~The Waters of Destiny~
Genre: Romance (and a little humor)
Pairing: SasuNaru
Warnings: yaoi, fluffiness, intense swimming XD
Author's Notes: Hi again! If you're craving for some more SasuNaru, I suggest you read this--especially if you like swimming and Michael Phelps XD So anyways, this is my like my first fic. Hope you guys like it! .::*~Kitsune~*::.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. I did, though...until Silver whacked me in the head with her notebook and interrupted my daydream XP (Love ya, Silver =]) And no, I don't own any of the other people I mention in this fic, either n.n"
It was a Saturday morning, and 7-year-old Naruto was excited to start his swimming lessons in his new practice group: Polliwog II at the Freebank YMCA. Just last week, he was in Polliwog I and had taken a test with his personal instructor, Iruka. Naruto had passed with flying colors—even Iruka was happy to pass the kitsune (after teaching him for 2 years straight). But even so, the two would still miss each other—though they would see each other here and there at the YMCA. And to make things more exciting for little Naruto, he would be getting a new instructor and would even be swimming in a new pool.
The blonde stared into the strange pool he would be swimming in for the day. This pool was entirely different from the one where he had lessons with Iruka. It was shaped like a rectangle, and Naruto was standing at one end of it. From where he was standing, it looked like a long way to the other side. Naruto gulped at the thought having to swim that far. He looked down at the blue water, and wondered if he could touch the floor with his feet, just like the other pool, where it was shallow. At that moment, the kitsune heard a splashnext to him.
The blonde turned to the lane on his right, and saw two little girls, one with pink hair and the other with light blonde hair, swimming towards the other end of the pool without any effort.
Naruto scoffed. If they can do it without a sweat, then I can do it, too! The kitsune looked at the blue water again, then shifted his eyes towards the far end of the pool, and to the water again. For a moment, the blonde hesitated. He lifted his foot. Ehh…maybe just to check… Little Naruto slightly dipped his big toe into the pool water to see if it was as warm as the pool he was familiar with. However, it was the exact opposite.
Naruto flinched and immediately drew his foot back. Gah! It's freezing cold in there!
"Hey, are you going to get in the pool or what?" a male voice spoke behind the kitsune.
Naruto turned around to see a raven-haired boy no taller than he was, but maybe a little older. He was standing behind the blonde for the past few minutes, waiting impatiently.
"Uh…" Naruto mumbled.
The raven pushed him aside and sighed. "You know, if you're in Polliwog II, you shouldn't even hesitate to get into the water."
The blonde stared at the raven.
"Dobe," the raven muttered before jumping into the water.
Naruto glared at the raven, who was effortlessly swimming freestyle down to the other end of the pool. The blonde hissed at the show-off…until he heard heavy footsteps coming in his direction. Naruto turned around to see a big-bellied boy rushing to jump into the pool. It was Choji, one of Naruto's old friends from Iruka's lessons.
"Ch-choji!" Naruto stuttered, afraid he was going to get trampled over.
"Hey, Naruto!" Choji yelled. "You might want to get out of the way unless you wanna get run over!"
The blonde immediately shifted over to his left.
SPLASH!
Naruto looked back at the pool, but surprisingly, saw no sign of Choji. He looked down at the bottom of the pool.
"Hey, Choji?" the kitsune called, a little worried that his heavy friend had sunk to the very bottom.
In seconds, big Choji popped to the surface and started swimming breaststroke over to where the raven-haired boy was.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled. "THAT'S IT! If even Choji can get to the other end without any effort at all, then I should be able to do just fine! I'm getting in this pool right now!"
Naruto held his breath, and jumped into the blue water. …now if I can just push off from the bottom… The kitsune extended his right foot, hoping to touch something flat and solid. However…all he could feel was cold water. Naruto stiffened and instantly opened his eyes. In reality, the pool was a lot deeper than what the young blonde imagined.
Naruto panicked and rushed as fast as he could to the surface. The young kitsune took in a huge gulp of air, and then started to relax, expecting he would just float in the water, just like the raven and Choji. On the contrary, the blonde started to sink rapidly. This time, Naruto really panicked and had no idea what to do. The young kitsune cried and began flailing his arms and kicking his little feet, desperately trying to stay afloat. But Naruto's efforts had been futile, and only resulted in the poor blonde swallowing large amounts of water.
From the surface, he could hear a lot of commotion and his name being called. "Naruto! Naruto!" In a few seconds, the tired kitsune could no longer support himself and began sinking to the bottom of the pool. Gradually, Naruto's mind began to drift away, until he had finally passed out in darkness.
(After a while…)
"Kid. Hey kid, you all right?" a male voice spoke.
Naruto groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He could see a tall man with silver hair and a whistle around his neck, looking down on him.
"What…what happened?" Naruto muttered.
"Well…" the silver-haired man began. "Let's just say you got too excited and jumped into the pool without realizing how deep it was on that end."
The kitsune's eyes widened, and he sat up. All his swimming classmates were surrounding him, staring at him with worried faces…that is, except for one raven.
"Hn," the raven scoffed at the blonde. "You know, you really shouldn't be in this group if you can't even tread water."
Naruto growled. "Why, YOU—" The young blonde rushed over to the raven and tackled him into the pool. From the surface, all everyone could see were flailing arms and legs and a sea of foamy bubbles.
Immediately, the silver-haired man pulled the two struggling boys out of the water and kept them from landing any more hits on each other. "That's enough. One more hit, and I'm kicking you both out of here."
The two boys stopped struggling in an instant. The man smiled. "There. Now the two of you make up and be friends."
Naruto and the raven glared at each other intently. Then he looked down to see a white hand extended towards him. He looked up at the raven.
"I'm Sasuke," the raven spoke.
Naruto hesitated for a moment, then shook Sasuke's hand. "…Naruto."
The silver-haired instructor smiled once more, then turned to face the rest of his new students. "Hello there. I'm Kakashi, and I'll be your new instructor…"
While Kakashi's back was turned, the two boys abruptly stopped shaking hands and glared at each other.
"Grr…you piss me off," Naruto hissed at the raven.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "…and you don't?"
Naruto hissed again. "…watch. One day I'll get better and swim a lot faster than you ever will!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "In your dreams."
Naruto glared at the raven again. "Teme."
The raven glared back. "Dobe."
From that point on, Naruto and Sasuke became rivals. …and not just any ordinary rivals, either. The two boys were so competitive with each other that they even graduated from swim lessons at the same time and got accepted into the same swim team, since the coach had been so impressed at how fast they swam next to each other. While they were on the Freebank Aquarays, the raven and the blonde would always be itching to race each other, even during practice, where the two of them would be pulling each other's legs and fighting over who would get to lead the lane they were in. In addition, the two of them would place first and second during every single meet, with both of them switching positions every time. It went on like this for about ten years…until the two of them had finally made it to the Olympics.
(2012 Summer Olympics, London)
Naruto was not going to lose today, especially not to that raven-hired bastard known as Sasuke Uchiha. The blonde was, at this moment, waiting in the men's locker room with only 15 minutes to spare before his race. He had trained too hard for this moment, and now was his chance to show the world who he really is. The 17-year-old blonde inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Although he probably shouldn't have stayed up too late last night, even if it was for extra practice and warm-up… Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. This was obviously the worst time for him to get a headache. But suddenly, the kitsune felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned around to see a tall, skinny man. It was none other than the famous Joe Cavic.
"Hey," Naruto greeted.
"Hey," Cavic greeted likewise with a grin. "You ready for the 400 IM?"
The blonde smiled. "Yup!" Naruto immediately put his hand on his head in an attempt to relieve the pain and dizziness.
The grin on Cavic's face faded. "You okay there? You don't look so good."
Naruto put his hand down and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a headache. That's all."
Cavic stared at Naruto with doubt in his eyes. "Doesn't look like it."
The blonde sighed.
Suddenly, something popped into Cavic's mind. The tall man snapped his fingers. "I got it! Hey, Naruto, I think I got something to help your little headache there."
Naruto looked at Cavic. "Really?"
Cavic smiled, and walked over to his backpack. "Yeah. You see, before I left my country to come here, my coach gave me these special med pills. They should do the trick." He handed two round, brown pills to the kitsune.
Naruto beamed, and swallowed both pills. After a few minutes, the pain in Naruto's head had disappeared. "Thanks, Joe! I guess you really are a good sport!" The blonde walked out of the locker room to prepare for his race.
"No problem, kid!" Cavic called. Yeah…no problem at all…for me, that is.
(The Pool)
The announcer cleared his throat, then called each of the swimmers' names, one by one to their lanes.
"In lane 1, we have Greg Cefalo…in lane 2, we have Ryan Lochte…in lane 3, we have Michael Phelps, our defending champion for this event…
Naruto watched as the three swimmers walked out on the pool deck to be greeted by cheers and roars from the audience. Suddenly, he felt someone nudge his shoulder. The blonde turned to see a tall, fair-skinned raven wearing the new Speedo LZR, smirking.
"Hn," Sasuke Uchiha spoke. "You're nervous now, aren't you, dobe?"
Naruto glared at his teammate and rival. "Like hell I am!" the kitsune blurted, with a hint of hesitation in his voice.
The raven smirked again, until the announcer finally called his name.
"…in lane 4, we have our rookie of the year, Sasuke Uchiha!"
Sasuke shifted his feet to walk to his lane. But before he stepped out onto the pool deck, he lowered his head near Naruto's ear. "Good luck, dobe," the raven whispered solemnly.
This left the blonde speechless, so he wasn't able to reply. Naruto could only watch as the raven stepped behind the block and raising his hand to greet his cheering fans. The crowd went wild after Sasuke's appearance.
The announcer continued. "…now…in lane 5, we have our number-one show-stopping athlete, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The audience also went wild after hearing the kitsune's name. At that moment, Naruto's heart swelled with pride. However…he still couldn't bring himself to appear before his roaring fans.
Another hand touched Naruto's shoulder. It was Cavic, with a gleaming smile. "Don't worry, kid. You'll be just fine."
The blonde was caught off guard after hearing this from his opponent, but managed to nod.
Cavic grinned again. "Now go kick some ass."
Naruto took a deep breath and composed himself. The kitsune stepped out onto the lighted pool deck to be showered with cheers and applause. He continued to walk to his lane to meet up with his opponents. Naruto stepped behind the block. Then, he looked at the swimmers on his left (including Sasuke) and nodded. The blonde put on his goggles and stretched while the announcer called the remaining swimmers (which included Joe Cavic himself, who walked over to lane 6). Cavic winked at the kitsune, who nodded back.
The blonde tightened his goggles, and waited for the announcer to start his heat. This is it, Naruto thought.
The official blew his whistle six short times and then one long time, which was the signal for all remaining swimmers to clear the pool and for the other swimmers to step up.
Naruto stood on the block. No turning back… He glanced to his left to see his rival, who was just as focused as he was. The kitsune shifted his eyes to the other end of the pool—how far it looked to him. Déjà vu…
The announcer cleared his throat again. "This is Event 47: Men's 400-Meter Individual Medley."
All eight swimmers prepared themselves.
"…swimmers—take your mark…"
The athletes firmly held on to their blocks, planted their feet, and waited for the starter to go off.
"…BEEP!" the starter sounded.
All eight swimmers pushed off the blocks with all their might and dove into the 50-meter Olympic pool.
The athletes took off, swimming butterfly for the first 100, with Sasuke, Naruto, and Phelps in the lead and the others trailing behind.
"Here comes the first turn…" the announcer declared.
The three leading athletes turned to make their second lap. So far, so good. Naruto thought…until he reached the middle of the second lap. Suddenly, the blonde felt pain in his stomach. What the--!? Naruto winced. Damn it...what the hell's going on here!? The kitsune slightly shifted his eyes to see Sasuke and Phelps gradually inching past him. But his focus was on the raven. No way I'm gonna let him win!
The three swimmers made their second turn into backstroke. At this point, Naruto decided to release his secret weapon, pain or no pain. The blonde pushed off the wall as hard as he could and dolphin-kicked with all his might until he surfaced just before the 15-meter mark. This gave the kitsune a slight lead over the other athletes. This ought to buy me some time… Naruto winced again at the pain in his stomach. But just how did this happen? Suddenly, the blonde could see the other athletes gaining on him, and there was one particular swimmer who caught his eye. Cavic, the kitsune thought, then immediately realized something. …those weren't med pills! They were soldier pills! How could I have been so stupid…! Naruto winced again. I should have known better than to trust that slimy bastard. GRR…damn you Cavic. Damn you to the fiery pits of hell, where that pyromaniac Satan will tear off your friggin' flesh and roast it like a friggin' MARSHMALLOW!!! This forced Naruto to kick off the wall as hard as he could and into his worst stroke: breaststroke. Just great, Naruto thought to himself. Poor Naruto could feel himself weakening each minute, but stomach pain wasn't going to keep him from winning the race. He then put in all of his effort to keep the lead until the very end of the breaststroke leg, no matter how much his stomach hurt. But when the blonde got to freestyle, the blonde couldn't hold on anymore and could feel himself fading away...
Just one more leg! Naruto thought. Just one more leg, and I'm finished! The kitsune struggled to keep his consciousness, but after the final turn, he just couldn't hold it anymore. Suddenly, Naruto went limp and everything went became a blur.
Sasuke Uchiha and Michael Phelps were head to head upon approaching the wall. The crowd was roaring with excitement.
Sasuke couldn't help but glance at the empty lane on his left. I wonder where Naruto went? It isn't like him to be slacking off…
"And it's Michael Phelps and Sasuke Uchiha fighting for the gold! They're making their way to the finish line! It's gonna be a close one, ladies and gentlemen! A photo finish!" the announcer declared, but suddenly, something made the crowd gasp. "What's this? Naruto Uzumaki has passed out and is unconscious in lane 5!"
Somehow, Sasuke was able to hear this and abruptly stopped to look back at Naruto, who was sinking to the bottom of the pool.
Dobe, Sasuke thought, and swam back to save the blonde.
"…and now Sasuke Uchiha has abandoned his chance for a gold medal and has swum back to save his teammate! I, in my life, have never seen anything like this before!"
Naruto had swallowed a large amount of water and was fading away. That's it… Naruto thought. It's over… At the same time, he was slowly sinking to the bottom…when two alabaster hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to the surface. At that point, Naruto immediately regained consciousness and gasped for air. He blinked, only to see a panting raven supporting him.
Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. "…teme…but why?"
The raven turned. "Let's go." Sasuke pulled Naruto as hard as he could to the wall, so that the two of them could finish together…in last place.
"Well, that concludes today's session, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer declared. "…with your champion of the 400 IM, Michael Phelps!"
The crowd roared.
Two lifeguards helped get Naruto out of the pool. Sasuke jumped out of the pool as well, but when Naruto turned to talk to him, the raven had disappeared.
"Naruto!" a male voice called.
The kitsune turned to see his former swimming instructor, Iruka Umino, with concern on his face.
"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto muttered.
Iruka knelt down beside the blonde. "Are you okay?"
The kitsune nodded. "Yeah…but Sasuke…" He turned. "….why did he do that when he could have won the race…!? Why did he…"
Iruka softly gazed at his former student.
"…go back just to save my sorry ass?"
Iruka thought for a moment, then faced Naruto solemnly. "…you know…he actually did that for a reason."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"From the very beginning, he already cared about you…Naruto-kun."
"Iruka-sensei…what do you mean?"
Iruka sighed. "Naruto…do you remember when you almost drowned on you first day in Polliwog II?"
Naruto nodded.
"Didn't you ever wonder who rescued you that time?"
The kitsune looked puzzled for a moment. "What? Why would I? Wasn't it Kakashi-sensei? 'Cause he was the one who woke me up in the first place."
Naruto's former instructor slowly shook his head. "No…Naruto…that's the only thing he ever did. …in other words…Kakashi wasn't the one who saved you from drowning."
The blonde's cerulean eyes widened in disbelief. "What…!? …then who? Who saved my sorry behind?"
Iruka paused, and finally spoke in a soft voice. "…the one who went out of his way to rescue you then…was Sasuke himself."
Naruto's eyes bulged. "WHAT!? …but why!?"
Iruka scratched his head. "…I don't even know."
At that very moment, Cavic had the nerve to show his face to the kitsune with a silver medal in his hand. "Great job, kid," the tall man sneered with a smirk.
Naruto pushed him back. "Out of the way, you bastard! I don't have time to fuck with you!" the blonde sprinted over to the men's locker room, where he thought he saw his raven-haired savior run off to. "SASUKE!" Naruto called, searching for the raven, until he caught a familiar flash of ivory.
Turned out the blonde was right. Sasuke was standing at the other end of the locker room, his head drooping.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called.
No reply.
"Sasuke…" Naruto trailed off. "…why the hell did you do that!?"
Silence.
"You could have won that race! You could have even beaten Michael Phelps!"
More silence.
"What happened back there!? What were you thinking!?"
Still no reply. Naruto softened his tone.
"…why did you have to go back just to save me? …you idiot! You could have won the fucking race!" He slammed the locker next to him.
There was a long pause between the two, and then the raven finally spoke.
"Because…you're my top priority."
The kitsune's eyes widened in surprise. "…what…?"
Sasuke turned, and approached the blonde, until he was only an inch away from his face. "You heard me, dobe. You're number one on my list."
Naruto was speechless, and his eyes bulged even more.
The raven continued. "Dobe…there are plenty of races out there for me to win and plenty of records out there for me to break, but you, dobe….there's only one of you for me to love. Sure, I can handle losing as many races and missing a thousand records, but dobe…losing you…and seeing you get hurt…is one of the only things that I just can't stand."
Naruto's eyes widened. "…Sasuke…you…'
The raven put his finger on the blonde's mouth. "Shh…don't say another word." He lowered his head and pressed his lips to the kitsune's.
After a few minutes, Naruto pulled back. "…but what about Cavic?"
Sasuke smirked. "I don't think he'll be laughing for long."
"Why?"
Sasuke smirked again. "Because…he really got DQ'd for a false start."
The two of them laughed.
But Naruto suddenly stopped his laughter, and frowned, shifting his eyes to the floor. "…you know…I'm still kind of pissed at myself for losing that race…it's my fault we both lost anyway…"
The raven looked at his dobe solemnly. "Dobe…"
The kitsune abruptly slammed his fist onto one of the lockers. "I…I trained too hard for this! …How could I have been so….so stupid!"
"Dobe…" Sasuke was about to touch the blonde's shoulder to comfort him, when he saw tears streaming from his dobe's cheeks. He pulled his hand back.
Naruto sobbed. "…Damn it…" the kitsune uttered through his clenched teeth.
The raven could only stare helplessly at his dobe, unsure of what to say. He gently touched Naruto's shoulder, and Naruto immediately leaned his head against Sasuke's chest.
There was silence between the two for the next few minutes (not counting Naruto's hacking sobs).
Finally, the kitsune spoke again. "Hey…Sasuke…"
The raven looked down at his kitsune and listened.
Naruto continued. "…you don't even understand, do you? Why this fuckin' race…was so important to me?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, caught off-guard by this sudden mood swing.
Hearing no reply from the raven, the blonde went on. "At first, I never, ever wanted to tell you this, since you'd probably find it funny…with you as what? Rookie of the year? The most popular guy on the team? But now, I…"
The raven's eyes widened, and he eagerly listened.
Naruto clenched his fists and his teeth. Tears began to run down his tan face. "…I don't even give a damn if you laugh at me now!"
Sasuke flinched.
Naruto sniffled. "Back then…before I even started swimming…no one ever paid attention to me…I had no parents…no siblings to turn to. They all just glared at me with those hateful eyes everywhere I went, as if it was my fault I was all alone."
Sasuke's eyes softened.
"But then…the time came for the 2004 Olympics in Sydney. …and that was the first time…I saw the world-famous Michael Phelps…how he was always adored by his fans…and how everyone supported him and everything… After seeing that…I wanted to be like him, too. I began taking lessons with Iruka-sensei and even joined this damn team…because…I wanted everyone to like me, too. I was so sick of being disdainfully stared at all the time…that I actually wanted to change things. …I wanted…to be noticed…to be recognized…to be praised…for who I really am. …that's what I wanted to do earlier…and that's why I trained so hard…that's why…I couldn't even let you stop me…" He leaned his head against the raven's fair chest, struggling to hold back his hacking sobs.
The raven now had an empathetic look on his pale face. Poor kid…he'd never thought his fans were that important…until now. In fact, he'd actually thought of them as nuisances, annoying pests that just kept on getting in his way, always asking for autographs and pictures with them. …but maybe that was because he'd gotten sick of them…from experiencing this praise and glory over the years…and yet…Naruto didn't even have a chance at this…
More sobs and sniffles could be heard from the blonde. "…Damn it…"
Sasuke solemnly looked at his dobe. Finally, after a few minutes, he slowly backed away and raised the blonde's chin, revealing his tear-stained countenance. Naruto sniffled again.
"…dobe…you didn't have to win that race just to get other people to look at you. Didn't you notice the people who were cheering for you even before the race, before you even stepped out on the pool deck?"
Naruto sniffled. He actually didn't know how to respond to that.
"…all you had to do was try…look at yourself, Naruto…your persistence was what caught their attention and made you a good swimmer… That's why you're getting so many fans…because of your strong heart."
The kitsune wiped his face. "…really?"
Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little, and this was rare because he rarely ever did…except when it came to his dobe. "…and besides—it was destiny that that brought you here to the Olympics and it was destiny that made you lose that race. Everything happens for a reason."
The blonde paused, then immediately glared at the raven. "You bastard! That's Neji's quote! You just friggin' stole it!"
Sasuke smirked and merely shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever…the hell with that anal son-of-a bitch."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"…but doesn't it seem true, dobe?"
The kit's eyes softened and he stared at the floor. After pondering for a minute, he finally spoke. "…yeah…now that you think of it…I guess so." The blonde shifted his eyes back to the raven.
Naruto solemnly stared at his teammate, then leaned his head back into his chest. "Does that mean…that it was destiny that I even met you in the first place?"
Sasuke's eyes widened, caught off-guard. Then, his gaze softened. He lowered his head near the blonde's ear. "Yes…I guess it was," the raven whispered softly.
Naruto tightened his grip around his bastard. "Teme…I…" He could feel more tears about to run down his cheeks.
Sasuke lifted up the blonde's chin and wiped the tears with his thumb. "Dobe…you should really stop crying now, or else your eyes'll get all bloodshot later. You don't want Kiba to make fun of you again, now do you?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes again and punched the raven in the stomach.
Sasuke winced after the impact, but that didn't stop him.
The raven held his kitsune by the chin again, and pressed his lips against his once more.
"Bastard," Naruto managed to utter.
"Dobe," Sasuke whispered.
Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed reading my first fic =) FYI I came up with the plot during swim practice when I was REALLY spaced out (like during warm-down XD) and also--some of the things that happened to Naruto in this fic actually happened to me, too (mostly the part when he was a child--but NO I didn't tackle anyone and engage in an epic fist fight XD) Anyways, I really hoped you liked my first fic, enough to shower me with good reviews X3 ...and take it a little easy on me since I'm a friggin' newbie n.n" Stay tuned for my upcoming fanfics (later to come in the near future XD)! .::*~Kitsune~*::.