Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, sadly.

I wrote this because… well, I don't know. It's a break from my other story. I'm waiting until I get a new idea for First Love because I don't want to force a chapter. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Thinner.

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Sasuke looked in the mirror, a hand on his pale chest. His lips were pulled back in a grimace of disgust. He poked at his small, white, flat belly and the grimace grew. What I would give to be thinner…he thought, and closed his eyes against the reflection, turning away. He collapsed onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. Why can't I be thinner?

Hours passed, and soon Sasuke got up. He tried desperately not to look at the mirror, but couldn't help it. His gaze was drawn to the reflective glass, and he frowned. He slipped his shirt back on and went downstairs. He felt the harsh bite of hunger in his belly, but ignored it. He drew a glass of water from the kitchen sink and drank it, then went outside. If I train until I am exhausted, I will be thinner.

Sasuke set up the straw dummy and practiced throwing shuriken and kunai for a while, then practiced his taijutsu, positively whaling on the straw stuffed figure. He punched and kicked at it until he was completely exhausted. The dummy was stained with blood from Sasuke's hands, and his feet ached all over. He was bent over and breathing hard, feeling a little dizzy from hunger and exhaustion. He picked himself up and stumbled inside, thinking to himself, Maybe now I am thinner.

He stumbled upstairs and collapsed on his bed, falling asleep almost instantly. When he woke, he repeated the routine. He trained until his hands were cut open and bleeding, and every muscle in his body was sore. He trained for hours on end without eating or drinking, telling himself, This will make me thinner.

He went to deliver a spinning kick to the dummy, but fell. He was surprised to find that he couldn't get up. He tried and tried, but his arms had no strength. He couldn't even roll over. He was breathing hard when he finally decided to just give up and rest here for a while. The gnawing hunger in his stomach made his head spin, and his throat felt dry and scratchy. As he passed out, he though, All this, just to be thinner.

When he woke up, he was in his bed again. He grunted and pushed himself up on one elbow, wincing at the pain in his entire arm. He wondered vaguely how he got back into bed. Then, the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja, a.k.a Naruto, walked through his bedroom door, carrying a tray. He blinked at Sasuke. "You're awake? I guess you were lying there for longer than I thought. What were you doing out there, Sasuke?"

"What do you think, loser?" he asked, collapsing back down onto the bed. "I was training." I was training to become thinner.

Naruto glared at him and set the tray down on Sasuke's bedside table. "I could see that, teme. I meant, what were you doing just laying on the ground like that?" he sat down on Sasuke's bed and the taller ninja glared up at him, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"I overdid it a little," Sasuke said. "That's all. What were you doing at my house anyways?" He tried to cover his reluctance to tell the blonde idiot that he had been unable to get up and passed out on the ground with an honest question, yet it didn't work very well.

Naruto gave him a long, hard look, and said, "Did you forget that Kakashi-sensei wanted us to meet him at the bridge today? I came looking for you because you never showed up."

Sasuke stared at him, then smacked himself in the forehead. "Argh! Stupid!" he chided himself. Why was I so fixated on training to remember that I had to meet Kakashi-sensei and the others? Stupid, stupid, STUPID! You forget things just because you want to be thinner!

"Sasuke, it's alright," Naruto said, pulling his hand away from his forehead. "Don't worry. Kakashi-sensei isn't mad. He was just worried because you're always there right on time."

He looked over at Naruto and smirked. That idiot is the most easy to read person ever, Sasuke thought. There was clear concern in the look Naruto was giving him, but it was quickly masked with annoyance. "What are you looking at?"

"A loser," Sasuke said, and Naruto growled at him.

"If I wasn't supposed to be taking care of you I'd hit you! Bastard!" he snapped, shaking a fist at Sasuke. He stopped, then looked over at the tray. "Oh yeah. I made you some ramen!" He picked the warm bowl up and held it out to Sasuke. "Come on, eat up! Before it gets really cold!"

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, then took the bowl from him. He blushed slightly when Naruto set the tray up. "D…Dobe," he muttered, then began to eat very slowly. I'm doing this because he wants me to. Tomorrow, I will continue my training. I will become thinner…

Naruto watched him eat for a minute, then stood up. "Ah, Sasuke? You'll be alright, won't you?" Sasuke stopped eating for a moment, and simply stared at the blonde.

"Why wouldn't I be? Loser," he said, but he couldn't hide the unmistakable note of fondness in the insult. Naruto seemed to catch it as well, and he blushed just a little.

"Well, ah… Then I'm going to go tell Sakura and Kakashi-sensei that you're just fine," he said, scratching the back of his head. He turned and walked over to the door, then paused and looked back at Sasuke. "I'm…glad you're alright, Sasuke." He blushed deeper, then said, "If you tell anybody I said that, you're DEAD." With that he hurried out of Sasuke's room.

Maybe that loser isn't so bad after all, Sasuke thought to himself, resuming the small meal Naruto had made for him. Maybe I don't need to be thinner…

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If you're nice and you behave, maybe I'll make a second chapter.