Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Paper Hearts ❯ Nobody Should Have to Cry Like Me ( Chapter 2 )

Nobody Should Have to Cry Like Me

 

His feelings toward pink were confusing, to say the least.

 

One thing is for sure, though: There is too much of it.

 

He makes his way to the Academy, pink on the sidewalks- Why are those names in that heart?- pink on the houses- Who're 'Gai' and 'Anko', anyway?- pink on the people- Mother's wearing one of those heart pins, too. I wonder if Father gave it to her...

 

Father.

 

He bows his head and speeds up, fighting the tears that burn at his eyes, wanting to get to class as soon as possible. The earlier he is at school, the better his chances of a little extra tutoring, and then he will be that much closer to Itachi. And then his Father will say to him: "As I expected; You are my child."

 

He stops just before the door and takes a short breather before quietly sliding it open and walking in- Well, he could've walked in, but, instead, he gets attacked by a high-pitched, squealing mass of lace, cardboard, hearts and sugar.

 

"Sasuke-kun! Be mine!"

 

"Sasuke-kun! Have some chocolates!"

 

"Sasuke-kun! I made this for you, see?"

 

"Sasuke-kun! You're my love!"

 

Sasuke is scared. Momentarily, he is left with all the defences of a child. And, like a child, he runs.

 

"SASUKE-KUN!"

 

The mass screams for him with one voice, many echoes following, and he can hear the rumbling of feet on tatami close behind him. Stifling a strangled cry of fear, little Sasuke puts the pedal to the metal- Er, the foot to the floor- and dashes into a classroom, flinging himself behind the door and standing stock still until the last girl patters away.

 

He apologizes to the teacher- "Gomen, sensei, please don't tell my father about this...!"- and leaves the room, off for a less occupied hiding place, somewhere lacking the many snickers of older students and the high shrieks of young girls.

 

Deciding to brave the beasts and go back to class, Sasuke quietly makes his way to the door. He braces himself- Might get into some nasty business, there, might lose a lot of good men- and slides the door open as quietly as possible. Catiously, he peers around the room, noting with relief that all the girls are in their seats and most are listening attentively to the teacher.

 

Too attentively.

 

What was their sensei saying that was so important?

 

"... Hand out your Valentines now, class."

 

It is as though the class is one huge monster that is suddenly staring him down. Silence rushes through his ears, everything is still, every eye on him; He alone notices Naruto starting to move. For a fraction of a second, he envies the blond boy- Naruto is not in the spotlight, he isn't pressured to get the best marks, he doesn't have stampedes of pink chasing after him, he doesn't need to impress his parents for recognition, no...

 

"SASUKE-KUN!"

 

Again, the little boy runs.

 

But even child prodigies lose their breath after a while, and little girls in love can run for a long, long time.

 

Sasuke stops in the target practice field and, as the gross mass of children begin to crowd him, he whips out his last resort. It is flung into a target, hitting a few inches from the bullseye.

 

The crowd is silent once more.

 

Thok! Thok! Thok!

 

Three more kunai hit the unfortunate slab of wood, and the crowds have stepped three feet back. Good. Room to breathe. He pauses, watching the girls with hawk-like precision, and suddenly one steps forward, a brave shock of pink.

 

"Sasuke-kun, happy Valentine's!" she says, looking at him with adoration.

 

He frowns and turns away. He wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't had such memorable hair.

 

"Sasuke-kun, do you have a Valentine, yet?"

 

Takes out a kunai, begins to fiddle with it absent-mindedly.

 

"Sasuke-kun..." She is in front of him, now, and shoves a precisely cut heart in front of him. It is pink, like her hair, and says "Happy Valentine's Day, Sasuke-kun!" in neat, loopy handwriting. There is an outline of white lace on the edges, and a little too much sparkle on the capital letters. Sasuke could have appreciated the obvious effort put into it, but it was so close he had to cross his eyes to look at it, and the girl was babbling on and on in the high-pitched squeak she called her voice.

 

"RAAGH!"

 

The heart is pinned to the target with a kunai, stabbed dead-center, the 'asu' of his name torn through and replaced by shiny, black metal. There is a choking sob, and then the girl has fled, leaving only tears in her wake. The people are murmuring now, and Sasuke stares at where she had gone, feeling horrible.

 

He made her cry. He had made the little, rose-headed girl cry. She had made something for him- He looks at the mangled paper- she had gone and created something for him, and what does he do? He rips the heart from her hands. He crumples the heart. He throws the heart. He stabs her heart.

 

Again, Sasuke finds himself fighting the tears. She was crying because he destroyed her efforts. He didn't care about what she did to try and achieve his recognition. She was like him.

 

Like him... Did she try to reach out for someone all the time? Try to get them to be proud of her? Try to get them to realize she is there? Get them to acknowledge her?

 

Like me... Did she hold everything in so they wouldn't shame someone? Did she let it all go at night, when the room is dark, so dark that nobody can see the face, only the shine of the salty tears that fall? Did she feel alone, neglected... Did she feel like she'd never be good enough?

 

Sasuke knows that feeling. It is an awful feeling. Nobody should have to feel it like he does.

 

Nobody should have to cry like he does.

 

... Like me...

 

He wants to apologize, really, he does. But he cannot. Apologizing would show regret and mistakes. Uchiha Sasuke cannot make mistakes. He is an Uchiha, and mistakes would not impress Father.

 

And impressing Father is all that's important to him right now.