(Book the Third) Crimson Hatred in the Uchiha

The Etiquette Brat

Naruto's POV

I walked through the streets of Konoha. I sniffed the morning air and grinned. That Ichiraku ramen was good! Even though I shouldn't eat ramen this early... Psh, who cares. Not like I'm gonna die anyways.

I should walk it off so I don't get fat.... Or maybe I can go training...

I still have some time before Kakashi-sensei's team meeting... Although we all know he's gonna be late anyways! Stupid pervert... He probably went off to read his stupid books... When I find the author, I'll make sure to kick his butt HARD-

Ah.

Someone bumped into me. The force wasn't big, but I noticed. I turned my head with a smile, "Oops, sorry-"

...eh? There isn't... Anyone?

Then I looked below me.

What the... Okay, a kid? He was a few inches taller than Konohamaru and had dark hair past his shoulders that was tied back. His hair covered his eyes. Wow. Creepy kid. Is he trying to go for a depressing look? He lacks color, and a smile. Not to mention... Why the heck is a kid carrying a sword? Do they even know what that is? He could hurt himself.

The kid just continued walking like nothing happened.

I found the first way to grab his attention.

"Hey hey!" I caught the kid's shoulder, "Sorry about bumping into you!"

The kid turned his head slowly. I couldn't tell whether he was looking at me or not, because of his stupid hair. Then I saw that half of his face had bandages. See? Told you. If you let a little kid swing a katana, he'll hurt himself.

The kid stared at me (or not, he had too much hair in his eyes).

The kid stared at me and his head tilted slightly. He doesn't know what I'm talking about...?

Wow. Okay. Obviously he is a stupid kid too. He's smaller than me, how could he not feel that?

"Uhh... I-bumped-in-to-you," I stretched out every syllable nice and long to the stupid kid, "I-am-sor-ry."

The kid stared (or not) at me again. His mouth, the only visible part besides his nose, opened for a second before closing. "I see. It's fine."

His voice is weird. I'm serious. When he spoke I felt really strange. It's like if you saw Kakashi-Sensei walking down the street naked you know? You get a wave of...weird. Huh, strange.

"Hey hey..." I pointed out, "Why do you have a sword? Little kids like you should not carry weapons. You probably never even graduated the Academy yet. How did Iruka-Sensei let you have that?"

There was a silence. Maybe the kid doesn't know who Iruka-Sensei is?

"Iruka-Sensei?" I prompted, "Come on, you know... One of the teachers in the Academy?"

"I should go," the kid stated, "can you let go of my shoulder? I'm sort of in a rush. I'm sorry if bumping into you caused trouble."

Was that sarcasm? I couldn't tell. His voice didn't seem sarcastic so... "It's okay... But really, why are you carrying a sword?"

The kid lifted a hand and pulled my hand off his shoulder, "It's not a sword.... And why are you so insistent? We don't even know each other. I am in a rush."

He talks like an adult. Like he knows everything. Somehow, that makes me feel angry. I'm older than him!

"What's wrong with telling me why!?" I nearly shouted, "Oh wait... Let me guess, you stole it didn't you!?"