoming a shinobi is literally the path to death."
The boy walked next to her and sat down, crossing his legs.
"Still. Besides, this is my house. No smoking allowed."
The Haruno rolled her eyes. "Fair enough" She said.
"Like brother like brother, I guess." She added, side eying Sasuke.
Just as expected, he snapped his head towards her.
"Itachi told you to quit smoking as well?"
"Yeah. He caught me taking a drag during a funeral."
The Uchiha nodded thoughtfully, before standing back up.
"On second thought," He snatched 2 sticks from the girl's pack, sticking one in his mouth and another in Sakura's.
