Naruto wasn't exactly sure why Sasuke had passed out, but he was pretty sure it was his fault. I am the worst person in the world, he thought to himself as he sat next to the bed starting down at the dark-haired, frail boy. Naruto must have- scared him, or something, he didn't know, but people didn't just faint for no reason, did they?
And the school nurse had given him a pretty dirty look when Naruto had showed up with Sasuke in his arms, although to be fair she also didn't look too pleased to see who he was carrying, and that really pissed him off. Yeah sure it was after 3:30, but this is your job lady! So you better take damn good care of him.
And then she'd tried to make him leave but that clearly wasn't going to happen, no way lady. Naruto had quickly pulled up a chair and settled in next to Sasuke's side, and it was pretty difficult to get rid of him once he set his mind on something. So she'd given up and gone off into the next room to make a phone call, and they were alone.
He was alone, with Sasuke. Who was unconscious.
Sasuke…
His already pale skin was now as white as the sheets he was laying on, and he had dark circles under his eyes. And with those eyes closed and not burning into him, it was like Naruto could properly take in the sight of him for the first time; look as much as he wanted. He was beautiful. And yet.
…those cheekbones of his, which Naruto had so admired from the instant they'd met, well, they were a little prominent, maybe unnaturally so.
Naruto ran his eyes lower, down Sasuke's neck and his arms to his wrists. Yeah, he was skinny, so what? Naruto could tell that he was slimly-built anyway. Some people were just skinny, okay? He had a very clear image of those narrow shoulders and hips, walking away from him across the clinic.
His kind hide it pretty well, Ino had said. What did that even mean? How could you hide being "freakishly skinny"?
The nurse had drawn the sheet up to his chin, so Naruto couldn't see his chest, but he could see his arms. He was wearing a tight-ish long-sleeved shirt and a loose t-shirt over that. Naruto bit his lip and scooted closer to the bed. He had to know. He took a quick look around the room to make sure they were alone, and then reached out to gently place his hand on Sasuke's wrist.
He hadn't noticed before, when he'd grabbed him to stop him from leaving. But yeah. Sasuke had very, very tiny wrists. Naruto could almost close his hand all the way around it. But hey, maybe Naruto just had big hands. …or maybe…
He traced a finger softly around Sasuke's wrist, feeling something tug deep inside him, some kind of need, some kind of dread. His breathing hitched in his throat when he ran his finger down to the bare skin of Sasuke's hand, so soft, so cold.
Sasuke made a tiny, troubled noise in his sleep and Naruto snatched his hand away and whipped his head around to see if he was waking. He was frowning, and his eyelids were fluttering slightly, but he didn't wake.
Naruto took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, trying to still his racing pulse. Seriously, don't go around touching unconscious people, what the fuck is wrong with you?
Oh, so much was wrong with him. God, look at that hair. So dark, so soft-looking, tangled, wild. He wanted to touch it. He really, really wanted to touch it. He was scooting closer, he was reaching out- what are you doing? screamed his (admittedly very undeveloped) internal conscience.
Then Sasuke's eyes fluttered open, and all of a sudden he was staring up at Naruto, and Naruto froze. Shit, shit!
"Sasuke!" he called, wrenching his hand back. "Sasuke, are you okay?!"
Sasuke gazed back at him, expression blank, and he narrowed his eyes.
He doesn't even know my name, Naruto thought. He doesn't know who I am, and here I am with my face thirty centimetres away from his.
"Sa- Sasuke?" he breathed, softly, as they stared at each other, and the seconds ticked by in silence, a deafening silence. Naruto could hear the blood rushing in his ears as he stared into those eyes, darker than coal.
There it was again, tugging at his insides, that need, that dread. A pull, drawing in all of his focus, all his attention, to this one boy, who up until a week ago had been a complete stranger.
And then a flicker of recognition ran over Sasuke's face, and that blank expression became a glare.
Naruto sighed, and moved away from the bed, sitting back down in his chair. "Hey, Sasuke," he said. "Are you okay-"
"Sasuke!" a voice called, and into the room rushed a dark-haired man in hospital scrubs. He hurried to Sasuke's side, frowning deeply, and reached down to place his hand on Sasuke's forehead.
Sasuke flinched noticeably. "Itachi," he said, his voice weak and scratchy. "…I'm fine, really."
He had the same pale skin as Sasuke, and those same eyes. He was young, though. Sasuke's brother…? He was obviously a doctor at the hospital around the corner. Naruto had been there enough times to recognize the uniform.
Is that why he looks so familiar? Is that why he's looking at me like he knows me?
Naruto stood up and the chair squeaked loudly on the tiled floor. "Uh, hi," he said. "I, uh, um, Sasuke just fainted all of a sudden, so I-"
And then they were both looking at him with identical, judgemental, burning glares.
Oh my god.
"…um," he stuttered. "I-"
"Naruto Uzumaki," said Sasuke's brother in a flat voice. "Imagine seeing you here."
Oh, shit! He knows my name! How the hell does he know my name!
"…ah, yeah, well, I was just leaving so-" He picked up his bag and took a few steps back, trying not to stumble over the chair.
"An excellent idea," the man named Itachi said, his voice still flat and lifeless. Holy shit, that's fucking terrifying!
"Okay, so, feel better soon alright, Sasuke?" he forced out, and then turned tail and ran.
How does he know who I am? Why does he look so familiar?
There was usually only one reason that attractive men looked familiar to Naruto, and it made his stomach clench and his head whirl in a sudden panic.
Oh god, please don't tell me I fucked Sasuke's brother!
Naruto would be the first to admit that he slept around, maybe a little too much- but then again, what was 'too much'? After all, he was eighteen, and he didn't have any parents around to suck the fun out of life- so why shouldn't he enjoy himself? And if he just happened to have a talent for it, and if boys just loved getting Naruto into bed, who was he to deny both himself and them of that?
But okay, it did bother him that he couldn't remember if he'd had sex with Sasuke's extremely attractive older brother. It bothered him a lot, and it got him wondering just how things had turned out this way, that he'd been with so many men that he couldn't even see all their faces clearly in his mind.
"Ino," he whined, slumped over on top of the table. "…am I a whore?"
"Yes," she said, not looking away from her phone.
He groaned, and pushed away his lunch, all appetite gone. "That's so mean!"
She glanced over at him and shrugged. "Hey, I didn't say it was a bad thing."
"It usually is," he retorted, sulking into the table.
And the way Sasuke's brother- Itachi- had looked at him. He shivered. So cold. Oh yes, he had known who Naruto was, and he hadn't been pleased to see him with Sasuke. So there was yet another barrier between him and his dream boy. It wasn't fair. All Naruto wanted to do was talk to him. Maybe stare at him some more. …maybe play with his hair as well. Okay, okay, he wanted to fuck him into the ground, so what? Maybe make him scream and moan a little.
…but that wasn't all he wanted from Sasuke, and that made Sasuke special. It made him unique.
"This is about that Uchiha boy," said Ino, putting away her phone and reaching out to ruffle his hair. "This isn't like you, Naruto. It isn't healthy. Snap out of it."
He sighed, and pushed himself up off the top of the table and frowned over at her.
"I can't help it," he said with a pout.
"Yeah, well, I don't get it. Have you even ever dated someone before?"
He hesitated. "What counts as dating?"
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, dating is seeing the same person on more than one occasion. Romantically. You and I don't count, moron."
He thought about it for a moment. On more than one occasion, hey? "Oh, sure, I've done that," he said, somewhat relieved.
"…for activities other than just sex," Ino added.
…ah, well. That was different. He pouted some more.
"You've barely spent any time with him, and you're hooked," Ino went on. "What's the deal?"
"I shouldn't have to explain love at first sight," he grumbled, staring away from her.
She groaned. "There you go again! Love? How is it love? You just want to bone him, and he won't let you. It's the chase."
Ohh, that was so unfair! Admittedly, Naruto had felt a very strong physical attraction to Sasuke from the moment he'd laid eyes on him in the clinic, and there were plenty of boys (plenty) that he'd gone after just for that reason alone. And yeah, Sasuke hadn't been into it, which yes, wasn't something he was used to. But there was something else. The way Sasuke had stared at him, after Naruto's little stunt with the receptionist to grab his attention. The way Sasuke had been judging him. Is that all you are? Is this what you do?
Is it what he did? Wasn't there more to him? Naruto was more than just someone who slept around. Wasn't he?
"That's not fair," he said to Ino. "I'm not bothering you to justify your interest in pinkie."
"That's different," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not claiming to be in love with her."
"Oh, I see," he growled. "So if I wasn't using the word 'love', you'd stop getting annoyed with me?"
"I'd be less annoyed, maybe," she said. But then the smile went out of her eyes. She leaned closer to him, reaching out to take his hands. "Sweetie," she said, in a low, soft voice. "I think it's great you're interested in someone for more than just sex. I just wish it wasn't someone so…difficult. I'm just worried about you, okay?"
He sighed, and nodded. Yeah, Sasuke probably was difficult. That was okay, though.
"Thanks," he said to Ino. "But I don't think I'll be giving up on this one." Giving up was not something he knew how to do.
Ino's words, on top of his musings on Itachi, had him in a gloomy, low mood for the rest of the day. Naruto had never felt like this before- this need and interest in just one person. Well, never having been in love, how was he meant to know what it felt like? Or was it really just the 'chase'?
When the school day ended he left through the front entrance instead of his usual shortcut. It would be best to go on avoiding Sasori and his friends for the next few days. Let their anger fade for a bit. There was plenty of bad blood between him and Sasori's crew, not helped by the fact that many of them were very into men and very closeted. Naruto was opposed to both closeted guys and people from school, but unfortunately which hadn't stopped them from trying to start something with him. Yeah, no thanks.
His plan to avoid them all didn't work out too well that day, because there was Tobi across the lawn by the trees. …damn. Naruto stopped walking and prepared to go another way home.
Oh wait, who's he talking to? –Sasuke! Naruto took a sharp breath and felt his heart-rate double instantly.
There he was, sitting against a tree with a book, with Tobi crouched down in front of him. Sasuke did not look happy about this, shooting one of his A+ glares at him.
…Naruto wasn't happy about this, either. What was that loser doing with his Sasuke? Smiling slimily at him, trying to snatch at his book? Get the fuck away from him, Tobi, he doesn't want you in his face!
Naruto took a step forward and was about to march over there and punch a hole through Tobi's gut, when Sasuke slipped away and stalked off.
And now he was torn between beating Tobi up anyway or going after Sasuke. He was finally back at school, Naruto could finally talk to him- though maybe he wasn't in the best mood at the moment. …well, he hadn't ever exactly been in a 'good' mood that Naruto could tell. At least he hadn't been glaring at Naruto while he was unconscious though. Heh.
He took a step forward but then froze. What would he even say to Sasuke? He had a sudden memory of his hand around Sasuke's wrist. Oh hey, what's up, are you just naturally skinny or what?
…damn, where did he go?
And then his phone rang, startling him out of his musings. He quickly answered it. "Hello?" he said.
"Naruto," the voice on the other end said. "It's Dan."
Who the hell was Dan?!
"Ah," he said, not too flustered- this happened a fair bit. "Dan-"
The voice sighed. "Blondie," he said. "From the clinic."
"Oh!" Naruto said. "Oh hey, what's up?"
"The new girl started. She had one look at your file and demanded you make an appointment ASAP."
He grinned. New councillors were fun. More fun if they were men, but still. "The new girl? What's she like?"
"She's the scariest woman I've ever seen in my life," Dan said, in a despondent voice.
"…I see…" Naruto said. "Well, okay. Book me in on my usual day then."
"Okay," Dan said. He paused. "…are you stopping by today?"
Naruto's grin deepened.
"Now that you mention it, I very well may," he said, changing directions as he walked away from school. A round with blondie might be just what the doctor ordered.
Naruto watched in amusement as a range of expressions crossed blondie's face. The two of them were curled up in the back room of the clinic; it was such a convenient location, plenty of rooms with lockable doors. Blondie- er, sorry, Dan- seemed to be in the middle of an internal struggle, switching from looking guilty, to embarrassed, to pleased, to confused- and back to guilty again.
"What's up?" Naruto eventually asked, snuggling closer and slinging his arm across the other's bare stomach under the blankets.
He sighed, and stared up at the roof. "I'm dating someone," he said, eventually.
Naruto grinned and nodded knowingly. "Dr. Ishida," he said. He'd seen this coming for months.
The other boy gaped at him, shocked. "How did you know?!" he demanded.
Naruto shrugged, and continued to brush his fingers across Dan's flushed skin. "He likes young blondes," he said. That was really all the explanation that was needed.
Blondie blushed bright red and started stammering. "Hey now, but, you know-"
"Congratulations," Naruto interrupted. "You're even blonder than me so I bet he'll love you! And I've got heaps of pointers for you." Oh, heaps. Naruto was very good at figuring out other people's kinks.
Naruto ran his hand down further past Dan's hips to the top of his thighs, and he squeaked in response. "Oh, uh, really?" he asked.
Naruto nodded. "He may act all tough, but he'll just love it if you take charge," he said with a bright smile. "Give it a go."
Dan seemed to ponder this, and then nodded back. "And I guess we shouldn't- not anymore," he said, nodded at them tangled up together in the sheets.
Well, that worked just fine for Naruto. Dan was great, a lot of fun, but he had other interests to pursue here, ones that evidently required a lot more of his time and attention. He really couldn't afford any more distractions. Speaking of which.
"Hey," he said, changing the subject and losing his grin. "What can you tell me about, um- anorexia?"
Dan glanced at him, instantly suspicious. Of course he'd know exactly why Naruto was asking. "Why…?" he asked. "You know I can't-"
"I'm not asking about anyone in particular," Naruto interrupted. "Just- some general stuff. I don't really know anything about it. And the internet, you know... it's confusing." He'd had a quick look around, but he hadn't even known where to start, and what he had found had been pretty confronting. And he wasn't even convinced there was anything wrong with Sasuke. So what if he was really skinny and he just fainted out of the blue?
Dan fell back on the pillows and narrowed his eyes, and Naruto got ready to argue with him, to find a way around all his 'patient confidentiality' shit. If he wasn't asking specifically about Sasuke, it was fine, wasn't it? They were just talking here.
"It can be pretty different for different people you know," Dan eventually said; Naruto felt instantly relieved. He was gonna talk. "And the reasons why it started, too, can really vary."
Naruto nodded, listening intently. He knew that Dan was studying to be a psychologist, and that plus working at the clinic made him the perfect person to pump for information, among other things.
"But maybe just some more general stuff?" Naruto suggested. "Things that are common to most people?"
"Well," Dan went on. "It's what you'd expect, really. An inability or refusal to eat, and to think about food and eating. Distorted ideas about what they look like and what they should look like. Issues with control over their lives and bodies."
"…control…" Naruto mused. Yeah, he could see that.
"It ends up with being severely underweight, sometimes malnourished, with all the health issues you'd expect from that. Tiredness. Feeling cold all the time. The list goes on and on."
"But why…" Naruto wondered out loud. "What causes it?"
"Oh, well," Dan said with a shrug. "These days almost everyone has something. It's a hard world to live in, especially if you're young."
Naruto might know a little about that. It's not like things had ever been easy for him. He'd never had issues with eating, but he had gone through a few phases of being really self-conscious. He winced, thinking about the faint scars on his cheeks. Yeah, it had bothered him in the past, people looking at him, talking about it, asking him about them. But it didn't bother him anymore. Now, they were an asset; they made him memorable.
"…thanks," he murmured. He had wanted to ask what to do about something like that, but suddenly, he seemed too afraid to ask.
Naruto had begun to consider the possibility- just consider it, mind you- that Sasuke might be too much of a challenge for even him. Yes, it was a crazy thought, but what if it was true? Here he was spending all his time thinking about this guy and how to get through to him, when he could have been doing other things. And probably other people, too. As Sai had so bluntly pointed out this morning as he left for school, it had been a long time since a weekend had passed without any of Naruto's 'sexual conquests' in their apartment.
He could always count on Sai to be both honest and brutal in his assessments of Naruto's behaviour, and according to Sai, he was acting very strangely indeed.
It had been about two weeks since he'd first seen Sasuke in the waiting room at the clinic. They hadn't really even had a proper conversation. And yet, Naruto's instincts regarding Sasuke had not changed since that day. Sasuke was gorgeous. He was new. And he will be mine.
…eventually. It just might require a bit of levelling-up of his skills.
And just as he was sitting in his history class considering how to do this, he got a text from Ino informing him that Sasuke was in class today. Well, okay then! Today was the day, for better or worse- he was going to talk to Sasuke today. He was going to make some kind of progress, dammit, or he was going to go crazy!
Calculus was their last class of the day; so Naruto skipped his last class to make sure he could be standing outside the door when school ended. He fidgeted, pacing up and down the hallway, wondering what he would say. Oh hey, Sasuke, we've had like two conversations but I think I'm in love with you. Or what about hey, Sasuke, you saw me beating up three guys outside of school, do you wanna hang out some time? Oh and have I slept with your brother? And do you have a life-threatening eating disorder?
Not that those weren't great options, but maybe Naruto shouldn't use them as his opener. Maybe warm up first. ….so….just what on earth was he going to say to him first?
And then the bell rang and he was out of time. He tensed up and stopped pacing, leaning up against the wall and attempting to look casual. Dude, he said to himself. I can't believe how far you have fallen. This is just undignified.
It wasn't long before the hall was crowded with students, and eventually the calculus class began spilling out into the hallway as well. He kept his eyes peeled for Sasuke, mentally preparing himself to seize this opportunity.
"Oh, Naruto?" said a voice next to him, and he turned and saw Ino's pink-haired crush. "It's Naruto, right?"
He smiled and nodded at her, not taking his eyes off the door. "Yeah, that's me," he said to her.
"Ino told me what you did," pinkie said, and Naruto was momentarily confused. He did a lot of things. Why would Ino be telling any of them to this girl?
"What's that? What'd I do?" he asked, warily.
"She said you told her to take credit for getting my phone back, but it was really you," the girl continued.
…ohhh. Well, at least Naruto hadn't told Ino how he got the phone back, just that she should use it to win some points with pinkie.
"Ah, right, that," Naruto said, sheepish. "Yeah, it was nothing, um- sorry, what was your name again?"
"Sakura," came Ino's voice as she left her classroom and joined them. "It's Sakura- how many times have I told you?!" she said in an exasperated tone.
"That's okay, it's no problem!" Sakura interjected. "I'm just so thankful. There was some pretty personal stuff on that phone. I'll make it up to you somehow!"
Naruto smiled at her, more genuinely this time, as she moved closer to Ino, and the two prepared to walk off together. "Like I said, it was nothing. I guess I'll be seeing you around?"
"Maybe you will be," Ino said, shooting him a warning look, before manoeuvring Sakura way. "See you tomorrow!" They both waved as they walked down the hall.
Aww, they're cute together, he thought to himself as he watched them go.
And then he turned back to monitor the classroom door and found Sasuke standing there, staring at him.
He tensed up and started blushing immediately, much to his mortification. Keep it together, moron!
"Sa- Sasuke!" he stammered. "Hi!"
"So," Sasuke said to him, narrowing those jet-black eyes of his. "It was her phone you were getting back off those guys." He crossed his arms across his chest and stared.
Oh my god, he's talking to me. Sasuke's talking to me! Quick, say something back!
…what do I say?!
"Um- ah, yeah, you know, they stole it from her, so-"
"So you beat them up and stole it back," Sasuke said, in a low, steady voice.
Damn, I love his voice.
The halls around them had quickly cleared of students, and they were standing there alone.
"Er, well," Naruto said. "If they'd just given it back to me, I wouldn't have had to-"
Sasuke turned around and started walking away from him.
Wait, no, not yet! Naruto rushed after him. "Sasuke, wait!" he called.
"Why?" the dark-haired boy asked, shooting him a look over his shoulder as he continued to walk away.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay!" Naruto said, catching up and keeping pace beside him. "After the other day. I just wanted to make sure-"
"The nurse said you carried me to her," Sasuke said, staring at him from the corner of his eye, with a flat expression. "And you stayed there until my brother came."
"Oh, well, yeah," Naruto said. "Um- you're welcome?" he added, though he wasn't sure if Sasuke was actually thanking him.
"That's creepy," Sasuke said, and Naruto started blushing again.
"Ah, ha, maybe it is," he stammered, "but I couldn't just leave you-"
"I was fine," he interrupted. They had walked all the way down the hall and out of the building; Naruto's apartment was in the other direction, but he kept walking next to Sasuke anyway.
"I'm glad you're okay-" he began, before Sasuke stopped walking abruptly.
"Why are you following me?" he demanded.
Naruto stopped walking as well, and stood in front of him, fidgeting awkwardly. "Well," he said. "On the topic of your brother. It seemed like he knew me, so I was just wondering-"
"He does know you," Sasuke interrupted. "So what? That's why you're following me? You're into my brother?"
Naruto's pulse quickened. "What? No! No, no, not at all!"
Sasuke shot him a doubtful glance.
"No, really!" Naruto went on. "I just wanna know how he knows me? He looks a little familiar, but-"
"He's a doctor at the hospital around the corner," Sasuke said, interrupting him. "He works in the ER. He always remembers his patients' names."
Ahh. So was that it? Was that all it was? Naruto certainly had been to that ER a few times, so maybe Sasuke's brother had treated him one time.
"Oh," he said to Sasuke. "Okay. So he remembers me just from that? Wow, that's pretty impressive!"
Sasuke shrugged. "He has a good memory. Is that all? Will you stop following me now?"
No, definitely not, he thought to himself.
"I'm not following you," he said. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"Why?" Sasuke demanded, arms still crossed over his chest. His narrowed eyes were quickly becoming a glare, and Naruto wilted at the sight of them.
"What do you mean- why?" he stammered. "I just- do?"
"Itachi wouldn't tell me why you'd been in the ER," Sasuke said, "but he did say he wasn't surprised you were fighting with Sasori and his friends."
Naruto frowned. "Yeah but Sasuke, those guys are jerks, why do you even care? I saw you with Tobi the other day. It looked like he was bothering you-"
"You were watching me again?!" Sasuke interrupted, shooting him a fiery glower.
"I wasn't!" Naruto said back. "I just happened to see you! Those guys are bad news. So what do you care if I pushed them around a little bit? They deserved it!"
"I don't know what your game is," Sasuke said, "but I'm not interested. Just leave me alone."
And with that, he spun around and stalked off, not looking back.
Naruto stood frozen in place, watching him go. …that was not how he'd wanted that to go! Sasuke didn't seem interested at all. Maybe the opposite.
What was he gonna do now? He had to talk to him again. Sasuke had clearly gotten the wrong idea about him, so Naruto needed to show him he was wrong- they needed to talk again, and then Sasuke would change his mind, give him a chance to- to what?
Ugh, I don't know. I don't know what to do.
Well, this was a new feeling. Naruto didn't like it one little bit.
Things finally came crashing together a few days later, in a far too literal sense.
The next week had passed way too slowly. Naruto knew that Sasuke was coming to school, and Ino still reported faithfully whenever he showed up in Calculus class- and was still giving him shit about it, of course! He saw Sasuke in the mornings when he arrived at school, looking gorgeous and unreachable, and in the afternoons when he want home across the lawn. But Naruto resisted the urge to try and talk to him again- it wouldn't do any good, right?
Plus, he didn't want Sasuke to think he was some kind of creepy stalker, following him wherever he went, tracking his schedule, thinking about him all the time. Usually, Naruto's natural persistence paid off when it came to getting what he wanted. But in this case, it seemed a different approach was needed. ….if only he could figure out what the hell that approach was!
And in the meantime, his dreams were just getting more and more vivid, Sasuke writhing under him, Sasuke riding him like a bucking bull, Sasuke moaning his name and screaming into his ear. …he was actually starting to feel a little ashamed of himself, as hard as that was to believe. And just how many times you could jerk off in a day without it becoming hazardous to your health?! (But look, it's not like he was thinking about Sasuke every single time, okay? He wasn't obsessed.)
And then one afternoon, Naruto was heading towards the lawn on his way home, when he saw them. Sasuke, backed up against the wall, and Tobi and three of his friends surrounding him, Sasori included. Sasuke was glaring at them, but he also looked- vulnerable.
Naruto was outraged. How dare they! What the hell did they think they were doing?! He clenched his hands into fists and tried to take a few deep breaths, after all, it might not be what he thought, they could just be talking, and he couldn't get caught beating people up again- but then Tobi pushed Sasuke hard into the wall and then-
-everything in Naruto's mind went red; he dropped his bag and rushed over there.
"Oi, Tobi, what the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Naruto cried, as he wrenched Tobi off Sasuke by his shoulder and shoved him away.
Tobi fell to the ground, eyes wide, and for a moment all four of them, plus Sasuke, stared at him in shock.
"You again," Sasori growled at him, and the moment passed as Tobi's friends all advanced on him at once. "You little shit, you are not getting away this time!"
And only then did it occur to him that perhaps rushing into an outnumbered situation, without any preparation at all, was probably not the best idea.
He had time for one more thought before all four of them came at him at once, fists raised; I really hope Sasuke doesn't think I was spying on him again.
…and then one of them must have hit his head because the next thing he knew, the ground was coming at him fast and the world around him went black.