(Naruto) (Who Knew?) A smile
Who Knew?
It’s the little things in life that make it worthwhile.
A smile
Hiding behind her mother, Sakura couldn’t understand why everyone ignored the boy. He was sitting on a bench, eating ramen. His blonde hair was a little spiky and his eyes were closed, enjoying the meal. He looked like any other boy, and yet he seemed different. Maybe it was the way he, while looking happy, seemed to have an air of sadness around him. As well, when he opened his striking blue eyes, they looked contemplative, with an air of maturity beyond his years. There was also the fact that his clothes seemed a little dirty and his body a little too thin.
Those were the key differences. They were not the only ones, though. What made him the most noticeable was that he was alone. While everyone had someone (a parent, a lover, a friend) he had no one. As people walked down the street, even though they went by him, they left a wide berth around him. When they talked, they talked over his head to each other, not a single word directed to him. When they looked around, their eyes slid right over him. They were ignoring him.
Why? The little girl couldn’t understand. She looked around and saw other little boys. They were just like the boy on the bench-young, happy, dirty. They weren’t different except they were surrounded by friends and were laughing with people. Yet this blonde boy, who could have fit easily with them, was left out. She saw other mothers glare at the boy, hiding their children from him as if he were some monster out to eat them.
Curious, Sakura took a tentative step towards the boy. Looking back, she saw her mommy talking to someone and Sakura decided to go closer. When she was right in front of the boy, she said, “Hey.” The boy seemed surprised, Sakura noticed, before he grinned up at her. Opening his mouth to speak, the boy replied, “Hi.” He was looking at her expectantly, waiting for something. Almost like he was testing her. Not sure of what to do, she told him her name.
“Hi, I’m Haruno Sakura.”
The boy immediately started to give her a big smile, glowing like the sun. She must have passed his test, for he started to talk to her. “Hi, Sakura-chan! I’m…”
However, when he was about to tell her his name, Sakura’s mother noticed where her daughter was. Quickly, she grabbed Sakura’s hand and started dragging her away. Looking back at the boy, Sakura noticed how he was gazing sadly at them. He didn’t seem surprised, as though he was expecting this. He was a forlorn figure, sitting on a big bench, not a soul near him. She wanted to give him something, something to take away that sad look on his face. So she offered her smile. Nothing much, but the way he immediately brightened up made it worth it. His eyes had an excited look in them, as if they just woke up. His body leaped off the bench and he waved at her. She made a small wave back before turning around and leaving with her memory.
Later, this incident was forgotten. She would just remember a lonely boy, while he would remember a shy, warm smile and pink locks.
A/N: And this is the start of my one-shot series of Team Seven. Though, this doesn’t seem like that good of a story (I should have extended it…)
And this story was inspired by the anime series. In one of the openings/endings songs (don’t ask me which one, I don’t really watch the series that much any more, I read mostly), there was a scene where the villagers were moving away from Naruto and Sakura was looking behind at him (or past her mother’s legs at him). So then the idea came.