Naruto groaned, rolled over, and clutched his stomach. It was the next day, and Naruto's stomach still ached, even though usually many of his injuries would heal overnight. Rage boiled up in him towards Sasuke, and he couldn't wait to face him at school that day.
He jumped out of bed, still hurting, just as the alarm went off. He slipped on his clothes and gobbled down his ramen, took a painkiller, then sped off for school.
He arrived at the schoolyard a half hour early, and barely a student could be seen. Naruto sat at a bench, but after a minute his ADHD acted up and he jumped off, speeding for the shuriken-throwing targets behind the Academy.
He slipped into the shed where the school supplies were, took a few shuriken, and started practicing. Of course, he barely got two stars on the target the first ten times.
A few students joined him, but he ignored them. He was so concentrated on his target that he didn't notice the shadow that crept up on him, darkening his line of vision.
"You loser," the shadow chuckled. "You can't even aim straight! I bet you miss the toilet!"
Naruto whirled around and swung at Sasuke, forgetting his shuriken, but Sasuke dodged. Naruto, having lost his balance, fell straight forward toward his stack of shuriken.
"Aaah!" he cried, and squeezed his eyes shut. He waited for the impact.
But, of course, it never came.
"You idiot," Sasuke said, clutching his arms and holding him up, "You nearly frickin' killed yourself!"
"Like you would care!" Naruto twisted out of Sasuke's grip just as the school bell rang. Panting hard, Naruto settled for a glare at Sasuke before sprinting toward the school.
Naruto settled in his seat, far away from Sasuke, and stayed like that the whole day. Every once in a while he'd steal a glance toward his enemy, but Sasuke never bothered to return his stare. Iruka droned on and on, but Naruto barely noticed, though that wasn't unusual.
School ended and Naruto darted outside in time to see Sasuke sauntering toward the school gate. Naruto ran toward him, a bitter expression on his face, but didn't hit him.
They walked together, neither talking for a moment. Naruto had no idea why he was doing this, though he knew he had to do his assignment with this show-off.
"Hey Sas-gay." Said Naruto.
"Hey Naru-turd." Sasuke countered.
Naruto glared. "Why did you stop me from falling in the shuriken?" he asked, looking away.
Sasuke looked at him incredulously. "And let your eyes get cut out and your face messed up? I'm not that much of a jerk."
Naruto cringed and realized, yeah, who wouldn't have saved him from that? It was instinct. But it still bothered him that it was Sasuke.
"I guess, also," Sasuke said, looking away stubbornly, "It was like, 'Sorry for yesterday.'"
Naruto's rage worked up again, and though they were in the middle of a slightly crowded street, Naruto shouted, "Why the heck did you do that for, anyway?"
Sasuke glared menacingly, and Naruto gulped. "I'm not talking about it. Don't bring it up."
"You're the one who brought it up," Naruto murmured, but he didn't follow it. Besides, he needed a good grade on this report, so fighting Sasuke wasn't the best idea. Though he hung onto his anger, it was still a show of great self-control for Naruto.
"Okay, anyway," Sasuke said with a sigh, "I found a ninja—or two— for the report."
Naruto brightened. "Ooh! Is he good? Is he a hero? Is he bad-ass?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Eh. They're—"
"They?"
"Yeah, so I got two. Big whup. Only doing one is boring, anyway. They're Chunin, and their names are Izumo and Kotetsu."
"How do you know them?"
"They were friends of my…my father's."
Naruto didn't bother to notice Sasuke's hesitation in saying "father" so he didn't ask. He grinned, though. "Okay! Okay! So, when do we see them? What do we do, ask questions? Ooh, I should get a camera!"
His fury momentarily forgotten, Naruto ran off to buy a camera and think up some questions. He realized that maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be that bad.
Sasuke stared off after him, stopping at the door to his apartment building. He frowned in irritation. "What a loser."
