Same Soul • Sasunaru

1. Cello Strings.

Naruto's POV

This is the story,

Of how I met my lover,

For the thousandth time.

Each time we remember,

Each time we fall in love even more.

But this time it's difficult.

And it all started,

At a silly Christmas party,

Where I fell at first glance,

Even though,

It was my millionth.

●○●

A warm pool of tears started to swell up in my mother's eyes. Gingerly, a proud smile was plastered onto her face as she stared down at me in content. I tried not to give into my emotions as I kept drawing the bow smoothly against the strings of my cello. My father stands stern and closes his eyes: taking in every sound wave that I create; turning it into emotions and beauty.

I hold onto one final note than draw the bow back onto my shoulder. My parents, Minato and Kushina, jump up and down while doing their applause in the living room. I love seeing my parents smile when they're proud of me. It feels really good and it always makes my day better.

Before I could move the cello out from between my legs, mom and dad come and bombard me in tons of hugs. "Our little boy is so talented!" Kushina screeches as she squeezes my thin body even harder. Her warmth felt really nice in this December weather, and so did my father's.

I chuckle and blush. "I'm not a little boy mom, I'm 16!"

Minato gleams at me and laughs. "No matter how old you become, Naruto, you'll always be our little boy. Whether you like it or not." He nudges his fist against my golden locks gently, then he and my mom releases from the group hug we shared.

"I'm off to work, guys. I'll see you later! Keep practicing for that winter concert, Naruto. I'm sure you can become even better at the cello than you are now!" My father exclaims. He grabs his car keys and coat off the hook, then walks out the door into the snowfall that is happening outside. I smile at the door as it closes, and wish him luck on the road to work.

"Ah! I think dinner is burning to a crisp, ya know!" Kushina yells from the kitchen. A small smog began to form around the ceiling of the house, and I scurried to help her.

Mom holds up a casserole in a glass dish with thin oven mitts, then she throws it on top of the stove in a hurry. "Ouch ouch ouch!" The food looks so overcooked, and I pray to Hashirama that she still won't make me eat it regardless that it's a rock.

She smiles even though she sighs. "Oh well, I guess your cello playing was so great it made me forget the food."

I pout and look down at the casserole. "I'm sorry mom. But...you're not gonna make me eat it, right?"

She chuckles and disposes of the casserole in the trash. Then, she gently places the dish into the sink. "No buddy, I think this is completely inedible. You act like I feed you dirt for dinner!" She crossed her arms and looks down disappointingly towards me, but I know she's just being silly. Even though I'm full grown, my mother still seems to be taller than me. And my dad? Forget it.

"Anyways," my mother starts, "I wanted to talk to you about something if you don't mind." She looks at me and raises one eyebrow with a playfully devious grin.

A confused expression finds it's way onto my face. "What is it? You're scaring me with that creepy look of yours, ya know?"

She walks towards the sink and turns on the faucet to start washing the dirty dish. "Are you interested in any of the girls at your school? I know when we took a tour last you before you applied, I saw some very pretty girls that looked very sweet and kind."

I step back abruptly and blush, my mouth dropping to the floor. "No, no, no! I'm not interested in any of them at all!" I wave my hands in front of me in defense. I've honestly never thought of any of the girls in my class to be attractive. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a crush on a girl. Is that a normal thing? Maybe I'm just too focused on my music career to even blink twice at them in that way.

She laughs at the top of her lungs sweetly. She turns off the faucet and walks towards me, putting her hands gently on my shoulders. "I don't blame you; you're a busy boy, Naruto. But you've gotta realize that there are other things in this world to love and focus on: not just music. I mean places and people, ya know?"

"I focus on and love other people! I love you and Dad, and even my friends in school like Shikamaru and Neji! Well, I don't love them in a romantic relationship kinda way, but still...I care," I continue to blabber on.

Kushina shushes me politely. "Well, let me tell you this. I signed us both up to go to the Christmas party at the mayor's mansion on Christmas Eve, and she expects a performance! Not only that, but there are going to be people there from Osaka's public high schools, not just from your private arts academy. I want you to go and meet people, form relationships."

I ignore the whole form relationships part. "Wha--?! A cello performance in front of all of Osaka's most important people? How the hell do you expect me to do that, ya know?!"

"Nevermind that, I'm sure you'll do just fine. But in order to give you a head start on this, I need to give you something." She grabs my wrist gingerly and opens my palm, dropping a small folded piece of paper into my hand.

"What the heck is this for?" I murmur, examining it closely.

She looks deeply into my eyes, as I stare back into hers with the color of the sea on a sunny day. "Everyone who attends this party has to be involved in secret Santa. So you're going to buy a gift for a random person, and someone else is gonna buy you a gift! The name of the person your gift is for is on the paper!"

I unfold the paper and read the name.

Sasuke Uchiha.