Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Just the Three of Us ❯ Outcasts ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: It's raining today, there's no internet, and my rough drafts of some of my stories are at my bros' place. So I'll be typing this story today. Although I won't be putting this up until after I update Wishful Thinking. XD Hope you enjoy! Oh, and I already have the final pairing decided. ^_^ -listens to Brand New Morning by Mizuhashi Mai- Oh, and one more thing. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura do NOT live in Konoha and they do NOT live in a ninja village. Well, in this story anyway.

 

 

Disclaimer: I own no one. They all belong to the glorious Masashi Kishimoto. Bow before him! Nah, I'm kidding! But still, thank him for Naruto!

 

 

Chapter 1: Outcasts

 

 

Life is filled with twists and turns, obstacles that we must overcome. No one's life is perfect; no one is safe from the true reality. It is not until you suffer, that you gain true and absolute happiness.

 

 

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Grey clouds blocked the rays of the sun, the grass damp, puddles scattered on the ground. Adults grunted as they attempted to free a cart that was stuck in the mud. Parents would scold children whenever they jumped around, getting filthy.

 

This was all watched though the eyes of a young boy. He sat alone on a swing, distanced from the others. Adults would occasionally glare at him, giving a scoff. Kids would copy their parents and avoid him, sticking out their tongues every so often.

 

He would glare back, hatred in his cerulean eyes. His blonde hair was soaked, along with his raggedy clothing. Tired of the sneers, he jumped down, his bare feet squishing the mud beneath him. Sending one last glare, he walked away.

 

 

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Praises echoed through the halls, a crowd of people complimenting a young male teen. He didn't seem to care, but nodded his head and gave his thanks. They continued their chatting, laughs filling the air.

 

This was watched from a distance by a young boy. He poked his head around the doorway, a frown on his face. He seemed to be longing to be in there, but remained in that spot. No one seemed to notice him, like he wasn't even there.

 

He cast his head down, sadness in his onyx eyes. Blowing a strand of his raven hair away, he slunk away from the doorway. His feet were silent as he walked down the hallway, stopping in front of a door. Quietly sliding it open, he stepped inside and closed it. Grabbing a back pack and filling it with clothes, he gave one last glance and crept out the window.

 

 

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The meadow was filled with young girls, picking flowers to their liking. They were specific about the type and color, not picking random ones. They wanted to compliment their main flower, which was their favorite. They smiled and laughed, their bouquets nearing completion.

 

This was watched from above by a young girl. Tear stains were on her cheeks, her eyes red and puffy. Bruises were on her arms and legs, bandages wrapped around her hands and left ankle. Every so often a girl would look up and yell out, calling her ugly, pinky, or billboard brow, adding insult to injury.

 

More tears welled up in her light green eyes, dripping down her face once more. Her pink hair was a mess, blood matted in a few areas. Her lips were trembling, her entire body shivering. She froze when she heard footsteps by her door, relaxing when they passed by and faded.

 

Wiping away the tears, she went away from the window, grabbing a back pack hidden underneath her mattress. Listening to the floor, she heard nothing. Peeking out the door, she silently crept down the stairs and out the door, running as fast as she could into the forest nearby.

 

 

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Running, running, running away from it all. Pants heard, the crunching of leaves and twigs. Wanting to escape, get away from it all. Collision, several grunts heard. Opening their eyes, they saw two others than themselves.

 

The boy with blonde hair and cerulean eyes, hated for having a demon inside him which killed many precious people.

 

The boy with raven hair and onyx eyes, ignored by his entire family, because his older brother was perfect in every way possible.

 

The girl with pink hair and light green eyes, bullied by the girls and abused by her parents for being a freak.

 

They were all outcasts, having no place where they belong. And now, they have finally met.

 

 

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The sky was dark, the moon partially covered by the clouds. There was no breeze, the air still and cold. Crickets chirped while owls hooted, a small rustle in the bushes every once in a while.

 

The children were gathered around a small fire, their stomachs grumbling from hunger. None of them had remembered to bring food, and they were too exhausted to search. To try to distract them from their hunger, the girl tried to start a conversation.

 

“Well, since we'll be traveling together, maybe we should introduce ourselves.” The boys stared at the fire, not bothering to reply. “I…guess I'll go first. My name's Sakura Haruno. What are your names?” She waited for a response, disappointed when there came none.

 

“I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki.” Her mood lightened slightly; relieved she's making some progress.

 

“Sasuke…Uchiha.” A small smile hade its way on her lips, they're talking to her. At least, a little.

 

“All right, now we know our names.”

 

“And that's all we need to know.” She was surprised by Sasuke's comment, frowning again.

 

“Well, all right than.” She stood up, grabbing her back pack while walking to a close tree, lying down while using her bag as a pillow. “Good night.” As time passed, she dozed off.

 

Naruto and Sasuke were still awake, not quite trusting each other. But their eyes were drooping, sleep almost taking over. Looking over to Sakura, Naruto opened his mouth.

 

“I can see why she ran away. But why would you rich boy?” Sasuke glared at him, a scowl on his face.

 

“DON'T call me rich boy. And that's none of your business.” Naruto shrugged his shoulders, standing up as he made his way to another tree, climbing up to a branch. Positioning himself so he wouldn't fall, he went to sleep. Deciding to do the same, Sasuke grabbed his back pack and went to a different tree, doing the same as Sakura. Shortly after, the two boys drifted off to sleep.

 

 

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A week passed, the trio traveling down a road. They rarely spoke, the only one being Sakura. She gave up though, thinking to herself. Out of the blue, she somewhat stunned them when they came across a fork in the road.

 

“I'll be going off on my own now. I'll be taking the left path since you guys decided to go right.” They stared at her, a bewildered look on their faces.

 

“Are you dense? You're only a kid, like us. Not to mention a girl. Someone could easily kidnap or even kill you.” She gave them a stern look, her voice losing its warmth.

 

“I won't travel with people who don't want me around.” With that, she separated from them, going down the other road. They just stood there until she disappeared from view, looking at each other.

 

“Think we should go after her Sasuke?”

 

“If we don't, who knows what'll happen to her.” Nodding in agreement, they ran off to catch up with her. They could hear some muffling up ahead, a few chuckles as well. As they got closer a group of men were seen encircled around something, Sakura's voice in the middle.

 

“Now, now little girl. You shouldn't be traveling all by yourself.”

 

“Yeah, why don't you come with us?”

 

“No! Now let go of me!” The two hid behind a tree, unsure of what to do. The men were far taller than them, weapons in clear view. Headbands shown they were ninjas, but they didn't know what the strange symbol meant.

 

“Shoot! What are we gonna do now rich boy?”

 

“Shut up. I'm trying to think.” Before Naruto retorted, they heard groans from the group, thuds as well. Peeking out from behind the tree, the men were seen laying on the ground unconscious, Sakura staring at someone.

 

It was another man, his face covered by a mask. A lone eye peeked out, his silver hair slightly messy. He crouched down and patted Sakura's head, closing his eye.

 

“There, all the bad men are…asleep. Now, what's a sweet little girl like you doing all alone in a place like this? Did you get separated from your family?”

 

Naruto and Sasuke dashed in front of Sakura, slapping his hand away from her. The two boys glared at him, a deep hatred of adults residing inside.

 

“Huh? W-What are you guys doing here?” The man looked at them, looking back at Sakura.

 

“Friends of yours?” She looked at him, furrowing her brows and turning around with a humph.

 

“No they're not! So I left them!” The two looked at her, a little saddened by her words.

 

“But…but Sakura…”

 

“No buts Naruto! You guys won't even talk to me! So don't even try to argue!” He shrank back, having never seen this side of her before. He thought she was shy and always afraid. But he never knew she had such a feisty temper hidden inside.

 

“Hmm, Sakura and Naruto. So, who'd you be than?” They froze, the stranger having heard their names. Sasuke whispered, calling them idiots for being so careless. “Hmm. A group of three kids. Age, looks like 6. Naruto has torn clothes and no shoes. Sakura is covered in bandages and has a few scars on her body. And the last one…hmm…” They stared at him, baffled by his behavior. They wondered what he was up to.

 

“Come on. Let's go.”

 

“Runaways. You all ran away from home, didn't you?” They stopped in their tracks. “Looks like I'm right.”

 

“So what if we did? It's not like anyone cares.” All was silent, the stranger advancing towards them.

 

“Really? So you're saying your families wouldn't mind if I took you in?” They stared at him, the boys in doubt.

 

“We don't want your sympathy. We're fine on our own.”

 

“Yeah, like Sasuke said. We don't want any stupid adults.”

 

“Sasuke, Naruto.” They turned to Sakura. “STOP BEING STUBBORN AND SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE!”

 

“My, my. This will be interesting.”

 

 

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The house was small, but it was fine for them. It was secluded from outsiders, only the four of them knowing the way. Naruto was given new clothes and shoes, but he still doubted the man. There was a garden in the back, filled with vegetables. There were also a few fruit trees, good enough to take off the branch and take a bite out of. There even seemed to be a path that led to a hot spring, where they took their baths separately by gender. It's only been a month, yet the kids still wouldn't open up.

 

“Kakashi!”

 

“Hmm? What is it Sakura?”

 

“Naruto and Sasuke are fighting again!” He sighed, closing his book and making his way outside. In the front the boys were rolling around, spitting insults at each other.

 

“Idiot!”

 

“Chicken head!”

 

“Retard!”

 

“Duck butt!” Sakura was lounging in the grass, watching with a bored expression. Kakashi sat beside her, reopening his book.

 

“How'd it start this time?”

 

“Naruto said tomatoes are disgusting.”

 

“How's that bad?”

 

“Turns out Sasuke loves tomatoes. Who knew?” He patted her head, earning a small giggle. He was able to get a little close to her, but she still did withdraw from them sometimes. The only thing he got from the boys was a rivalry. They competed over everything. Who are the fastest and the most, who can stay in the hot springs the longest, who can keep spinning without collapsing or barfing, the list went on.

 

“This rivalry might be a good thing.”

 

“How Kakashi?”

 

“You really want to take care of yourselves without help from any adults?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“All right than. I'll teach you three the way of the shinobi.”

 

 

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Practice, training, control, strength, protection. Kakashi was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, Konoha. He just chose to live outside his village in solitude. Until he ran into the trio of runaways. They each had their own strengths; they just didn't realize it yet. With the right teachers, they could reach their potential. For now, he would teach them the basics.

 

“Argh! I can't stand these clones!” They were in the back, practicing the kage bunshin jutsu. Sasuke and Sakura had successfully created three, while Naruto only made one…that looked absolutely pathetic. “I hate it I hate it I hate it!”

 

“Calm down Naruto. This is what practice is for. Practice makes perfect.”

 

“Easy for you to say Sakura, you have three! It's no fair…” Kakashi appeared with a few bento boxes, passing one to each child as he kept one for himself. Naruto's stomach grumbling, he grinned and chowed down.

 

“Don't eat too fast! You'll choke!”

 

“He's an idiot. He'll never learn.”

 

“Watch it Sasuke! Or I'll wipe the floor with ya!” As he resumed his eating, a piece of food got lodged in his throat, his face turning blue. Alarmed, Sakura poured some water from her bottle into his mouth; Naruto soon breathing again after swallowing.

 

“Didn't I warn you to slow down?”

 

“Hehe…unh, thanks Sakura.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his onigiri. Kakashi just chuckled, vanishing so he could eat in private.

 

Naruto was starting to loosen up, warming up to Sakura and no longer ignoring her. He'd start fights with Sasuke, like a sibling rivalry. He'd play pranks on Kakashi, Sakura joining in sometimes. As a result Naruto couldn't eat dinner, and Sakura couldn't have a relaxing bath. This was his way of opening up, and a way of saying thank you.

 

 

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Bedtime, a time that's either looked forward to, or the most difficult part of the day. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were tired out, dressed in their night yukatas. As for Naruto, he was brimming with energy, talking nonstop. Kakashi was doing all he could to calm him down, but failed miserably.

 

“Naruto…shut up already.”

 

“Kakashi…would you please build another room or two? That way we can ALL get some sleep?”

 

Since Kakashi intentionally lived alone, he had only one bedroom. The living room was too crowded and messy, so all four slept in the same room on the spare futons he fortunately kept.

 

“I'll think about it Sakura…”

 

“Come on you guys! Let's go train! I feel like I can run several laps without a sweat!”

 

“That's a good idea…go run laps…we'll catch up…”

 

“All right!” His footsteps were heard running down the hall, the door slammed opened and closed. Everyone sighed of relief, peace and quiet at last.

 

“Finally…that idiot's gone…”

 

“Kakashi…tomorrow, buy some wood and nails…I can't take this much longer…”

 

“All right, all right. I'll go into town tomorrow.” Time passed, the three fast asleep. The door was opened and closed again, shuffling heard coming towards the bedroom. Naruto's eyes drooped, a yawn escaping.

 

“Sleep…so tired…” He collapsed onto his futon, snuggling into the pillow. Soon after, he dozed off.

 

The next day Kakashi returned with two other men, pulling a cart full of supplies. The two men were shocked to see the trio of children, but didn't say a word.

 

The one with short black hair and green jumpsuit frightened the kids with his poses and super bushy eyebrows. The other man who was smoking a cigarette just shook his head, his hand going through his dark hair. After a couple of weeks, the house was slightly bigger, three bedrooms and another bathroom added. The two men left, but visited once in a while, curious of the children Kakashi took in.

 

 

A/N: Ow…my hands and my arms hurt…and my back…I'm gonna take a quick break and start typing the 2nd chapter, since I always put up Chapters 1 and 2 for new chapter stories. Consider yourselves lucky. Ow…