Same Soul • Sasunaru

2. A Drag.

Naruto's POV

In order for me to get the heart I wanted,

I had to ignore the others.

●○●

"A secret santa party? My mom never told me we got invitied. Sounds like a total drag," Shikamaru says, putting his palm on his head and sighing. "And at Lady Hyuga's mansion? Even more of a drag."

Neji rolls his eyes and scoffs. "Mind you my mother is working herself tirelessly to prepare for this party. She's also very excited for the select students to perform, right Naruto?"

I chuckle and turn to Neji while scratching the whiskers on my face anxiously. "Yeah, but I'm nervous."

Me, Shikamaru and Neji are walking through the halls of Osaka's Academy of the Arts during passing time. Everyone is talking about this christmas party, and I never realized how big of a deal it is until today. My mother must of gotten us into this party through my musical talents or through my father's job. Otherwise, I have no idea how my average-income family would've been invited to such a fancy and wealthy party.

"So, I'm guessing you guys haven't gotten the names for your secret santa yet?" I question, walking aimlessly in the middle of the two boys with my hands resting behind my neck.

"I'm not getting one since I'm helping my mother host the party. Did your mother give you the name of your person yet, Naruto?" Neji looks over to me with his wide lavendar eyes in curiosity. Could he know who I got?

I look down to my feet and stop on the side of the hallway; placing my cello case on the ground. The others stop along with me and wait for my answer. "I got this guy name Sasuke Uchiha, and I have no idea who he is. How am I even supposed to get a gift for a person I've never met, ya know?"

Shikamaru raises his eyebrows and turns towards me, almost in shock. "Sasuke Uchiha, huh? My dad is his mother's coworker. I've seen him around a few times. Honestly he always looks so serious and grumpy. Good luck finding something he likes."

"Gah! This absolutely sucks!" I pout, crossing my arms and squinting my eyes shut. Shika's right, this is a drag.

"Naruto-kun!"

I turn around to see a girl with long purple hair thats as straight as a pin. Her eye's were lavendar just like Neji's, and her bangs were cut straight across her forehead. Her name is Hinata Hyuga, and she is Neji's cousin. Not only that but she is also part of the string section in the school's orchestea: just like I am. Except she plays the viola.

"Hinata! How's it going?" I say, giggling and putting on a big smile.

Her face turns a bright red and her eyes widen, almost in regret. She's always super quiet and nervous around me, but other people say that she's usually very calm and sensible. It makes me wonder if I intimidate her or something. I hope she doesn't feel like she has to put up with me just because we have to work with eachother during band practice.

She looks down at the viola case in her hand and stutters. "I-I was wondering if you would like to w-walk the rest of the way to band practice with m-me?"

Shikamaru sighs and puts his hand on Neji's shoulder playfully. "Me and Neji got to get to our ~contemporary dance~ class and we don't wanna be late again. We'll see you around Naruto, Hinata." They walk off back in the direction they came from, and I realize that we passed their classroom.

I look towards Hinata and smile. "Sure! We are going to the same place after all. Oh, by the way, do you know Sasuke Uchiha? I have to get him a gift for your aunt's secret santa party, and I have no idea who he is."

We arrive at the classroom entrance and I attempt to hold the door for her while holding my heavy freaking cello with one hand. She quickly bows to me in thanks, then we make our way to our music stands. The room is full of classmates tuning and adjusting their instruments. The noise causes a lot of commotion, but you get used to it after being in an orchestra for several years.

"S-Sasuke Uchiha? Well yeah, I've heard a lot about him. I have a friend named S-Sakura Haruno who likes him a lot. They go to Osaka's Northeast Public High School." She unclips the latches on her viola case and procedes to take it out.

"Really? Oh, you're real a life saver, Hinata! Tell me what he likes. Is he a watch sorta guy, or does he like baseball cards? Is he into classical music?" I ramble on and bombard her with tons of questions, hoping that it wouldn't overwhelm her.

She chuckles a little bit, and her face becomes red again. "A-All I really know is that he's really into fashion and taking care of his hair. I heard he also really likes tomatoes. F-funny, huh?" She puts the end of her viola ontop of her shoulder and draws the bow over the strings. She adjust the pegs on top of the viola's neck to make sure all the strings are in tune.

I put my cello between my legs and rest my bow on my lap. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to go shopping tonight after school, ya know?"

She giggles at me quietly and smiles.