Chapter 2- Saikai

Vivid cobalt blue eyes brightened immediately upon recognizing the shocked face that stared back unblinkingly. The grin, if possible, grew wider then it already was.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out happily, and waved back to and fro wildly.

Sasuke, from the other end of the room, seemed to have gotten over his initial shock, and realizing that he was still standing and receiving the numerous curious gazes from the rest of the class, sat down onto his chair with a huff. He scowled, immediately regretting acknowledging the blond, who was now at the front of the classroom, eagerly trying to get his attention.

There was now a small scuffle breaking out between Kakashi and Naruto, as the latter tried to head over towards Sasuke, and the former trying to restrain him as well as give the class a proper introduction. Sasuke felt like wilting in his seat as Naruto started squabbling with Kakashi to let him go so that he could head over and give Sasuke a hug. Their little wrestle earned them many amused and some slightly horrified looks from the class. Sasuke was displeased to find himself on the receiving end of some of those looks.

Finally, Naruto relented, and stood, albeit reluctantly, at the front of the class, trying to straighten out his rumpled uniform. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, returning from my long stay in America." Naruto grinned and offered a deep and dramatic, almost mocking, bow. "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu." He turned to Kakashi. "There. Happy now?"

Kakashi gave a smile, just as sarcastic as Naruto's bow, as his eyes crinkled up to a close. "Yes, very. Okay squirt, homeroom is over. Go to your seat- the only empty one is that one behind Shikamaru- yes, that lazy lad with his head on the desk. Shikamaru, please be sure to show Naruto around the campus."

Shikamaru muttered something incoherent, but everyone in the class recognized it as 'Troublesome', the lanky boy's favorite catchphrase. Naruto scowled fiercely at Kakashi, one which could rival Sasuke's own. "No way. I wanna sit next to Sasuke." He insisted, sticking out a tongue at the exasperated homeroom teacher.

"Naruto, don't be difficult. Sasuke's already sitting next to Tobitake Tonbo-kun. Go sit next to Shikamaru. And stop acting like a child- you're seventeen, for heaven's sake." Kakashi groaned, but Naruto wasn't even close to listening. He was already waddling through the sea of desks, coming to a halt in front of said Tonbo.

"Hey you. Tobitake. Shove off. I declare this seat mine from today onwards." Naruto proclaimed, loudly and rudely, slamming his bag onto the desk with a thump.

"Says who?" Tonbo bit back, unwilling to let himself get intimidated.

"Says me." Naruto replied smugly, peering down at the other boy. "And Sasuke." He added as an afterthought.

Sasuke glared back. "Don't involve me in any of your mess, Naruto." He said evenly, folding his arms and leading backwards to show his indifference in the situation. "I want no part of it."

Naruto met his gaze challengingly, and his lips curved upwards into a smirk. Sasuke had a foreboding feeling of dread coming towards him. In a second, he suddenly knew why. "When Sasuke was five," Naruto began, speaking each word out slowly and clearly, savoring every minute of it. "Some dipshit in the neighborhood gave him a wedgie, and Mr. Crybaby was wailing for two days straight after- mrrpgh!"

Naruto was forced to cut off his sentence as Sasuke lunged at the blond, clamping the former's mouth shut with his hands, eyes wide with disbelief at what Naruto had just did, and teeth gritting in anger. "Not. Another. Word." Sasuke hissed. "How dare you-"

Naruto simply swiped Sasuke's hands off, and shrugged innocently. "When he was six," he began again, voice taking on a sing-song timbre, almost holding a tinge of threat at the end. "Sasuke was lost in the woods, and-"

Sasuke didn't even allow Naruto to bait him into a fist fight. "Enough. Tobitake. Get lost." He ordered, voice hard and commanding. Tonbo, as well as the entire class, looked at him with surprise marring their faces. Sasuke gave the poor guy his coldest, most ruthless glare at his lack of movement. "Move. Now."

Tonbo was smart enough to realize a threat when he saw one, and hurriedly shoved his stationary and books from both above and under the desk into his bag. Within a minute, Tonbo was already at the other end of the room, and Naruto sat down onto his hard-earned and crudely acquired seat, wearing a contented, goofy smile on his face. Sasuke remained standing, glaring down heavily at the blond. Naruto glanced up at his sour face. "Good morning to you too, Sasuke, my new neighbor." Naruto beamed.

Sasuke fixed the other a calculating look, and, after deciding that it was not worth the effort and energy, grunted and slumped into his own seat, sulking at the no-longer-as-nice view outside. His day had turned from the bearable plain mundane to the infuriating, not-bearable bad. All because of the sole appearance of his long lost, and hopelessly un-contactable childhood friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Who was currently smiling to himself, humming a small victory tune out loud- apparently still relishing his victory over Kakashi, Tonbo, and Sasuke himself.

"Tough day for you, Kakashi-sempai?" came the cool voice of Uzuki Yuugao as she walked briskly in through the door, laptop under one arm, and a stack of papers under the other. "Transfer students tend to do that to you."

"Don't start, Yuugao-sensei. It's only the beginning of the day." Kakashi groaned, shaking his head at his apparent growing migraine, and left, slowly ambling to his next class. "Good luck with the new kid. You're gonna be needing a whole lot of it."

Yuugao simply shut the door softly as soon a Kakashi was gone.

"Alright. Are we ready to begin our lessons for today?"

Sasuke stared blankly to the front. Truthfully, all he currently wanted to do was to run back home and sleep for the entire day, without constantly being disturbed by worries regarding schoolwork and projects. Without worrying if he had upheld the Uchiha's name for the day. Without worrying if he had appeared to be anything less then perfect. Without worrying if anyone realized that he was actually anything but prepared deep inside. But he shoved all these thoughts away as he replied his sensei obediently, together with the rest of the class.

"Ready as always, Yuugao-sensei."

After chemistry came mathematics, Japanese language, and finally Geology rolled past without a hitch. Naruto seemed to be coping well, although he seemed as though he wasn't paying attention at certain times, with his eyes glazed over and his mouth hanging slightly open. That was probably true, if Sasuke's somewhat hazy childhood memories had served him correct. Uzumaki Naruto always had a short attention span.

The lunch bell rang, and the geology teacher, Yamato packed up and headed out. The rest of the class, after certifying that he was finally out and away, immediately burst into a flurry of activities. A large bunch slammed open the doors and sprinted down to the cafeteria, lest they would have to get caught in the endlessly long queue for food, or shuffle around with their trays, trying to find empty seats. The people remaining in the classroom sauntered around, much more relaxed then the first group of students, seeing as they had mothers to pack bentos to eat for them. A few went out, to eat in the breezier courtyard or rooftop. The rest simply pushed their tables together and had a large meal as a group.

Soon, the only two left not stuffing their faces with food were himself and Naruto. Sasuke sighed and turned to face the blond sitting at the desk to the right of his own. Naruto was still staring into space, trying to look engrossed in the lesson which had long ended. Sasuke thought of snapping the blond out of his thoughts, but halted his hand halfway through, deciding that he liked the boy better this way. At least he was quiet and unmoving, and wouldn't disturb Sasuke the slightest. He reached into his bag to fish out the bento his mother had packed for him this morning.

Apparently, the large loud movements of the class couldn't snap Naruto out of his stupor, but Sasuke's minute shifting could. Naruto jerked awake, blinking a few times to clear his vision up, and looked around the half empty classroom. "Wha- Whao. Lesson's over? Sweet." He grinned at the obvious to Sasuke, and mirrored the other's actions.

Sasuke grunted in reply, as he silently bade farewell to a silent lunch. 'But then again, you told yourself you wanted something different,' he thought. He just didn't knew that his request would be granted in the worst possible way it could ever had been- in the form of an Uzumaki Naruto. He began picking at his umeboshi in despondency. Then he felt Naruto's piercing stare directed at him. Or more specifically, the food on his desk. "What?" He snapped.

"Shokado bento with broiled salmon, tamagoyaki, pickled vegetables and ebi furai." Naruto exclaimed, listing all the contents and practically drooling at the sight. "Your food has quality as usual, Sasuke! Can I have some?"

"Get your own." Sasuke grouched, and straightening out his chopsticks, began eating his food proper. His mother had outdone herself yet again with his lunch, he noted with each bite. Despite the food turning cold during lessons, it still did not lose its excellent flavor. He looked over to see what Naruto had brought. He had to do a double take to make sure that he was seeing right, as Naruto uncovered his plastic bento box.

Apparently, it wasn't a daily occurrence, since Naruto too, was staring down at his boxed lunch in shock, which quickly dissolved into irritation as he frowned down at his rice. Two fat round pandas smiled back at him. "I'm gonna kill my old man when I get back." Naruto groaned, covering his eyes in shame and humiliation. Sasuke let out an agreeing snort in disbelief. Naruto had brought a Kyaraben, complete with the cute characters that generally came along with it. "How old does he think I am? Five?" He bemoaned, poking at the octopus-shaped sausages at the side.

"You act like one." Sasuke felt inclined to point out, before shoving in another mouthful of rice.

"That itself is a different story altogether." Naruto replied seriously, still looking down at his bento, aghast. "Sasuke, I can't eat this!" he said a moment later. "They're just too…too cute! I can't bear to eat them! Can we switch?"

"Then starve." Sasuke said scathingly. "I'm not going to trade my bento with yours. I have tempura in mine- you don't have anything other then cheap sausages."

"Don't be so cold. I'll give you a panda. For a slice of salmon." Naruto begged. He joined his table together with Sasuke's. "Here, hand them over," and as he said that, Naruto made to reach out to Sasuke's bento with his chopsticks- to which Sasuke swatted away with much irritancy.

"What do you think I am, stupid?" Sasuke snapped, hastily shoveling in more food into his mouth before Naruto could get to them. Naruto gave up on wrestling food off the Uchiha and stared despondently at his own, muttering foul names under his breath, all of them insultingly similar to 'selfish picky bastard'. He turned his bento around his desk, deciding on which angle he could attack the pandas from without having to feel guilty about destroying them. The Kyaraben didn't have a single ugly side to it. Naruto's father had done an extremely good job with it.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun. Why don't you come over and join us for lunch?"

Sasuke looked up and frowned even deeper. It was Sakura and Ino, with the rest of their little cheer group hovering around in the background, hope plastered all over their cosmetic-filled faces. Sasuke had always wondered why they were not banned from classes, since the make-up they wore almost every day, along with their too-short skirts, definitely defied school regulations. But then, Kakashi came to mind and Sasuke decided to drop the subject. He went back to his meal- all his politeness had been used up for the day- and only gave them a grunt in reply.

"Aw, come on. Why not?" Naruto questioned, fox-like grin fixed in place. "It sounds like fun. And you're gonna be with so many babes as well."

Sasuke fixed Naruto a sullen glare. "Then why don't you go sit with them. You don't have any reason to be eating next to me."

"That's cruel, Sasuke." Naruto whined. "I'm sitting here because I want to. And here I was thinking that we were friends."

Naruto had just pulled the ultimate trump card. There was no way a polite Uchiha would have been able to rebuke that last sentence without causing a bit of damage of the other party's side. If it was anybody else saying that line, Sasuke would have found it highly suspicious, nerve wrecking, and started periodic scans for any bugs in the vicinity. But since it was Naruto- the number one idiot that spoke straight from his heart- that said it, Sasuke had believed very word then and there, and was actually feeling quite touched.

"Do as you wish." He said, leant back, and polished up his bento smoothly, almost lazily. He was quite relieved to know that Naruto still considered him a friend after almost seven years of no communication. He had actually felt bad, apologetic, about that, and was worrying over it. The confirmation was a relief. The corners of his lips were twitching into a smile. Almost. It was small, but it seemed as though Naruto had caught it, and the other's grin grew even wider.

"Is that a Kyaraben? Eh, that's so cute!" Sakura had caught sight of Naruto's bento, and was squealing over it. "Did your mother make this for you?"

Touching moment ruined, Sasuke thought wryly, as Naruto's smile faltered slightly as he turned to face the girls. But before he even had the chance to answer, however, Sakura had already carried on talking.

"That's really sweet of her. You must have a really loving mother, Uzumaki-san." She gushed, picking up the bento for a closer examination, without even bothering to ask for permission. "Hey, Ino. Come look at this. These pandas are really well made, aren't they?"

Ino snuck a disinterested glance. "What are you talking about? I can make a better one any time!" She sniffed, before turning to Sasuke with a sweet smile. "Sasuke-kun, just say the word, and I'll bring an even cuter Kyaraben then this ugly thing tomorrow."

The only ugly thing here is your face, Sasuke thought angrily. Then realized what he had just thought of, and clenched and unclenched his fists, determined not to let anger gain control over his body. He breathed in deeply. That's right, this isn't my problem. It's Naruto's. He's capable of handling it if he wants to. I shouldn't get involved in someone else's mess. This is absolutely none of my business.

"Hey, Haruno Sakura-san, was it? If you don't mind, could I have my bento back please?" Naruto spoke up with a sheepish laugh. "Lunch break's gonna end soon, and I haven't even started eating yet, so…"

"Oh, sure. Sorry. It looks like I got carried away." Sakura smiled, placing Naruto's plastic lunchbox back down onto the desk. "By the way, do you think I suit Sasuke-kun better, or Ino?"

"Erm…"Naruto looked slightly confused and flustered at the sudden random change of topic in the conversation. He looked at Sasuke for help, but Sasuke only turned his head away in disgust, declining to reply, and carried on ignoring them as best as he could. He knew where this was going. Naruto had already established himself as someone on good terms with the Uchiha. Both Sakura and Ino weren't stupid- they'd use Naruto to get themselves on better terms with himself. Naruto would find himself betrayed, and Sasuke would be pestered for all eternity. Nothing good would ever come out from this.

"Obviously he would pick me, Sakura." Ino butt in, eyes shining now that they were speaking on a subject she can truly start a huge-scale debate on. "After all, I'm the prettier girl. You're just all brains and no looks."

"And you're just all looks with not a single ounce of brains inside." Sakura sniffed disdainfully. "That's even more depressing."

You're all brainless ugly chickens. The only assets you have are your big irritating mouths. Now go away…

"Actually, I think you both are just as good as each other, so please don't pick a fight while I'm trying to digest my panda over here, okay?" Naruto tried to placate them while stuffing sausages into his mouth, eyes flying to the wall clock at the front of the classroom every now and then.

"Hey, Uzumaki Naruto-san. On closer inspection," Ino swooped down over Naruto, eyes narrowed and rubbing her chin thoughtfully, scrutinizing her fellow blond. Naruto stared back at her unflinchingly and questioningly with a sausage filled mouth. "Aren't you by any chance related to Namikaze Minato?"

Don't butt in. Don't involve yourself. Don't lose your cool. Don't give them the chance to rile you up.

"Uh…" Naruto was definitely looking uncomfortable now, as he tried to concentrate on his bento and think of a way to skirt around this particular topic.

"Oooh, I've heard of him." Sakura chimed in, eyes wide. "He's that handsome guy who's been on the news recently right? He's a billionaire tycoon or something… Now that you mention it, the hair and eye color do resemble him somewhat…"

It's not your business. You shouldn't care.

Crack. Snap.

"Shut up."

Silence descended momentarily upon the classroom. The group of giggling cheerleaders grew quiet, and Ino, Sakura and Naruto turned to face Sasuke with various degree of surprise filtering through their faces. Sasuke took a deep breath and released his splintered wooden chopsticks from his hands, dropped them onto his desk, before dusting splinters off his hands.

"Sakura. Ino. You're annoying. Get lost." Sasuke said blandly, eyeing them as though he was eyeing lowly disgusting garbage. A few girls in the back let out soft dramatic gasps as their chairman and vice-chairman was told off by Sasuke himself. He turned his infuriated glare towards the rest of his classmates. "The rest of you- get back to your seats. Lunch break will be ending soon. Please prepare for the next lesson."

The shock lasted for a few more minutes, before the class hurriedly left, scrambling to comply his orders, with Sasuke's dispassionate hawk-like gaze tailing them wherever they went, making sure that they followed obediently. That only left him and Naruto, who had yet to move a single spot, gaping at him with eyes wide in shock. He was not spared from Sasuke's death glare.

"And you." Sasuke said, towering over his blond friend threateningly. He reached down, grabbing the little plastic box which now only held two fat pandas, (the rest of the food were relatively normal-looking so Naruto was long done with them) and holding Naruto's pair of chopsticks firmly in his hands, (his own having been crushed into smithereens) mashed the panda onigiri into bits and pieces (ignoring Naruto's horrified cry) until they lost their form and only resembled smashed rice with seaweed bits littered within them. He shoved the lunchbox and chopsticks under Naruto's nose. "Eat."

"Panda-chan!" Naruto gasped in horror. "Panda-chan has been mutilated by the evil panda killer Sasuke-man!"

Sasuke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes. And the evil panda killer Sasuke-man will mutilate you too, if you don't eat this right now."

"But I'm not a panda!" Naruto protested. "And I'm not gonna eat Panda-chan's pulverized body!"

"So you're saying that you will eat if I turn you into a panda, is that right?" Sasuke's grinned predatorily. He cracked his knuckles loudly. "Alright Naruto. Just sit there, close your eyes, and stay put. It might hurt a little, but I swear, before you know it, you'll have a face with eyes that will put all pandas to shame-"

"Okay chill, Sasuke." Naruto backtracked all too quickly. "You don't have to do anything. I'll eat."

"A wise decision." Sasuke's evil grin of doom had yet to leave his face. He glanced at the clock. "You have five minutes to set your table straight and finish off Panda-chan's remains before the next teacher arrives."

Sasuke could practically hear Naruto's internal swearing as the blond shoved down mouthful after mouthfuls of rice non-stop, determined to force everything down his throat lest he'd face his father's wrath when he gets home. A pity he couldn't inhale food if it was anything but ramen. Sometimes, being able to do what you wanted was just so damn satisfying.

Thankfully for Naruto, the next period was English Language, and Kakashi did not disappoint the blond, or his reputation, by arriving on time. He was missing for the first half of the lesson, to which Naruto made full usage of by finishing up his bento until it was clean and sparkling, going as far as to lick up every grain of rice off it. By the time Naruto had finished in contentment, Kakashi had unknowingly received multiple praises of gratitude from the blond teen.

"So, Sasuke," Naruto began, wrapping up his bento box rather messily with a furoshiki that was dyed in a horrible shade of orange. "How long has it been since you last spoke up to someone like that?"

Sasuke gave a noncommittal grunt. He was starting to regret his earlier rude actions, but after realizing that it was already done and he couldn't find a time machine anywhere, decided that sulking over it was simply not worth the time and effort and was determined to shove it down into the recess of his mind where it will lay, eternally forgotten and untouched. Until Naruto came along and ruthlessly yanked it back up.

"What was that? I didn't catch that." Naruto said loudly, cupping a hand over an ear and gaining several glances from the class.

"Seven years, dumbshit. Now pipe down!" Sasuke hissed, feeling extremely annoyed at the moment. He eyed the stupid grin on Naruto's stupid face, and the irritation increased. "What?"

"Nothing." Naruto sang, still grinning. "But isn't mister Uchiha here worrying about his reputation plunge to rock bottom right now? You're regretting it, aren't you?"

Naruto's bull's-eye accuracy made Sasuke slightly unnerved and fidgety, but he hid it well under a mask of indifference. "I'm not regretting anything." He said flatly. "If you're feeling bad about it, then you can treat it as seven years of apologies for not keeping in contact."

"I didn't exactly contact you either, so that's even." Naruto countered effortlessly. "I didn't even send you my address once we've settled down. Security was tight over there, sorry."

"Understandable. Still, I should've tracked your location down." Sasuke said.

"And you've ended up with a very angry papa chasing your heels for breaking his security." Naruto snorted.

"It was worth the risk if it meant that we could talk to each other." Sasuke pointed out.

"Cut the crap Sasuke. I'm not worth it." Naruto said, tone darkening, attitude doing a surprising one-eighty. "I'm not worthy of your protection. I'm not worthy of your concern. And I'm certainly not worthy of our friendship. I don't understand why you still stand up for me. And risk your Uchiha honor for a loser like myself."

And with that, Sasuke suddenly realized that Naruto might've been just as insecure as him about the reunion. It was a big joke, he thought. Here he was, worrying that time might've changed their bonds. That Naruto might come back a different person. That maybe Naruto would no longer find him fun to be with. That they might never eat, laugh and play as they used to do seven years ago. That his Naruto may have long been lost forever. He worried so much for himself; he hadn't stopped to think for the other party. That maybe Naruto was feeling exactly the same way as he was feeling now. They were two idiotic morons, who were forcing each other to act nice, out of fear that they may rip the fragile bonds between them.

He tried to give Naruto a reply- he tried to say a lot of things, but the words just wouldn't- couldn't- form in his suddenly dry lips. They didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day. Sasuke spent the entire English, History, Art, and finally Biology class staring bleakly at his assignments, completing it almost half-heartedly, but as usual, perfectly. Naruto was constantly hovering by his side, copying off the Uchiha, a quiet, uncomfortable companion. Sasuke didn't like to see him looking like this- anxious and unfocused.

Which was why, after a mere ten minutes of homeroom, when everyone dispersed from the classroom to rush down for after-school activities, or simply eager to hit the mall or go straight home, Sasuke pulled Naruto back from the large group of students, determined to get a word in.

"It was worth it." Sasuke said firmly, locking eyes with Naruto. He held out a clenched fist. "It was worth every single drop of it. It wouldn't hurt to shed a little family pride, if it meant that I could get my best friend back."

Okaeri, Naruto.

Sasuke waited. Naruto looked blank for a few moments, before he smiled widely in reply, and reached out to punch Sasuke's awaiting fist. The smile he wore on his face seemed much brighter and honest than those goofy grins he had wore on his face that day. It might've been contagious- Sasuke felt his own face break into a smile- at true smile that he hadn't worn for seven long tiresome years.

Tadaima, Sasuke.

A week had passed since Naruto last entered the Academy. He was adapting pretty well to the changed environment, to the teachers, and to his classmates. In fact, he got along with them on much better terms then Sasuke ever had. Others might've called it humiliating, to be ousted by someone seven years your junior in terms of school experience, but Sasuke didn't care. It had never been in the Uchiha's character to get along well with people, unless it was for beneficial purposes. That's when their acting skills come into play.

Naruto had kept him fairly entertained enough, with his stupidity and idiotic antics and jokes- which half of them weren't intentional. Sasuke realized after seeing Naruto that day that the blond did grew up some- he was slightly more sensitive and thoughtful towards others, and it did help that his academic tolerance did grow by ten percent as well. But other than that, it was a relief to find that Naruto was still the same old Naruto that had left him seven years back, and not a complete stranger. Lastly, he was glad to see that Naruto, no matter how friendly he got with the rest of the class, still stuck onto him like flies to flypaper. No wait, that sounded wrong.

The year was picking up to Sasuke's liking.

But he just had to tolerate the usual impatience and annoyance that came with it. Today was a fine example of it. Sasuke found himself jolted out of his musings on one afterschool homeroom period, by none other than his blond friend, who was jabbing him hard at the sides with a stick which he had picked up from the ground.

"Hey Sasuke. The bloody Principal called me in today. The old hag wants me to join a club." Naruto whined, sulking at a pile of leaflets featuring their school's various after-school clubs. He was sitting crossed legged on his chair.

"Then join one." Sasuke replied absentmindedly, working on his mathematics homework. "I don't care which. And frankly speaking, I'm not even interested. Just pick a club and enter. We even have a food sampling club, so go there and win them some ramen badges."

"I might die of atherosclerosis." Naruto pointed out scathingly, scanning through the various colored parchments. "What club are you in, Sasuke?"

"Track and field." Sasuke grunted, punching numbers into his calculator rapidly. "If you want to join the more popular clubs, I'd suggest baseball, basketball, kendo, judo, mountain climbing, or gymnastics."

"What? All athletic clubs?" Naruto whined. "Boring." He threw the bunch of pamphlets into the air, scattering them all over the classroom floor. He jumped onto his now empty table, perching precariously over it, swinging his legs out freely from below him. "The clubs here are too dull."

"You're going to pick those papers off the floor once you're done with your whining." Sasuke didn't even spared a glance away from his work. "Oh hey, what's logx(8e3) = 3?"

"Log?" Naruto repeated dumbly. "The ones ninjas use for kawarimi?"

"There you go with your ninja make-believe again." Sasuke muttered, scribbling down his workings. "Nevermind. Its x = 2e. Moron."

"Don't ask if you're just gonna answer it by yourself." Naruto grumbled darkly. "So I've been thinking, Sasuke. Can students form their own clubs?"

"You need to get a teacher-in-charge, the principal's approval and at least five members, but it is possible." Sasuke said monotonously, as though he had recited it from heart, which he probably had. "But I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to go through all that trouble to create a freaking club-"

"Let's do it."

"Do what?" Sasuke said, thoroughly engrossed in his piece of worksheet.

"Let's make a club. You and me."

That got Sasuke looking up. They had a little staring contest for awhile, before Sasuke was the one to break the silence. "You're being ridiculous. And I am already committed to a club."

"Come on Sasuke, it'll be fun. I'll form my own club. And then you can be the vice-president." Naruto grinned down at him. "And we'll say bye-bye to our boring school days." He threw his arms up into the air, letting out a loud whoop in delight.

"…What sort of club are you going to form?" Sasuke asked curiously. Their school had almost all the club anyone could ever name; he didn't think that Naruto wouldn't be able to not find a club he desired to join.

Naruto grinned, and chose not to reply, scratching down on a piece of paper which he noisily tore out of his notebook instead.

Sasuke blinked as he peered down at the sheet that was dangling in front of him, held out by an excited Naruto. Two scratchily written kanji stood out, black and bold against stark white. " Anzumu?" The name rolled out of his tongue funny. In fact, Sasuke reckoned that this was the first time he'd ever seen such a strange word throughout his entire life.

"It's ANBU!" Naruto snapped, looking peeved. "That's the kanji for 'Anzu' and 'Buzama'. You take the 'An' from 'Anzu', and 'Bu' from 'Buzama', and then you'll get 'ANBU'! And here I was thinking that you were a genius."

"If you separate the 'Bu' from 'Buzama', everyone would have read it as 'Mu'. And that's the kanji for 'Anzu', and 'An'." Sasuke said, amused. "Only an idiot like you would read it as Anbu."

Naruto childishly stuck out his tongue, redrew his paper and huffed, annoyed, as he stared fixedly back at it. "I thought it was cool."

"Buzama no Anzu. AnBu." Sasuke tested the name out. It felt familiar on his lips, coming out smoothly, fluidly, and naturally. As though he had been saying it numerous times before, even though it had just been invented by Naruto a few minutes ago. "I like it." He told his friend, who wore an expression of gleeful shock on his face. "The clumsy apricot. It's a damn good definition of you."

"Well, I am going to be the President." Naruto replied smugly. "So you'll join?"

Sasuke seriously considered his offer. It was tempting. It was really really tempting. Sasuke knew that only Naruto would be able to give him that ounce of excitement he needed. He wanted to just throw away his track team's jersey and join Naruto instead, but the risks were too high and numerous. And his father would probably not stand with it if Sasuke dropped his title in the track team and join a no fame club instead.

"Sure I'll join, Naruto. I'll be your vice-president as well." Sasuke said slowly, a small grin spreading out from across his face. "But only if you manage to make the club official, that is, go through the proper administration procedures. And I am still keeping my track team."

"I'll take on that challenge of yours, Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto declared with a grin just twice as wide as Sasuke's own. "If I win, I'm gonna have a blast ordering you around the school. Not to mention overworking you with that pile of homework and track team of yours."

"What homework?" Sasuke asked casually, already clearing his desk and shoving all his books into his bags, ready to go home. He handed in his math homework to the teacher's desk, before getting back to his seat quickly, and neatly placed all his scattered stationary back into his pencil case. He had cleaning duty today, and he was eager to skip it by leaving the school as quickly as possible.

Naruto spluttered in disbelief beside him. "You mean you finished Asuma-sensei's worksheet of terror in fifteen minutes?"

"All thanks to the fact Kakashi skipped his entire homeroom period. If you don't finish yours by today, you won't be able to go home, you know." Sasuke said, slinging his bag over one shoulder and pushing his chair in with his free hand. Naruto was groaning loudly, moaning about the unfairness of people with larger brains. Sasuke made his way to the back door. "Oh, and don't keep me waiting too long with the new club, Naruto."

Sasuke didn't need to turn to know that Naruto was shaking a fist in anger from behind his back.

Naruto didn't need to follow Sasuke to tell that the Uchiha was smirking at him throughout his entire walk back home that day.

This chapter may have come out extremely shonen-ai. But I seriously swear that I'm not into that kind of stuff.

Vocabulary:
Saikai- Reunion
Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu- Nice to meet you
Umeboshi- Japanese pickled plum
Shokado bento- A traditional black-lacquered Japanese bento box
Tamagoyaki- A type of Japanese omelette
Ebi furai - Fried prawn
Kyaraben- A decorated bento
Furoshiki- Japanese wrapping cloth
Okaeri- Welcome home
Tadaima- I'm home
Kawarimi-Substitution
Anzu- Apricot
Buzama- Unshapely; unsightly; clumsy; unpresentable; uncouth

Note 1- The kanji I picked for Naruto's club name is 杏無, which is read as Anzumu, which doesn't mean anything. However, 杏無様 is read as Anzu Buzama, to which Naruto shortened it to be read as AnBu, to the amusement of Sasuke, since this is definitely not possible and just Naruto spewing nonsense.

Note 2- Kyaraben is a short term for 'Character bento', which is a bento decorated to resemble objects- human, plants, animal…etc. I would highly suggest that you do an image search on it. Sakura wasn't lying when she said that they (the well made ones, obviously) were cute.

Note 3- For those who don't know, Japanese teachers go from classroom to classroom instead of students, so students usually stay put in one classroom unless for special lessons- eg. During physical activity classes, they go to the gym or field. During practical science lessons, they go to the respective labs.

Note 4- It is possible to make a club in certain Japanese schools. It is not compulsory for all students to take up a club, but it is highly recommended for them to do so. I guess it depends on the respective Japanese school's rules if they allow students to pick up more than one club- if the student can cope with it, that is.

Note 5- Students clean up the school at the end of each day. Usually, a duty roster will be drawn up, and the respective students will have to stay back and clean up. Most students will follow obediently. Others push their duties onto someone else, intentionally or unintentionally- like Sasuke.

I'll admit that I'm not a Japanese, nor do I exactly know their culture extremely well, so if I did actually screw up at something, please do drop me a note and I'll fix up the damage.

I hoped that you've enjoyed the chapter.

Until next time,

TenkuuBatsu