Chapter Text
A life lived in a rush, except for that one soft stretch of easy breathing. Just enough of a lull to fall back asleep right as the alarm went off.
“Darn it!” the blond boy exclaimed, jumping up.
His pajamas flew in all directions. Seconds later his footsteps were already echoing down the stairs.
“Naruto, your breakfast!”
“No time for that! The academy-”
“Can wait! You can sit down for two minutes. Your classmates aren’t going anywhere.
“Yes, Mom.”
You'd have to be reckless, or a little crazy, to defy the law of the household. In doing so, he was neither. He stamped his feet as he dropped into his seat, sliding them under the table. Wearing a white apron over a black dress, the woman with ink-black hair served him. Orange juice, fried eggs, everything one could expect from a princely meal, just like the stories she used to tell him before he fell asleep.
“My prince, please, grant us our wish.”
That voice, that tingling in his fingertips, he tried to fight it down, but it was winning more each day. Little furry shapes scurried across the table, jostling each other for his attention. Their eyes, too big for their heads, gleamed with an anticipation that never seemed to run dry.
“Mom, I want to leave!” he pleaded.
She set the frying pan down in the sink, the water singing against the metal.
“You're always in such a hurry,” she said calmly. “The world can wait till you've finished your plate.”
But the little creatures were working themselves into a frenzy, chirping, tugging at the tablecloth. He kept his head down and bolted his food. Then he shot to his feet, and the chair screeched back behind him.
“Thanks for breakfast!” He was already at the door, yanking his bag off the coat rack.
“Naruto.”
His hand froze on the doorknob.
“Try not to daydream too much today.”
-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-
“Hey, Naruto!”
He turned around. Choji was trotting over, a bag of chips in hand. Behind him, Shikamaru dragged his feet, wearing that all-too-familiar look, the one of a lazybones dragged out of bed too early.
“Hi!” Naruto said, all smiles.
“Did you manage to escape your mom?” Choji asked between bites.
“Yeah, but she still gave me a good scolding.”
He didn't really mean it, he just liked exaggerating things for the reaction.
The group started walking again. As usual, Choji was telling them all about a new yakitori stand he absolutely had to try. Naruto nodded along, if he was even listening, distracted by the incessant buzzing in his ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out a few of them. Round, blurry silhouettes on the edge of a rooftop. Others were peeking out of a manhole further down the street.
“They’re still there,” he muttered.
“What?” Choji asked.
“Your imaginary friends again?” Shikamaru sighed. “Seriously, Naruto, I don't even have the energy to argue about it.”
“I’m not making them up! They’re really-”
“Yeah, yeah. On the rooftops, in the alleys next door. We know. How many times have you said that now… ten times, already?”
Choji shrugged, lobbing his empty bag toward the nearest trash can.
“You’re always saying weird stuff. That’s just your thing.”
“It’s not my thing!” Naruto protested. “I swear it’s true!”
“So why can’t anyone else, not even the adults, see them?” Shikamaru asked.
Naruto clamped his mouth shut and pouted. The fact that he was the only one who could see them annoyed him to no end. Yet there they were, their attention pressing down on him, suffocating him.
"Whatever, never mind."
"You're impossible when you're like this." Shikamaru sighted.
The blond boy walked past them and stuck his tongue out at them.
They turned a corner. The academy loomed ahead, a familiar building with a courtyard where dozens of children were running all over the place.
“Alright, see you in class,” Shikamaru said, already stretched out in the shade of a tree.
“How can you sleep on the ground?” Choji asked, doubtful.
“Just used to it…”
The buzz died down once they passed through the gates, as if something had been left behind at the boundary. While Choji went to see if his father had picked up his evaluation from the day before, Naruto let his gaze drift over the courtyard. Shouts and laughter rang out from every corner. A cluster of kids was practicing shuriken throws against a wall, targets pinned up like usual. It was the same scene as always, almost comforting in its sameness
“Hey, Naruto!”
Kiba burst in, with Akamaru barking above his head.
“Did you hear that? The teacher said we might have a hands-on activity this afternoon!”
“Wow! Awesome!”
“For once we get to stretch our legs! It’s for teamwork, I guess.”
Naruto plopped down in his usual seat, third row, by the window. Choji arrived shortly after, out of breath.
“I thought I was gonna die,” he gasped as he collapsed next to him.
“You say that every day.”
“Because it’s true every day!”
The bell rang. The conversations gradually died down, and fell silent for good when Iruka entered, the attendance roll tucked under his arm.
“Good morning. Take your seats.”
The last few students still standing returned to their seats. As for Naruto, he slumped back against the back of his chair. Roll call, then class. Probably village history or shinobi theory. The names were called out, monotonously, and he fought the heaviness tugging at his eyelids. The buzz grew louder, and beneath it, something else rose: a whisper, faint, barely audible under the teacher's voice and the murmur of the room.
Come… Come to me…
“Naruto!”
The whole class was looking at him.
“Present!”
He felt his face go red under the class's laughter. Iruka frowned, then turned and started writing on the board, chalk screeching.