Double Edged Sword

(The Rewrite)

By: Light And Noise

(the author formerly known as YoroichiIsSailorL)

Warnings: Yaoi (boy/boy), Dark!Naruto, Mild Language

Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

[X x X]

Mornings were always the hardest. It wasn't just getting up and it wasn't his lack of sleep, it was the thought of what the day would entail. The same things seemed to repeat themselves over and over, despite his best attempt at shaking things up a bit. The clock on his bedside table blinked 3:59AM at him and he squinted at the bright orange words. It was four in the morning and he'd barely fallen asleep at one. Surely that wasn't healthy for him.

The boy exhaled sharply and forced himself into a sitting position on his bed, the comforter and sheets pooling at his waist. He drew his knees to his chest and rested his elbows atop them, holding his head in his hands. His fingers dug into deep blond hair, digging at the roots as he tried to get the nightmare to leave his head. Maybe if he cleaned his room, the nightmare would leave. While cleaning his room wouldn't have been his first choice, at four in the morning Uzumaki Naruto couldn't afford to be picky. Besides, Sai had been nagging him to clean his room lately. It would get his friend off his back and get the nightmare to go away. A goal in mind, Naruto flung himself from his bed and made his way to the bedroom door, flicking the light switch on. He squinted against the sudden light onslaught and surveyed his room; he had his work cut out for him -that was for sure. The bed and the bedside table seemed to be the only clean surfaces in his room. The blond sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, staring at the mess around him.

Empty ramen cups stood on their bottoms or lay on their sides at various points around his room; chopsticks from those ramen cups were strewn about messily, almost begging for a splinter. Filthy, dirty, and mildly wearable clothes were lying on the floor and there was a pair of boxers hanging from the door to his closet and some briefs sitting innocently on his desk chair. Scrolls were lying about in various states of openness, baring their secrets to any shinobi leaping past the window to his room. That was unlikely but still plausible. On his desk there were empty inkwells and wads of paper as well as sheets of fresh, clean paper lying about. A book on seals was lying open over the back of his desk chair. Books were all over the room; Naruto even spotted a book peeking out from under his bed. Oh Kami, he was not looking forward to that trip.

Naruto stretched his body out and left his bedroom quickly, going to the kitchen where he kept his garbage bags. He grabbed the box off garbage bags and made his way back to his room. He took a deep breath and took a bag out.Let the cleaning begin, he thought sarcastically to himself. He shook the bag open and began collecting ramen cups and chopsticks; the real garbage would be easiest to do first. After he tackled that, he would get paper and inkwells and then we would put his dirty clothes in need of washing in a bag and take that bag to the crappy washer and dryer that had come with the apartment. He couldn't complain about them; at least they were there and he had plumbing.

Cleaning up the ramen seemed to be an endless task; he ate so damn much of it. If it wasn't a ramen cup, it was chopsticks. At the rate he seemed to be eating ramen, he'd have a heart attack or something. Naruto chuckled to himself and shook his head, continuing to work. Maybe if he finished cleaning his room, he'd treat himself to Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast. There he went again, eating ramen. However, it was cheap so no one could blame him. He only got so much from the Orphan's Fund Konoha had in place, so there really wasn't much he could complain about.

A light laugh escaped Naruto's lips as he tied the garbage bag he'd been filling with ramen cups closed. It was full and slightly bulging out in certain spots and Naruto was fairly certain he'd picked up all the ramen cups and chopsticks. He dipped under his bed and found no more cups, which was good because they probably would have rotted by then. A quick double check of his room showed no more ramen garbage, so Naruto carried his filled bag out of his room and set it by the front door so he wouldn't forget to grab it when he left. The blond tugged awkwardly at his boxers as he walked back to his room to start on the paper. The rest of his room took about two hours, not including shelving the books. When Naruto was done, he let himself sink into his desk chair, a satisfied smile on his face. The pile of books on his bed was nothing compared to the success of cleaning his room.

After a ten minute break, Naruto set to shelving all of his books. When he was done, the twelve year old really wished that he had a camera. Sai would never believe that his room was this clean –it would make for a nice photo to hang in his living room. Naruto laughed at the thought and fell onto his bed that he had decided not to make just yet. He glanced lazily at his clock which blinked that it was almost five thirty in the morning. Wow, had it really taken him that long? All things considered, that was a rather short amount of time for Naruto to have taken and he hadn't even made a clone for assistance! Naruto smiled proudly and rolled out of bed. He shimmied out of his boxers and tossed them into the hamper he had unearthed from his closet. His tank top followed the boxers shortly. Naruto turned to his bureau and dug out a pair of tight black briefs; when he was out and about he preferred briefs but at home preferred boxers. When those were securely on, Naruto went to his closet and pulled some black and orange pants on. Those secure, Naruto grabbed a plain black tank top and pulled that on. On his way out of his bedroom he grabbed his black hoodie from the back of the door and tapped on his black sandals before he left his apartment. He shrugged on his coat, made sure his two trash bags were outside, and locked the door to his apartment behind him.

Naruto patted himself down, glad to feel his wallet in his jacket pocket. His first stop was the apartment complex dumpster; he tossed his garbage backs and childishly dusted off his palms before he set off down the street, Ichiraku Ramen the one thing on his mind.

[X x X]

Nara Shikamaru had every intention of sleeping until seven thirty that morning. In fact, he went to bed after ten just to make sure he would be asleep for his alarms that were set to go off between five in the morning and seven in the morning. When he woke up at four in the morning, it was obviously something that peeved him to no end. When his dark eyes opened and he saw that it was still dark, Shikamaru had assumed that it was eleven thirty or so. To make sure he was right, Shikamaru rolled over and checked his clock. Dammit, he cursed mentally, a scowl marring his features. Of course, the one time Shikamaru didn't mind sleeping in would be the one time he ended up waking up early. The brown haired twelve year old gave a sigh and rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes and let his other senses work their magic; he could hear his mom clanging around in the kitchen already and he could smell something beginning to cook. He could taste the early morning air, or maybe he was imagining it, and he could feel the gentle caress of his sheets on his skin.

God damn it. It definitely wasn't Shikamaru's ideal scenario. Four in the morning and he didn't need to be up until seven? Hell no. The dark haired boy grumbled under his breath and opened his eyes, glaring at the ceiling for a moment. He yawned widely and contemplated trying to fall asleep. He knew, though, that he wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon. With an over exaggerated sigh, Shikamaru kicked his legs over the side of his bed and sat up. A shiver shot through his spine when his bare feet touched the cold hard wood floor. He sat there for a few moments, listening to his mom banging around. Maybe it would be best for him to try and sleep. He weighed the pros and cons in his head for a moment before deciding that going down now was the lesser of two evils. It had been a while since he'd helped with breakfast; if he offered to help, maybe his mom would give him some slack after the Genin tests were over and he came home.

As he made his way downstairs, Shikamaru couldn't help but ponder the upcoming Genin tests. They were given every year and anyone in the academy could test for them but it was mandatory at twelve. The brunette wasn't entirely sure that he was ready to be a Genin but it was between that and being stuck in the academy for another year. His mother and father were encouraging him to take the tests and actually try on them. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he descended the stairs; he was known for not trying in school and, on numerous occasions, had been called to retake a test because he had slept through it. Shikamaru shook his head and stepped quietly onto the ground floor of the Nara house. His mother was still making a racket in the kitchen. Shikamaru glanced back up the darkened staircase and hesitated before making his way into the kitchen.

He peered in and watched his mom work for a moment. Her hair was pulled back and she was already dressed for the day in a plain outfit with an apron over that. Next to her, Shikamaru felt like a lazy pig, although that had never stopped the twelve year old before. He watched as she dipped her finger in something on the stove and tasted it. She shook her head and pulled something out of the cupboard above her. Shikamaru waited until she was in a place where she wouldn't spill anything to announce his presence.

"Need any help, Mom?" he asked, his monotonous voice making it hard to tell whether or not he was being serious. The woman shrieked and spun around, clutching at her chest. She gave Shikamaru a stern look.

"Son, don't' scare me like that!" she scolded; her smile seemed to negate her tone, however. "You're up awful early, Shikamaru. Why don't you get out three bento boxes; you can help me box lunch today." Shikamaru gave a short nod and walked to the pantry on the far side of the room. He opened the door and ducked inside, quickly grabbing three bento boxes. He took them to the kitchen table and lined them up, waiting for further instruction from his mother. She was already back to work; a new pot was on the stove and Shikamaru noticed that there was a salad bowl sitting to the side of the stove. "Why are you awake so early, sweetie? Couldn't sleep?"

"On the contrary," Shikamaru grumbled, leaning against the table. "I was pretty much asleep when I went to bed. Troublesome that I'm up so early."

Nara Yoshino looked over her shoulder and smiled at her son, "Well, it's a very good thing you're up! You won't be late for the tests today!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes but couldn't help agreeing with his mother. It was the truth. He would be money, though, on him falling asleep before the first test even started. It was amazing that they had let him pass all his classes and let him do retakes; most of the other students weren't offered test retakes. Shikamaru shook his head again when his mom asked him to help with a dish she was working on.

[X x X]

The Uchiha compound was relatively quiet, as it was every morning. The only occupant being a quiet, antisocial boy, there wasn't much cause for noise or disturbance at the compound. There were morning birds whistling a tune as day tried to break and there were the distant sounds of the market in Konoha that were carried on the wind. If it weren't for the steady thumping sound coming from the Uchiha training grounds, the morning over the compound would have seemed calm and peaceful.

Uchiha Sasuke had been up since four that morning practicing his aim. His strongest memory was not being able to hit something dead center. Sasuke glared at his target which had about ten kunai all grouped up in the center of the bull's-eye. He hadn't hit dead center yet –that usually took some time. A growl escaped the twelve year old and he violently threw the kunai at the target, pleased when it slammed dead center, sending a few of the other kunai spinning off into the dirt. A sneer settled on Sasuke's face and he looked at the target in disgust. Sasuke quickly gathered up his kunai and they were quickly put away in both of his weapon pouches. The black haired teen stood there for a moment, his eyes on the target which had little marks where his kunai had been. If he focused hard enough, he could almost see his kunai marks from earlier in the week.

A scoff left his mouth; now he was imagining things. He was definitely working himself too hard. Three more exercises, he told himself. Then you can take a bath. With that in mind, the Uchiha made his way to the training logs near the edges of the compound. His dark eyes were zeroed in on the logs and it took him less than a minute to reach them, despite their distance from the kunai targets. There were three logs, two about five feet high and the third in the middle about eight feet high. Sasuke went to the one on the left and began his punches; he did ten sets of ten punches with his left fist and again with his right fist before he moved on to his kicks. He did ten sets of ten shin kicks with each leg before working on round house kicks. By the time Sasuke decided to rest, the sun was halfway up and he was breathing slightly rough. He pressed his back against the log he had been working with and leaned against it, relaxing his body slightly. He stood there for a few minutes before stretching out his body. He had to do one more exercise before he could reward himself with a bath.

The Uchiha stretched out his arms and dropped down into push up position. He did five sets of five pushups and took a minute break before rolling on his back and doing five sets of five sit ups. He rested for a moment before pushing himself up. He rolled his shoulders and began walking back toward the house he'd decided to occupy. It wasn't the one he'd grown up in simply because he couldn't bear the memories. Instead, it was one closer to the Uchiha training grounds than his other home had been. It didn't take Sasuke too long to get home. The second the front door was closed and latched behind him, Sasuke began undressing. He undid his weapon pouches and set them aside for a moment before slipping out of his painfully sweaty clothes. He grabbed his weapon pouches and made his way naked through the house to the bathroom. Since he was so paranoid, Sasuke had long since brought a stool in for his weapon pouches. He set them down and turned on the bath, testing the water. When it was at a satisfactory temperature, he plugged the tub and turned on a lukewarm shower, washing himself down quickly while the bath filled next to him. He shut his shower off and wrung out his hair. The Uchiha stood under the shower and watched the bath slowly fill up, shutting it off when it was where he wanted it.

Gingerly, Sasuke climbed into the bath and let out a content sigh, sinking into the water. His eyes fell closed and his other senses picked up the pace, his hearing especially perked. It wouldn't due for a psychotic girl to peek in on his bath. He relaxed in the bath, his muscles loosening. Although he hadn't checked the time, Sasuke would guess it was somewhere around five thirty-six o'clock in the morning. He would have to check when he was done with his bath. All he really knew was that he wasn't going to be late for the academy because he wanted to take a moment to indulge himself. Sasuke let out yet another content sigh and lean back against the back of the bath, his arms draped over the sides, keeping his head afloat.

"This is nice," he murmured to himself. Here, in the safety of his home, he could relax and be gentle. He didn't have to be the vengeance seeking Uchiha. While he was, that wasn't him all the time. There were times, though few and far between, where Uchiha Sasuke was gentle and good company. Like now. Sasuke seriously doubted, though, that anyone would get close enough to him that they would be able to see him in such a state of relaxation. The raven haired boy grumbled to himself and sunk lower into the bath, hoping the hot water would soothe the thoughts away and maybe even prevent him from more thinking.

[X x X]

"Hey, Iruka?" a voice called out. The brunette in question looked up at his co-worker, Mizuki.

"Yes, Mizuki-Kun?" he asked lightly.

"Wanna place bets on who's going to pass or fail?" Mizuki asked with a playful, almost cute, grin on his face. He made his way over to Iruka's desk and leaned over it, getting in his colleague's face. "Huh? It could be fun!"

Iruka laughed and shook his head at Mizuki's words. "No, Mizuki-Kun," he answered. "It's against my morals to bet on my students. As a teacher, I have faith in all of my pupils."

"Even the demon?" Mizuki taunted. "And what about that lazy boy? Nara. He doesn't do anything, Iruka. How can you think he'd pass?"

Iruka chuckled. "Sometimes, Mizuki, we see things differently. Naruto-Kun and Shikamaru-Kun are both very intelligent boys. They just don't put effort into school work. You'll see! I shall take your bet. I bet you my paycheck that Naruto-Kun and Shikamaru-Kun pass, even with retakes!"

Mizuki's eyes widened but he smirked, holding out his hand. Iruka smiled delicately back at the white haired teacher and took his hand. In unison, the duo said, "Deal." Mizuki's grin was knowing; the look in his eyes said he already knew he was going to win. Iruka's smile was light and pure; he had complete faith in his students and his body language displayed it. Plus, his next month was depending on those boys' success. It would be an interesting day, that was for sure.