Naruto's Uchiha Dictionary

Disclaimer: the one at the top of this thing is supposed to say something along the lines of: Are they serious? And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, cause then I'd have everyone begging me for some actual SasuNaru action!

A/N: so here's chapter two of my dic-fic *snickers at self* (can you say double entendre?) i'm glad everyone liked it; i thought it was cute! oh, and i sort of changed the format for the dictionary. you're all smart people, so instead of putting what kind of sentence the quote is in (), i've decided to just put the emotion behind the sentence. those often help with the meanings of words, anyways. this chapter is a tad bittersweet, but i hope you all enjoy nonetheless!

thanks to all my reviewers! y'all are the best, i must say. *hugs*


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Chapter 2: In which Naruto contemplates happiness
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After his training with Jiraiya and his searches for Sasuke, Naruto would always return to the gates of Konoha in disappointment, and after Sasuke returned, that had elevated to a sense of restlessness, as if he knew things weren’t as good as they could be. But now as Naruto walked into the village that had caused him both pain and happiness, with the dictionary packed snuggly in his knapsack, he was met with a feeling of something he hadn’t felt since he was twelve years old – mischief.

He walked the streets of Konoha with Sakura and Kakashi with a vulpine grin on his face, and those who saw it cringed. He knew why; he’d been quite the little hellion back when he was young. But the kind of mischief he was going to cause was quite different from what the people of Konoha expected of him. No more painting strange designs on Hokage Mountain; no, now he was going to mess with people’s minds. It would be oh so satisfying.

Nearly to Hokage Tower, Naruto swung his knapsack in front of him and extracted his dictionary. He’d flipped through it upon awakening the morning after he’d bought it, only to find the pages completely blank once again. Well, that was for the best, Naruto realized, for now no one would discover what he had unless he let them. As they neared the ANBU stationed outside the tower, Naruto casually flipped the pages of the book open, pen in his hand as if he were going to write.

They were let through the doors and started the climb to Tsunade’s office. The ANBU there halted them and knocked smartly on Tsunade’s door. A loud bellow of “Enter!” came from within, and the door was thrown open. Team seven minus Sasuke did as instructed and walked in to give their report. Well, Kakashi was going to report; Naruto was going to start some fun.

“I see you’re back from Yukigakure. I can only hope things will go well from here.”

I can only hope things will go well from here. – (Hope): I hope I can trust Sasuke.

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

I’m sure everything will be fine. – (Certainty): I have confidence in my student.

Naruto felt a little relieved. At least Kakashi was on Sasuke’s side. Naruto didn’t go through all the trouble of bringing him back for him to be judged and treated so harshly by the village that used to look to him for excellence. This village was filled with some of the smartest people Naruto had ever known, but sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if they realized it was partly their fault that Sasuke left. Even Naruto had realized that.

“Oh, Tsunade-sama, Sasuke told me to tell you that he appreciates this chance you’ve given him.”

Tsunade looked a little surprised, but didn’t say anything. Apparently the message had not been relayed. And Naruto wanted to see just what had been going on around him without him knowing, so he took it upon himself to do it. He set his knapsack down on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest while putting all his weight on his right leg.

“Actually, Tsunade-baa-chan, he said ‘that I appreciate that she has so much faith in me after all that’s happened.’” Naruto tried his best to look bored and superior and speak the quote in Sasuke’s deep, stoic voice. Damn, the teme had a low register!

Tsunade’s eyes grew dark, a frown bringing out some wrinkles around her mouth. “Did he now?”

Sakura flashed him a glare. Apparently she’d known what Sasuke was trying to relay as well.

“Now, now Hokage-sama, let’s not frown. We don’t want to look our age, now do we?”

“No, Kakashi, we wouldn’t, wouldn’t we?”

No, Kakashi, we wouldn’t, wouldn’t we? – (Mockery): Kakashi, you’re getting on in years, as well.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Duh, they’re both old, so what? When could he start having fun? What good was a dictionary that revealed everyone’s secrets if it didn’t tell him anything good, nevermind that it only defined what people said, not what they thought?

“Anyway, Sakura, now that you’re back, I need you in the hospital. Some of the patients there are becoming quite rowdy.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.”

“Naruto, you’ve been working hard lately, so you can get some rest.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know the routine. Let me guess, you had a hard time getting the elders to let me outta the village, only succeeding in doing so when mentioning that Sasuke-teme would be leaving as well.”

Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sakura stood staring at him. Okay, so he’d guessed the whole thing about Sasuke thanks to the dictionary, but he wasn’t stupid. Naruto knew the village didn’t trust him. It was almost heartbreaking to realize that no matter how hard he tried, he’d never prove himself to be good enough. For a moment, Naruto’s cheeky grin slipped off his face, not unnoticed by the onlookers, but it was quickly retrieved. It wasn’t quite an act; even if the village didn’t believe in him, he believed in himself.

“Look, Kakashi doesn’t need us here to report, so I’m going to get me something to eat!” Naruto bent down to pick up his knapsack, inconspicuously setting the open dictionary down, a little under Tsunade’s desk, taking time to check his straps as an excuse to do so if someone had happened to see the movement. Regaining his feet, Naruto swung the knapsack onto his back and walked to the door. Sakura said goodbye to Tsunade and Kakashi and moved to join him.

Naruto grinned thinking about the dictionary he’d “accidentally” left, wondering what secrets Kakashi and Tsunade would reveal. He walked cheerily to Ichiraku’s for his customary post-mission ramen, where he just as cheerily guzzled down eight bowls of the delicious noodle dish. Naruto was in such a good mood that he turned to the seat next to him to tease Sasuke, only to realize that the raven-haired shinobi wasn’t there.

It had taken little more than five years to finally get Sasuke to eat ramen with him after missions, and now was the first time, minus Sasuke’s internment with the snake-bastard, that he’d ever been home without him. His good mood was subsequently crushed beneath the weight of realizing Sasuke was the only person he could really hang out with, the only person he really wanted to hang out with.

Now why the hell was he thinking about this? He had a dictionary to retrieve! Paying for his ramen and returning to the street, even though he was still kind of hungry, Naruto returned to Hokage Tower at a leisurely pace, but when he neared Tsunade’s office, he mussed his hair a bit and began an exaggerated pant before zipping by the ANBU stationed at the door and busting into the office. Tsunade nearly jumped from her seat, but scowled in irritation when she saw Naruto before her.

“What do you want, gaki?”

“Sorry… Tsunade-baa-chan… hah, hah… but I left… some-something here.” Eyes skimming the floor as if he had no clue where to look, Naruto let his eyes widen in satisfaction upon finding his dictionary still where he’d left it. “There it is!” Naruto quickly scooped it up from the floor and raced out of Tsunade’s office, leaving the woman sputtering in confusion.

Now, Naruto wasn’t sure if the things in the dictionary disappeared after a certain time closed or immediately after it was closed, so he raced back to his apartment with the book open in his arms. Once there, he sat before his beat up coffee table – man, he had to get a new one; this one was missing a leg! – and took a look at what had gone on in Tsunade’s office.

Kakashi, the elders won’t let me send Naruto out of the village, but I don’t want him here on that day. – (Concern): no definition needed

I understand, Tsunade-sama, but we can’t leave Naruto alone on such an important day in his life. – (Concern): see birthday

Birthday! Yes, Naruto’s birthday was coming up, which meant so was the twentieth anniversary of the Kyuubi attack. So Tsunade wanted to send him away while people mourned the dead so he wouldn’t have to face their jeers. Did the old hag not get it? He’d dealt with it all his life, why was this any different? Naruto read on.

But the twentieth anniversary of the Kyuubi attack is one of those milestones – twenty years of anguish and mourning. I don’t want Naruto to suffer more than he has in the past. – (More concern): The villagers will have more hate in them as a result of the elders putting on a bigger festival; Naruto will not be safe.

Since Naruto’s friends know about Kyuubi now, I’m sure they will stay with him; at least the ones who can. – (Reassurance): The ones whose parents accept Naruto as himself.

God, I know there was no way, but if only Yondaime hadn’t died. Then Naruto would have been loved like he should be! – (Regret): The villagers would have accepted Naruto had Yondaime survived his jutsu.

Naruto closed the dictionary; he didn’t want to read any more. This wasn’t what he’d thought would happen when he found this dictionary. Of course, his original reason had been to understand Sasuke, who wasn’t here at the moment, but he wasn’t having fun yet, either.

It was kind of funny, if he thought about it. Naruto hadn’t given thought to his birthday in quite a while. And now he was not only being reminded of his birthday, but of the very reason why the village hated him. But wasn’t Naruto’s dream to have the village respect him? No, not anymore. His dream was just to be able to protect this village and keep them safe and happy. But the upcoming festival would leave them anything but happy. And then Naruto would fail in his dream because he was the very center of that unhappiness.

However, Naruto was sure that if they could all see the Yondaime at least one more time, then they might be a little less sad. But how in the world could they see him one last time? Naruto went over the festival in his head, remembering what he could from parts he’d always gleaned from his classmates and what he’d learned from Iruka. There were the normal festival things, and a speech from the current Hokage, and then the visit to the wall, and it all ended with a giant fireworks display for the children who were too young to really understand what the day was about.

Suddenly, and quite brilliantly, an idea struck Naruto. While training with Jiraiya, Naruto and the ero-sennin had stopped at a small village within Fire Country that provided just what Naruto needed to make the villagers happy, if only for a moment. But he wasn’t allowed out of Konoha.

Well, then he’d just have to sneak out and make sure no one found out he was gone. Naruto got up from his seated position and ran around his apartment gathering what he’d need for the short trip; with his stamina, he’d be back before his birthday. Rechecking to make sure he had everything, Naruto concentrated and created one clone.

“Alright, me, listen up. I’m gonna sneak outta the village, so it’ll be up to you to make people think I’m still here. And I don’t mean going outside. Stay in this apartment. Tsunade-baa-chan told me to ‘rest,’ so if anyone comes along trying to drag you out, just pretend that you’re completely exhausted.”

“Got it.”

“And if Iruka-sensei comes by and wants to make you something, don’t fight him; then he’ll know something isn’t right. And if Kakashi comes…”

“Yeah?”

“… Run like hell. And keep him occupied as long as you can.”

The clone looked a bit nervous, which was understandable since it didn’t have Kyuubi in it to give it an edge over the jounin. Naruto slapped him on the back with a cheeky grin and left the apartment. Using his fox speed, Naruto reached the gates of Konoha quickly and created another clone. After whispering in its ear, it gave a mischievous grin and trotted off to do as bid. As it approached the chuunin on duty, Naruto squatted down, sending chakra to his feet, getting ready to jump. When the clone dropped in front of one of the guards and stole something from off his person, causing both chuunin to look the way it’d run off, Naruto jumped the high wall of Konoha’s gate and sped off into the forest.

He knew as soon as the chuunin realized it was a clone they’d look for him, but when they found his “sick and exhausted” clone, they’d more than likely chock it up to genin playing a joke at Naruto’s expense. Besides, Naruto couldn’t make just one clone; he didn’t have the chakra control. Naruto’s slightly elongated canines were revealed by his grin at how closed-minded and stupid some of Konoha’s finest could really be.

Putting that behind him, Naruto upped his speed to get him to the border of Fire Country as quick as Naruto-ly possible. And he hadn’t been to see his friends in so long! Naruto gave a little jump into the air, landing gracefully on a tree branch and kept his momentum going. Onward to Reihi!

~*~

Ojiisan was the greatest blacksmith in the world! Naruto had met him while training with Jiraiya, and he’d learned that the old man had a knack with explosives and things of the like. So now Naruto was sneaking back into Konoha after his three-day trip with one of the best fireworks ever made. He smiled warmly as he recalled the old man’s surprise at seeing him.

>*<

“Ojiisan!”

“Lad! What are ya doing here? Don’t you have someone ya ought ta be searching for? Don’t get me wrong; I’m thrilled to see ya, but last ya was here, your mission was all ya could talk about!”

“Oh, that! Heh, I got him back! No one can defeat Uzumaki Naruto! I’m going to be the next Hokage! How can some teme beat me?”

“I’m glad ya got him home, lad. So, what brings ya to Reihi?”

“Ojiisan, I need your special skills. I need some fireworks made for a festival back in Konoha. But not just any fireworks! I’m talking special fireworks!”

“And what would be so special about these, lad?”

“They need to be the kind that when they explode, they have a definite shape to the sparks.”

“Ah, ya mean my pattern works.”

“Yeah!”

“Well, what kind of pattern are ya talking, lad?”

>*<

When Naruto reached his apartment, he found his clone sitting in utter boredom and dismissed it right away. It was late, and tomorrow was the festival, so Naruto took a quick shower and promptly passed out on his futon, dreams of a certain pale-skinned shinobi overwhelming his subconscious.

~*~

The day of the festival was clear and sunny. Iruka had woken Naruto early that morning to wish him a happy twentieth and treated him to ramen, which the mere mention of woke the blonde up completely.

So it was with a full belly and a cheery Iruka by his side that Naruto met with his first curse of many on such an auspicious, yet inauspicious day. It came from a big man, husband and father, whose parents had been crushed underneath the debris caused by Kyuubi’s attack. Naruto didn’t continue to smile in the man’s face in deference to his loss, but he refused to become depressed. Iruka, on the other hand, glared at the man until he left them alone and walked with Naruto in silence as they made their way back to the blonde’s apartment.

All day, while Naruto avoided the outside, his friends came by with well wishes and presents, making Naruto’s day just a bit more bearable. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata tried to talk him into going to the festival, but Naruto knew better than to step foot anywhere near the festival grounds on this day. His friends may have known why he was treated so cruelly, but they’d never know what he’d been through as a child; Naruto wouldn’t let them know.

So it was that Naruto was alone when night fell, and he snuck off into the dark with his purchase from Reihi. He traversed the whole festival grounds in the shadows, on the look out for the perfect spot. He came to the large clearing where Tsunade would announce the start of the fireworks and found a nice perch in the trees behind it. The villagers would sit or stand in the grassy clearing and watch the fireworks until the very end, for the children wouldn’t have it any other way. So Naruto sat there, hidden in the leaves, waiting for the cusp of night.

When it was near midnight, people began gathering in the clearing, and Tsunade took the podium. She went on about perseverance through tragedy and how Konoha was stronger for its bloodstained past. She said words of remembrance for the Hokage who came before her, speaking more on Yondaime, as he was the hero of the night.

Naruto tried to keep the tears at bay, but they escaped him and ran down his whiskered cheeks silently. Then the fireworks began. Naruto had made sure to learn what he could from Ojiisan about fireworks shows, as he’d never really been to one before, and so watched intently for his cue.

After about fifteen minutes, an explosion of several fireworks went off in the air, signaling the end of the show. Naruto brought a small amount of the dangerous demon chakra to his hand and lit the fuse of the monstrous firework he had in his possession. Calculating the angle the way the old blacksmith had taught him, Naruto held the explosive and turned away as it launched into the night sky. He heard it explode, still averting his eyes because he didn’t want to see if it hadn’t worked.

Then there was a collective gasp and a brief moment of silence before those gathered let out wild applause and shouts. Naruto’s head shot up and looked into the lit sky. His eyes widened and tears fell anew down his still wet cheeks. He looked upon the villagers, seeing their happy faces and laughter; the Hokage and her jounin looking on in awe and confusion; his friends whistling and shouting that that was the ‘most awesome thing they’d ever seen!’

A soft smile graced Naruto’s face, and he reached up to wipe the moisture from his eyes. He’d made them happy; that was all he could ask for on this day of celebration and mourning.

He melted into the shadows and raced across the rooftops to his apartment, not noticing the many pairs of eyes – and one eye – that followed his movements in the dark, all of them filled with warmth and love.

Before he returned to the lonely darkness of his home, Naruto turned around to stare at the sky, whatever mysterious jutsu that had been used for the firework still infusing the dark with the beautiful pattern. Leaves of green twinkled around the figure of Yondaime as he looked down on his village from above, and it seemed to Naruto that the legendary hero was looking right at him, though he knew that was impossible.

Naruto gave one last sigh as he climbed through one of his windows. He picked the dictionary up from where he’d left it four days ago and walked into his room. Maybe tonight, even if it was the day of the festival and his cursed birth, he wouldn’t be plagued by his usual nightmares. But one thought nagged Naruto as he drifted into slumber.

Sasuke-teme hadn’t been there to see his triumph.

TBC

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i know y'all liked how i threw reihi and ojiisan from HttF in there. they aren't in any way related, but in HttF, ojiisan has more than just the blacksmithing skill, as naruto tells sasuke, so i just kinda picked it up from there. and if you haven't read Here's to the Fox by yours truly, [insert shameless plug]. *evil grin*

review for me baby! and i'll see y'all in chapter 3! (or some chapter in my other stories...)