a village with(out) me ━ naruto fanfic

7.

Chapter Seven: 

"So," Sasuke says, his onyx coloured eyes boring into Naruto with heavy curiosity. "You're the Yondaime's son." 

It's not a question. Far from it. Sasuke's words are a statement. A fact.

Sakura fiddles with the hem of her red dress, flickering her gaze between Sasuke and Naruto nervously. The bell test has already begun and half an hour has passed. Sakura sighs, soft and quiet and crouches a little more to the ground, afraid that her pink hair and Naruto's blonde locks will give away their hiding spot. 

"How long have you known?" Sasuke questions Naruto quietly, tilting his head.

There's a gentle summer breeze that ruffles their hair and makes the bushes and trees around them shift softly, the sound of leaves rustling filling in the space of Naruto's silence. 

"A while," Naruto eventually settles on saying, copying the motion of Sasuke's head tilt, almost as if he's sizing him up. "Is this really the time to be asking me questions?" 

"Yes," Sasuke nods, serious and quiet, his dark eyes narrowing, "you went easy on me at the academy, didn't you?" 

"Sasuke," Sakura frowns, inching closer to her teammates, her soft voice filled with warning. 

Sasuke ignores her, the set of his mouth turning into a scowl as Naruto shrugs a single shoulder, pulling back the underside of the bush near him to peer through it. Kakashi is still in place, standing in the middle of the training ground, his nose passed in-between the pages of his book. 

Sasuke and Sakura lean in closer for a better look, their shoulders brushing softly against Naruto's. 

"He's really attached to that book," Sakura whispers, "I wonder what it's about." 

"Hn," Sasuke agrees, his scowl deepening. He takes a deep breath, willing to calm his nerves as Naruto ignores his probing glare. Sasuke's nose fills with the scent of sea salt and plums and the earthy musk of the training grounds around them. He catches the scent of lightning, hot and prickly and his nose twitches.

He's still getting used to scents and the bombardment of them is annoying, if not somewhat helpful at times. 

"You're fast," Sasuke grudgingly admits, his hands forming fists against the ground as Naruto pulls the underside of the thick bush back into place, covering the three of them in their hiding place. 

"You think you can steal that book of his?" He asks, biting the inside of his cheek. Sasuke is used to being quiet, but he's talking more than Sakura and Naruto combined today. 

Sakura gives him a worried look, her thin pink brows furrowing. "Do you have a fever?" She asks. 

"No,'' Sasuke grits his teeth, inching away before Sakura does something stupid and annoying, like check his temperature. He takes another calming breath, scowling as he gets assaulted by sea salt and sweet plums again. 

"......Thanks," Naruto surprises Sasuke by accepting his━

Sasuke isn't going to call it a compliment. It's simply a mere observation. 

Nothing more. 

Nothing less. 

His lips curl back into a sneer, but before he can make a scathing remark, something sharp and silver slips out from beneath Naruto's jacket sleeve and lands in his hand. 

"It used to belong to my father," Naruto explains, hooking his pointer finger into the silver hoop at the hilt and holding it out for Sasuke and Sakura to see. There's a seal wrapped around the handle and Sasuke struggles to read it, finding the symbols unrecognisable.