Alright, I'm back. Here' chapter 4 for you guys. This is the first chapter that I'm going to have music posted for, and they are as follows (in the playing order):
Three Days Grace- Animal I have Become-.com/watch?v=jbHn1Pgj6Zk
Disturbed-This Moment-.com/watch?v=2NXt4e5ydac
Also, thanks to BelleDragon (again) for the beta
So, look for the little symbols (they'll be pretty obvious), and R&R and tell me if you like this whole idea. Anyway, enjoy:
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It was cold.
It was really cold.
Naruto walked slowly towards the school building with his hands in his pockets. The light jacket that he was wearing wasn't nearly enough to block out the frigid cold air. He hadn't had enough money to get a heavier one, and his next Government check wasn't due for a couple more days, so, in short, he was screwed. He wrapped his arms around himself, even as his hands were in his pockets, making him look rather weird.
Damn weather. I thought this place was the Fire Country. I don't see anything resembling fire here…damn…it's fuckin freezing. He continued to walk towards the building, determined to get into the blasting furnace of his first class room. Suddenly, a heavy jacket was placed on his shoulders. Naruto's first instinct wasn't to see who it was, but to quickly remove his hands from his pockets, and pull the heavier jacket towards his body. When he was finally comfortable, he turned to see none other than Sasuke walking next to him, wearing nothing but his school uniform, which happened to be short sleeved.
"Man, how the hell do you not get cold?" Naruto asked, hugging the jacket even closer to himself. Sasuke was now next to him, and the two approached the front doors to the school.
"It's not even that cold." Sasuke replied. "Oh and, you're welcome, dobe." He finished.
Naruto mumbled something that might actually be considered thanks before the two finally reached the doors. When they got inside, the hot air from the fully functioning heating system…didn't come.
"What the fuck happened?" Naruto asked, shocked at the lack of heat. This outburst seemed to be enough to draw the likes of Shikamaru out of the woodworks, as he came out of the crowd, heading towards the pair. "What the fuck happened to the heat?!" Naruto practically yelled, earning more than a few disapproving glances from nearby students.
"Oi, not so loud, Naruto." Shikamaru said, covering his ears for a second. "But, the heater broke last night. They won't be able to fix it until today after school. What a drag."
"You said it! How am I supposed to survive without beautiful heat?" Naruto whined.
"You could start by getting over it. That might help, dobe." Sasuke remarked. This was rewarded with an ever-so-dignified tongue stuck out in his direction. Naruto was about to say something smart back when-
"Hey guys!" Everyone looked to the source of the voice to see a little bubbling bundle of pink colored joy heading towards them. Naruto nearly jumped up out of excitement of seeing his long lost love, and stepped in her path to give her a great big hug…which she promptly sidestepped, dodging him completely as she moved to stand next to her long lost love, Sasuke.
"Hi Sasuke-kun, hi Shikamaru-kun…hi Naruto" She said with a last, passing glance at Naruto, who looked like someone had just killed his puppy.
"You know Sakura-chan; you don't have to say my name like it's a disease." Naruto said.
"Oh shut up, Naruto. You know I love you." She said. At a time like this, that was the wrong thing to say. Sakura's eyes widened at horror at what she had done as the blonde in front of her seemed to almost explode with joy at the compliment.
"You do?! Really?!" He shouted, drawing a lot of awkward looks from nearby students.
"No, you see what I meant was-"
"Oh my GOD! Sakura-chan loves me!" Naruto shouted, taking off in a random direction to tell all of the zero people who cared about Sakura's confession of love.
"Well, there he goes…how troublesome." Shikamaru said.
"You said it." Sasuke agreed. Sakura continued to stare at the crowd, waiting for Naruto to pop out of nowhere. Suddenly, she turned around quickly to Sasuke and Shikamaru.
"Oh, I almost forgot to mention to you guys. As you know, this Saturday is Halloween, and I am having a party to celebrate it that night. If you want to, you guys can show up." Sakura said, barely masking her pleading tone as she finished the sentence.
"Well, I don't have anything else to do, so I guess I'll go." Shikamaru said.
"Well, as soon as Naruto finds out, I'm going to be dragged with him, so you should expect to see us there." Sasuke said.
"Awesome, just come to my house whenever it gets dark. That should leave you plenty of time to get ready." Sakura said, bubbling with joy at the acceptance.
"Well, I need to go tell more people. I'll see you guys around." She said as she turned to disappear in the crowd. Sasuke and Shikamaru were left standing there, not saying anything to anyone, and they didn't seem to have a problem with it, either. It wasn't until Naruto came back from his adventure that a word was spoken. And that word was more of a whine from the blonde.
"Where'd my beautiful Sakura-chan go?" He said, looking around like a lost puppy. Sasuke shook his head, before punching Naruto in the arm, hard. This seemed to knock the girlyness out of Naruto, who turned to swing back, missing completely as Sasuke stepped away.
"Ow, what the fuck man?" Naruto whined, rubbing the sore spot on his arm.
"Well dobe, you need to calm down and stop acting like a crack baby." Sasuke said coolly. "Anyway, Sakura's having a Halloween party on Saturday, I expect that you want to go, right?" He asked. Once again, the mere mention of Sakura's name seemed to grant Naruto's every desire, as he smiled brightly.
"Of course I want to go." Naruto replied, he was about to say more, but the trio was interrupted by the first period bell. With a wave, Shikamaru left the two, being that his first class wasn't near theirs.
"Since you're so far up in the sky, dobe, I think it's best for me to remind you that we have that demonstration at the MA center tonight, so you better be there. I'm not gonna stand there by myself."
"I know, I know. Don't forget to give him the CD, though."
"I will as long as you aren't late."
"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm not gonna be late, I promise."
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It was officially 5:30, and Naruto was officially late. Even though Sasuke had told him that they had the demonstration at the MA center, he had forgotten. Now, he was running frantically around his apartment, looking for his pads. Then, as though his day couldn't get any more hectic, the phone rang.
"God Damnit!" Naruto yelled, reaching for the phone before looking at who it was. "What do you want?" He asked, just barely hiding the anger in his voice.
"They're under your bed, dobe." A voice he recognized as Sasuke's spoke to him.
"What? What the hell are you talking about, teme?" Naruto said as he started to head in the general direction of his room. When he got there, he reached under his bed to find the gym bag that held his pads. He made a silent 'Oh' sound, hoping that Sasuke hadn't heard him, and turned to head out the door.
"You can thank me later, dobe." Sasuke said before he hung up. Naruto cursed him with all his might, putting his phone in his pocket, and closing the door.
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It was now 5:45, and Naruto was officially really late. As he floored it into the parking lot, he narrowly avoided an old woman in a minivan who was leaving the grocery store. He pulled into a parking spot, turned off his car, and grabbed his bag as he headed towards a small building with a large sign over it that read "The Martial Arts Center". This was almost like Naruto's 'home away from home'. He couldn't help but think back on all the years that he and Sasuke had been going there as he ran full sprint towards the glass door. As he barged into the room, all eyes were instantly dragged towards him. The instructor, Mr. Tanaka, who was in the middle of a small speech to the gathering of people he had around him, stopped mid sentence to stare at Naruto, before breaking into a grin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you, Uzumaki Naruto. He and Uchiha Sasuke are two of my oldest students. I have been much honored to teach them both from a young age. Once again, I thank you for considering 'The Martial Arts Center' for you and your childrens' martial arts education. Now, the reason I had Naruto and Sasuke here tonight is not only to introduce them to you, but also, to allow them to demonstrate to you the result of years of training."
By this time, Naruto had found a very smug looking Sasuke. With a middle-finger when nobody was looking, Naruto ducked into a restroom to put on his pads. He came out a few minutes later to find Sasuke standing in the middle of the mat, waiting for him. With a silent curse, he jogged to his place on the mat. A place he had stood so many times before. Tanaka-sensei once more stepped into the middle of the floor as the two boys began to stretch.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, my two students here will be sparring. They will be using the standard rules for a match such as this. Every time a hit is made on the opponent's torso in the dot that you see on their pads, a point is scored. This match, because of our obvious time constraints, will only be going to three points. Any questions?" He gave everyone a few seconds to speak up. "No? Ok, then let me start the music, and these two will begin." He said as he walked back behind the desk by the front door. As he ducked behind the counter to mess with the sound system, Naruto turned to Sasuke.
"You gave him the CD, right?" He asked, worried.
"No, he's back there messing with the sound system for no reason whatsoever." Sasuke returned, his all-too-smug smile back on his face. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, a mumbled 'teme' to follow it.
"I don't even know why I hang out with you." He said. Sasuke was about to reply, when the music started up. (†) The pounding bass beat of the songblared out of the speakers. Naruto took a moment to close his eyes, taking in the sounds. He also couldn't help but to air drum along with the music. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sasuke standing there, arms crossed, like he waiting for someone at an airport. Tanaka-sensei took his usual place in between the two boys. With a look at each of them, he raised his hand in the air. The bass heavy in the air, the two boys took their starting stances. When they were both ready, Tanaka threw his hand down.
"Begin!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke, who didn't move. He only stood there, smiling confidently. Angry now, Naruto stepped towards him, throwing a jab with his right hand at Sasuke's face. With a swipe of his hand, Sasuke knocked the offending hand out of the way, and followed through with his own right handed jab towards Naruto's chest. His hand was almost a blur as it sped right past Naruto's block, hitting him square in the chest.
"Point, Uchiha!" Tanaka-sensei yelled. The audience applauded the scene.
"You're going to have to move faster than that, dobe." Sasuke said as the two got back into their starting positions. With a slight growl in the back of his throat, Naruto lunged once again. He jabbed with his right hand again, and Sasuke once again knocked it out of the way with little effort. This time though, Naruto followed through. As Sasuke's fist flew towards his face, Naruto slapped it down with his left hand. He then brought up his right hand again, which had been slapped to the side. Naruto shifted his weight forward, bending his right arm at the elbow, and launching it towards Sasuke's face, with many gasps from the watching crowd. Sasuke ducked. The elbow flew over his head, but there was something he had missed. Next thing he knew, Naruto's right knee was flying towards his face. Reacting purely on instinct, Sasuke launched his upper body backwards, once again narrowly avoiding the intense pain of Naruto's knee in his face. Unluckily for him, though, this movement left him wide open, giving Naruto ample time to throw an open handed strike right into Sasuke's chest.
"Point, Uzumaki!" Tanaka-sensei yelled. Once again, polite clapping was heard as Sasuke and Naruto got back into their starting positions.
Sasuke wasn't smiling anymore. But Naruto was.
As soon as they started, he shifted his weight to his left, launching a horizontal kick with his right leg at Naruto's left thigh. Naruto swung his own weight around, bringing his own right shin up to block the kick. As soon as his foot bounced off, Sasuke swung his weight back around the other side, this time low, sweeping Naruto's legs out from under him. Naruto landed on his back on the mat hard, knocking the wind out of him. Sasuke straightened up, quickly bringing his right leg vertical to smash it down on Naruto's prone body. Naruto, seeing this, quickly brought his arms up over his chest in an 'X' shape. It worked, as Sasuke's foot, instead of nailing Naruto in the chest, hit him in the arms, denying him the point.
Naruto turned his wrists, grabbing Sasuke's foot, keeping it from moving away. Using his right leg to push off, he swung his weight around, kicking Sasuke's base foot with his own left leg, knocking Sasuke on the ground. He then pushed off the mat with his right leg, bringing it up and crashing down on Sasuke's chest.
"Point Uzumaki!"
The two got up again, ready to continue. If Naruto didn't know any better, he was almost at the point where he'd say that Sasuke looked…frustrated. The mere idea of this made Naruto himself smile. Just before they started moving again, a different song started. (†)
So it began again, as Naruto once again started the fight off. He stepped up with his left foot, swinging his right leg around in a smooth roundhouse kick. But this time, instead of Sasuke ducking, like Naruto had planned, the raven instead, blocked the leg with his right hand. Grabbing the foot, he pushed it as hard as he could, launching Naruto, arms flailing, onto the mat. Before he had time to react, Naruto found himself pinned to the mat by Sasuke's foot in his chest.
"Point Uchiha!" It was tied.
Naruto rose to much applause from the audience, getting back into his spot. Sasuke was almost smiling now that he had caught up, and Naruto was determined to make the bastard pay. When Tanaka-sensei's hand went down, signaling the start, Naruto jumped. He flew at Sasuke with his fist out in front of him, determined to punch the bastard in the face. Sasuke, of course, easily dodged this move, moving his head and upper body to his left. Grabbing the passing fist with his right hand, Sasuke reached under Naruto's armpit with his left and used Naruto's own momentum to hoist the blonde up and over, bringing him crashing down on his back. Naruto, completely winded, could only watch as Sasuke spun around, planting a knee in his chest, his fist an inch away from his face.
"Point and match, Uchiha!"
The audience burst into loud cheers and applause as Naruto glared cross eyed at the fist. He lashed out with his mouth, snapping at the knuckles, and he managed to knick one before Sasuke brought his hand away.
"Ow Dobe, don't be a sore loser" Sasuke said, a smirk on his face.
"Fuckin' Temebastardassholeshithead." Naruto mumbled looking down to the side. When he finally got the courage to look back up at his rival and friend, he saw Sasuke's hand, reached out to help him up. He couldn't help but smile slightly, though he desperately tried not to, as he grabbed the hand, and hauled himself up. The two of them turned to the crowd, Sasuke giving a polite bow, and Naruto just standing there, scratching the back of his head, a huge grin on his face. That was until Sasuke grabbed the back of his neck, and forced him down as well, with a few laughs from the audience. Finally, Mr. Tanaka walked back out to the middle of the mat, politely bowing to the crowd as well.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, I thank you for coming tonight, and I hope that you will consider 'The Martial Arts Center' for your family's martial education. Please take a flyer on your way outside, but please, before you do, join me in giving these fine young men one more round of applause." He said, before clapping loudly, along with everyone else in the room. Sasuke stood calmly watching the crowd, while Naruto desperately tried to find something to look at that wasn't the smiling faces of the crowd.
It seemed like ages before Naruto was able to fight his way to the restroom to change, and finally battle his way out of the center. By the time he got out, he hand was falling off from all the handshakes, and his ears were hurting from all the questions and compliments. When he finally got out to his car, Naruto was surprised to find Sasuke leaning against it, fully changed, holding his helmet in his hand, his bag over his shoulder.
"How'd you…?" Naruto asked.
"Do you mind if I stay over tonight?" Sasuke suddenly asked. "My father was comparing me to Itachi again today, and I don't really want to go home right now."
"No, I don't care." Naruto said, slightly confused. For a second there, Sasuke sounded almost…nice. Just the mere thought that Sasuke was actually being nice almost made Naruto cringe. It just wasn't natural. Shaking his head as Sasuke walked away, Naruto got into his car.
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Naruto unlocked the door, pushing it open as he turned on the lights. He casually threw his bag in a random direction as he walked into the apartment, before kicking his shoes off as well. He turned to Sasuke, who was in the process of neatly setting his own stuff on the floor in the entryway.
"So, whatcha wanna do now?" He asked.
"I don't know. I just kinda wanna sleep." Sasuke said. Ok, now Naruto was really confused. He could have sworn Sasuke just sounded like he was depressed. The mere fact that Sasuke was so depressed that he could actually show it in his voice, made Naruto worry. Not sure what else to do, Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"Umm, ok then. But I kinda spilled shit all over the couch, you'll have to either share the bed with me, or sleep on the floor. That is, unless you like the smell of Ramen…" He said, smiling as he tried to lighten the mood. But, without saying anything, Sasuke just headed towards Naruto's room. Peeling off his shirt, Naruto saw the pale skin of his back, absolutely untarnished; it almost seemed to…glow, in the light from the lamps. Naruto couldn't help but stare; it was just one of the most mesmerizing things he had ever seen. To think that, with all the times that he'd seen Sasuke shirtless, he'd never noticed until now that Sasuke was so pale, was just another sign of how slow Naruto could really be.
He continued to watch as Sasuke found the bag with his clothes, and pulled out a clean white shirt. For some reason, he just couldn't take his eyes off of the pale skin of his friend. Sasuke, being Sasuke, noticed Naruto staring at him. After pulling on the shirt, he turned around to face the dobe.
"Something wrong?" He asked, slightly annoyed.
What the hell is with this guy? Naruto thought to himself. One minute he's all emo-I'm-gonna-die, and the next he's back to his cocky self again. He really had no idea what was going on with his friend.
"Yeah, there is actually." Naruto said. The Uchiha's eyebrow slowly rose towards his hair line at this comment.
"What the hell is wrong with you right now? One minute you look like you're going to launch yourself off of a nearby cliff, and the next, your back to normal." He continued, more determined now.
"What's wrong with me has nothing to do with you." Sasuke returned, before turning around and going into Naruto's room.
I can't believe this. He has to balls to say that, and then go to my room! Naruto thought to himself. With nothing else to do, he shook his head slowly, and followed the black haired boy. When he got to his room, Naruto saw Sasuke already asleep (though probably faking). He had already taken off his jeans, and they were folded neatly on the ground near the bed. Sighing to himself, Naruto walked to the other side of the bed. Stripping his own jeans off, he pulled up the corner of the blankets and let himself in. With one last look at his best friend, as though he expected him to erupt into flames or something, Naruto reached over, turned out the light, and closed his eyes.
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So, you like? Anyway, R&R please, I like to know that someone is reading this story at all!
