"I think that will be all for this time. Thank you."

The students gave a polite applaud to the teacher, as he ended the monday lecture. Naruto had already packed his things into his bag and was anxious for the people sitting next to him to move out of his way. As usual, they were way too slow for his liking. Naruto's eyes scanned the room for the hundredth time that day but he couldn't find the one person he was searching for.
He had thought about last friday's happenings a lot during the weekend. Like... a lot...
He had pretty much bunkered up in his room, rolled around, tried to study and failed miserably, as thousands of questions had raced through his mind per second. In the end he had given up on learning about the fourth ninja war in order to head out for a run. Running always helped him clear his head but this time around, the thoughts that popped up in his mind just served to confuse him even further.

The only conclusion he had been able to make was that he needed to talk to Sasuke. If not for their friendship, then at least to save his grades.

"Kaede!",

he called out as he finally reached the aisle, which was full of people making their way out of the leture hall. The girl turned her hazel eyes away from the friend she was talking to and towards Naruto upon hearing her name being called. She beamed at him.

"Oh! G'morning, sleepy head. So you did show up. I was wondering where you were at.",

Naruto tip toed to look past her head and scan the crowds.

"Yeah, I overslept. Have you seen Sasuke?"

"Uh-huh. He just left."

Kaede pointed towards the western exit.

"Great.",

Naruto said and gave her a quick pat on the back.

"I'll see you later, 'kay?",

Before he could run off though, he felt Kaede's hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"Oh, and Naruto...",

Naruto looked back at her mischievious smile.

"I think he left with Saki."

She winked before releasing him and left with her friend to head for the nearest exit.

For a moment, Naruto felt hesitation get a hold on him, stopping him from moving.
Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of the heavy feeling weighing him down and started for the door once again.

The campus grounds were crowded, as students streamed out of the main building and into the open.

"Sasuke!",

Naruto bumped into yet another person, ignoring the complaints aimed at him, as he made his way towards the black spikes. He was quite sure Sasuke had heard his first three calls and yet the raven kept walking. Saki was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey! Wait up already!"

Finally Sasuke stopped. He turned around to face Naruto with a cold expression on his face. To some he would appear indifferent. Naruto however, knew better. He had known his friend too long to be fooled and Sasuke knew this too.

Naruto came to a halt in front of his target.

"Finally! Didn't you hear me, earlier?"

"I did."

Naruto glared up at Sasuke's cold gaze and had to supress a violent urge to slap him. He really wanted to shoot some insults at him but figured that it'd be a bad start for a reconciliation talk. Instead, Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and inhaled deeply to calm himself down.

"I'm just going to ignore that...",

he growled. Sasuke stood there and observed him in silence. After a few awkward moments, Naruto realized that Sasuke was waiting for Naruto to spit out whatever it was he wanted to say.
Maybe he should have planned out how to initiate things in a smooth way. In his head it had seemed so simple and now he was suddenly at a loss for words. Naruto averted his gaze. He looked at the students passing them, heading for lunch but they did not feed him with any inspiration on how to go about this.

Shifting, Naruto settled upon looking at the ground as he kicked at some grass. He was a simple guy and didn't like complicated things, so he went straight for the kill.

"Uhm... about friday. I'm sorry for just bailing on you like that."

Sasuke remained silent and Naruto shifted uncomfortably. He could almost feel Sasuke's gaze burn on his skin, as the raven waited for him to continue. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"It's not like we did it to play a trick on you. It might have looked bad but it was for a good cause. Kaede made me realize that..."

Naruto peaked up at Sasuke. For once he wasn't sure how to read the expression he was wearing. It was a complete blank. At least he had his full attention, so why did Naruto have this feeling as if he was digging himself a hole to fall into?
Naruto took a deep breath and continued.

"Look. I know we've not been on the best terms these past few days but I think I understand why now. And... well... me and Kaede won't get in your way. If you like Saki then...",

Naruto swallowed and clenched his fists but his determination was back and his eyes met Sasuke's straight on.

"Then you don't have to hold back."

Naruto didn't know what he had been expecting. Maybe Sasuke becoming flustered or surprised or calling him an idiot.
But Sasuke remained silent and kept his blank expression on like a mask. Unreadable. Emotionless. For some reason, this made Naruto more nervous than before.

"... So...",

Naruto started again, breaking the silence. Maybe he hadn't gotten the message over.

"...you don't have to worry about us...",

he finished. Somehow he wasn't able to look Sasuke in the eye when he said it and concentrated on his shoes digging into the ground again. It felt like they stood like that in an eternity before Sasuke's voice finally made itself heard.

"You're telling me to go for it, is that it?"

The words dug into Naruto with a sting. Hearing the meaning of his own words rephrased like that made him uncomfortable. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into the skin of his palms. Had he had longer nails, he was sure he'd have broken the surface of his skin.

"If... if that's what you want..."

Looking up, Naruto saw Sasuke walking away.

"Hey!"

Once again, Naruto had to catch up to Sasuke.

"Wait! Don't just walk away!"

Agitated, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and turned him around to face him. He growled at the raven.

"I'm trying to be nice here! Can't you meet me halfway at least?"

"Get out of my face.",

Sasuke growled back. He had cast off all false pretense and was shooting Naruto an equally, if not fiercer, glare. Slightly taken aback, Naruto's eyes widened and he released his grip on Sasuke's arm. Confusion started to rise in him to slowly become visible on his face. He thought he had been doing the right thing but judging by the way Sasuke looked at him, it almost appeared, as if he had insulted him in the worst possible way. As if he had pressed all the wrong buttons at once.

"Why are you so angry?",

Naruto asked, not used to such a genuine look of disgust on Sasuke's face. Sasuke almost spat out his words as he hissed.

"For one thing, I don't appreciate people meddling in my life."

"We were trying to do you a favor.",

Naruto replied but he didn't sound so sure of himself anymore. Though trying to match Sasuke's intense glare, his attempts came out weak.

"So whose idea was it?"

"Huh?"

The question caught Naruto off guard. Sasuke fixated Naruto and pinned him down with his eyes.

"Who was the mastermind behind it all?"

Naruto didn't reply but apparently that was answer enough. Sasuke knew how to put two and two together.

"You're right.",

Sasuke said after some silence.

"Dumb question."

Though still confused, anger started to make its way into Naruto's system. He narrowed his eyes and felt how rage slowly built itself up. He clenched his fists again but this time for a whole other reason. This was getting ridiculous.

"What's your problem?",

Naruto bellowed, his loud voice attracting attention. The nearby students started turning their heads towards the boys, whose words came out more and more bitter, spiteful and agressive.

"You act as if we were out to get you.",

Naruto continued, not caring about his surroundings.

"Kaede did it for you, you know."

Sasuke scoffed and narrowed his eyes as well.

"A great sacrifice, I'm sure."

Naruto grit his teeth, just barely being able to control himself.

"Hey, asshole, she was trying to do you a favor."

"So what, you want me to do her?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke looked unfazed by Naruto's puzzled expression. His eyes turning cold as ice, as he spoke.

"Is that it? You want me to get Saki so, you can get your chance with Kaede?"

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto felt himself once again becoming lost in Sasuke's incomprehensible logic. He did not like where this was going.
By now the other students made a detour around them, not wanting any trouble. The people standing at a safe distance started to whisper and cast the two boys interested glances.

Sasuke took as little notice of them as Naruto did. A look of disdain made itself wide on that pale face and Sasuke tilted his head slightly to the side, while putting his hands in his pockets. A cruel, bitter smirk spread across his face and his voice became disgustingly smooth.

"You still like Kaede, don't you?"

"No, that's..."

Naruto barely knew what to say anymore and it had to be evident on his face. This Sasuke was wholly unfamiliar to him.
Sasuke scoffed at the silence, the smirk still tugging at his lips.

"I guess this works out perfectly for you. I'll be removed from the picture and then you'll be a shoulder for her to cry on."

Naruto stood quiet. He could barely think anymore. Something inside him seemed to be overheating.
Sasuke stepped closer with that weird expression on his face and the tone he spoke in became lower.

"So, tell me..."

His face was rather close now and his words dripping with disdain.

"Did you two enjoy yourself? Guess, things are starting to look up for you, Naruto. You're halfway there. Kaede might soon spread her..."

That's when Naruto's fist met Sasuke's face. In the next moment, the two boys were rolling around on the ground, engaged in a full fledged fist fight, not pulling any punches. It took several strong and very brave students to seperate them and even after, the two boys needed to be held back in order to not fall at each other's throats again.

Naruto roared with rage, kicking and twisting in order to get away from the ones holding him back. He ignored the pain he felt in his left cheek and the wet trickle of blood rolling down his eyebrow.

"You're a fucking asshole!",

he practically screamed at Sasuke.

"Kaede did this for you, so you could be happy, you ignorant prick!"

Sasuke replied with the same volume in his voice, blood flying in drops from his mouth, as he yelled back.

"I never asked for it! She doesn't know me, so she should just back out of my business!"

"Ohhh, here we go again.",

Naruto rolled his eyes and started mocking him.

"The misunderstood lone wolf! No one understands you yadda, yadda, yadda! What a fucking tragedy! You know what? You're right! I don't understand you! No one will ever understand you because you don't want to be understood! You just keep pushing everyone away! God forbid anyone gets too close to mr. pissy prince!"

"Exactly! So, take a hint and leave me alone!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

They stared daggers into each other's eyes and though not trying to wiggle out of the other's grips anymore, remained fully alert.
This was not how Naruto had planned for the talk to turn out.

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?",

Naruto asked without looking up from his book, knowing very well who it was.

"Your mother."

"Your mother who?",

he asked and finally looked up to see his mother peek in from the door with a tray of snacks. She rolled her eyes and used her hip to push open the door wide enough to step into her son's messy room.

"Very funny.",

she said to his grinning face, while pushing some old clothes, that lay on the floor, out of her path with her foot.

"I have two sons attending college and yet it feels like I still have teenagers at home.",

she sighed, while putting down the tray on the nightstand next to the bed, where Naruto was laying on his back, reading a book about chakra.

"I'm 19. Technically I still am a teenager.",

he countered but his mother ignored it. She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at the bandages and bandaids covering the bruises he had come home with last monday. She carefully stroked her hand on his bandaged ankle and was pleased to find that the swelling had gone down.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, it doesn't really hurt anymore.",

Naruto said and wiggled his feet to prove his point. His mother nodded approvingly.

"You've always been quick with healing."

"Of course!"

He gave her a quick grin and returned to reading his book. For a moment both went silent. His mother glanced out the window, where darkness started to settle and then looked over the messy room. Among the laundry that lay scattered on the floor lay all kinds of books and notes regarding chakra, the ninja wars and juutsus. Her gaze returned to Naruto.

"Honey, it's friday. You've been sitting inside studying all week. It's not that I'm not happy seeing you so diligent about your education but don't you think you've earned a break? You should go out and have fun with your friends."

Naruto didn't look up from his book.

"I'm fine mom. Also, it's too late to make plans now. People will be busy doing whatever."

His mom raised an eyebrow at this and gave him a knowing look.

"Really now? I heard that a certain Enmu was throwing a housewarming party tonight."

Naruto turned his head to look at her.

"How did you know?"

"I have my sources.",

she said with a smug expression on her face and tapped the side of her nose with her index finger. Naruto pouted and averted his gaze.

"Damn it Kaede.",

he muttered under his breath.

"Now, now Naruto.",

his mother said and her expression softened as she gave him a gentle smile. She shifted closer, so she could stroke his blond hair.

"She didn't tell me to go behind your back. She's just worried about you, as am I. You should go."

"I'm not in the mood."

"Are you trying to avoid someone?",

she asked. The silence she was met with was answer enough.
His mother sighed.

"Well, food will be ready in an hour. Your father's cooking tonight. God knows what he'll come up with this time around."

She stood up and gathered up some clothes from the floor.

"Mom?"

She turned around and looked back at Naruto, who was heaving himself up in a sitting position.

"Yes, dear?",

she asked after a prolonged silence. For some reason, Naruto looked really awkward and was avoiding eyecontact. It took a while, moment before he finally started talking.

"Let's say I have this friend..."

he started, his voice full of hesitation.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he tensed up and started waving his hands in front of him, while his ears started to flush red.

"It's not me! This is a friend I'm talking about!",

he explained a little too eagerly. His mom looked confused for a second but then started to smile knowlingly.

"Okay. So this is about a friend. Sure."

Naruto seemed to pick up on the sarcasm in her voice, since his ears turned even redder and he leaned forward to protest.

"No! It really is! I'm not talking about myself here!"

His mother started to chuckle and sat down on the chair by his desk at the window.

"Alright, alright. So what's your friend's problem?"

Naruto seemed to relax a little and yet the blush spread to his face. He averted his gaze, while pulling his feet up to sit tailor-fashioned. He scratched his neck, while talking in a hesitant voice.

"Uhm... well this friend of mine has another friend and he's starting to think weird thoughts about this friend..."

"Like what?",

his mother asked patiently.

"Like..."

Naruto shifted his weight uncomfortably, still not able to face her.

"...he has started noticing stuff about his friend and is thinking these weird thoughts. It wasn't like this in the past but now things are changing and it's freaking me out."

Naruto's ears had turned beet red now and he was too involved in his own story to notice his slip up in the last sentence. Naruto's mother really had to try to keep a straight face. It wasn't usual for Naruto to talk to her about these matters, at least not in this way. Usually he'd keep quiet or be over the top open about his crushes. It seemed to be more of a delicate subject this time around and she didn't want to ruin the moment or expose his transparency to him, lest she made him feel more embarassed than the poor boy already felt. She wondered who the girl to make her son this flustered could be and quickly went over all the possibilities she knew of in her head. No, she needed to concentrate here.
Biting the inside of her cheek she tried to keep her cool when answering.

"Sounds to me like your friend likes this other friend."

Naruto tensed up for a moment again, as if he had feared and yet anticipated her answer. He scrunched up his nose, while staring at his feet with a resigned look on his face.

"But it's weird...",

he mumbled with an irritated expression.

"What is?"

Naruto shifted his weight again to adjust his position and seemed to struggle for words.

"Well, they're friends, right?"

"Yes?",

his mother replied slowly, waiting patiently for her son to continue. Naruto's awkwardness seemed to grow with every second.

"And friends don't think like that about other friends... especially not best friends."

Naruto made a pause. His eyes lingered on the floor without really seeing it. In his mind he was elsewhere. Far away.

"What if it ruins everything? What if my friend's friend stops hanging out with my friend?",

he finally asked. His mother's amusment started to fade upon seeing his genuinly troubled expression. Thinking it over, she picked her words carefully, while keeping her eyes on her son.

"You know...",

she started.

"I've always thought that if you can't even be friends, how can you ever become anything more? Your father and I aren't just lovers. We're partners and stick up for each other. In dire times you don't just need a romantic partner. You need something more."

She saw how Naruto picked up every word she spoke and smiled gently at him.

"Being best friends sounds like a pretty good start to me, don't you think?"

Naruto didn't reply. Though he still looked at the floor, she could tell by the expression on his face that he was processing it all.

"Your friend should just hurry up and confess.",

she finished and stood up to gather up some of the dirty laundry again. Naruto sighed in resignation, his face already revealing his frustration at the situation.

"Well, my friend's friend is a dickwad, so a confession won't just resolve things."

"Language",

his mother reprimended him with a stern voice.

"Sorry.",

he replied and muttered a 'but it's true' under his breath, hoping she wouldn't catch that. She did but decided to ignore it as she walked over to the door. At the door she stopped to look back at him again.

"Naruto."

Naruto looked up at her. She smiled.

"You should hurry up and fess up, before someone else snatches her away..."

Naruto seemed to consider this for a moment before realizing what she had said.

"It's not me!",

she heard him shout after her but she was already out the door and shook her head with a sad smile. He was too transparent...

Kaede held the soccer ball in her hands and looked sceptical at Naruto, while he was tying his sports shoes.

"Are you sure you're ready to play?",

she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am! I've been sitting inside all week! I need to run it off."

Kaede and Naruto stood inside the building with locker rooms and Naruto had just emerged from the men's, changed and ready to go.
Kaede sighed.

"That's not what I meant. I was talking about your ankle."

Naruto waved her off as he stood up again.

"Psh! It's fine. The swelling is pretty much gone. Look at this."

To prove his point he took the ball from her hands and started dribbling with it. Kaede only looked mildly impressed and crossed her arms, not really paying attention to the tricks he was attempting.

"Show off... I haven't seen you in class in forever, yet here you are ready to play soccer."

"I did some studying at home, so I'll be fine.",

Naruto countered. They started walking towards the exit of the building and stepped into the warm light of the glaring sun.
Outside was a large soccer field. Their former classmate Hane's aunt was the principle at their old school and since she knew them all from their student days, she allowed them to use the school's field to play after classes had ended. It had been quite a while since they had used that privilege.
Just seeing the trampled grass and the goalposts on either side of the field made Naruto feel adrenaline rush through his body. He was the type of guy, who constantly needed to move, something he had been strictly forbidden to do with a hurt foot. Now that he was fit for action again, he wouldn't miss it for the world. He grinned and shot a glance at Kaede, who looked bored.

"You sure you don't want to play as well?",

he asked her, jumping from one leg to the other to warm up.

"Absolutely. I don't want to die, thank you very much.",

she replied bitterly, vividly remembering how brutally the boys would kick the ball when passing it to other team members.

"Rie is playing.",

Naruto argued but Kaede had made up her mind.

"Well, she scares me as well."

Naruto was about to try to convince her some more when he heard his name being called out. Turning around he saw familiar faces walking towards them. Hane, a fair haired boy with some of his hair gathered up in a high ponytail led the little troope and waved at them.

Naruto grinned.

"You guys are late!",

Naruto hollered without really being upset about it. As they got closer Naruto recognized dark raven spikes and his smile froze. Sasuke was walking behind Hane, carrying a bag over his shoulder and looked disinterested over the field, while Enmu was chattering away at him. Naruto noted that Sasuke too still had some cuts and bruises visible on his skin and especially his right arm sported some nasty blue spots. Apparently, Naruto hadn't been the only one hurting the past week. Good.

For a moment, their eyes met and the temperature seemed to drop.
Naruto frowned.

"What's he doing here?",

he asked, while crossing his arms in a displeased manner.

"Who?",

Confused, Hane looked over his shoulder to try to figure out, who Naruto was referring to. Upon seeing Sasuke's cold expression of apparent indifference, things seemed to click.

"Oh! I invited him.",

he explained and turned back to Naruto to beam him a smile. Naruto scoffed.

"You've never struck me as the athletic type.",

he said to Sasuke with a sour expression but Kaede cut in.

"Are you kidding, Naruto? Don't you remember how he constantly won over the other teams during all the sports festivals?",

Naruto grimaced and turned his face to look at Kaede.

"Who's side are you on?",

he muttered butthurt.

"Is there a problem?",

Hane asked. Scratching his ear, he looked back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke, finally picking up on the dealy aura.

"Ignore him.",

Sasuke said, while putting his bag on the ground.

"He's just pissed I beat him all of those times."

"What did you say?",

Naruto spat, gritting his teeth and taking a step forward.

"Wow, you guys haven't changed at all, have you?",

Hane laughed, used to their usual spats. He didn't notice Kaede's look of discomfort, while watching the boys glaring at each other.
Rie, a girl with long red hair, did not find it amusing either. Irritated, she sighed and started walking towards the entrance of the building with the locker rooms.

"Just use that pent up testosterone for soccer and let's play.",

she said and passed Naruto to head inside. Naruto raised his chin and flicked his head sideways.

"Huh! Whatever. As long as I don't have play in the same team as that jerk, I don't care."

Naruto's remark didn't seem to have any effect on the raven haired boy. Sasuke seemed to follow his own advice and ignored Naruto, which threw the blond off. It irritated him more than if Sasuke had cut back with some taunting remark. This way Naruto felt like a little dog yapping away at a brick wall. Cringing, Naruto averted his gaze and took the ball to the field to warm up before the game.

The others quickly changed into more soccer friendly clothes and left their waterbottles at the bleachers, where Kaede had situated herself. Not really interested in watching sports, Kaede flicked through her phone to check updates on social networks, while the others spread out on the field.

Naruto practiced with the ball, trying to keep it in the air by kicking it with his knee. Occasionally his eyes wandered over to Sasuke, who stretched but otherwise didn't seem very engaged in the happenings around him.

"Alright everybody! Gather round!",

Hane called out and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"I think we'll just go with five against five. I know we're 11 people playing but one will just have to sit out for the first round. Since Naruto and Sasuke have already declared, that they want to have a battle to the death, I'll just make it simple and divide us here in the middle. Miho, get your ass back here."

Hane had reached out his arm to draw an invisible line between Naruto and Sasuke, dividing the two teams. Miho, who had tried to sneak over to Sasuke's side, flinched upon being found out and muttering under her breath, she returned to the other team, while trying to hide the blush creeping onto her face. After she had resumed her position, Hane motioned for Naruto to pass him the ball.

"Ok, let's get this thing started.",

Hane said enthustiastically and went over to the fading white markings on the grass to put the ball in the start position.
Naruto and Sasuke automatically stepped forward to stand on each side of the line. Both stood fully alert, with tense shoulders and slightly bent knees, ready to take the advantage at the very start of the game. Naruto glanced at Sasuke but the raven didn't meet his gaze and solely focused on the ball.

"Ready..."

Naruto averted his gaze as well to turn his attention to the ball. He was going to win this thing.

"set..."

He had to.

Hane blew the whistle.

Kaede had put her phone away for a while to observe the game. She was bent forward, supporting her head in her hands, which in turn were supported by her knees.
They had played for 20 minutes so far and the sun was as hot as ever.

She saw Hane strotting to the side of the field and switching with Goro, who had been a bench warmer up to that point. Sweaty but smiling happily, Hane kept his eyes on the game, while walking over to the shadow, where Kaede had taken refuge.

"Man, I'm out of shape. The heat is killing me."

Hane wiped some sweat off his forehead and tugged at his collar to let some air into his sticky shirt, while picking up his water bottle from the ground.

"I believe you, I get exhausted just by watching.",

Kaede replied, not looking away from the game.
Hane slumped down onto the bench next to her and gulped down some water. For a moment they both remained silent, watching the others play.

"Wow, they're really going at it, huh?",

Hane said with a smile. Sasuke and Naruto were racing shoulder to shoulder, battling each other for the ball. So far they were evenly matched and no matter who scored, the other team would catch up right away.
At this point the others started looking haggared but the two boys seemed to pull out extra reservs of energy from who knows where. The only one still able to catch up with them seemed to be Rie.

"Like the old times.",

Hane snickered. Kaede didn't join him.

"You think...?",

she asked with a monotone voice. Hane looked at her after gulping down some more water.

"Is it not?"

Kaede didn't reply at once. Her eyes followed the blond and raven boys across the field.

"I don't know...",

she started, lost in thought.

"It feels different somehow. They haven't really been talking the past three weeks. At first I thought it was about a girl but now I'm not so sure anymore..."

Hane didn't seem too worried about it and wiped his face with the hem of his shirt.

"They'll get around.",

he tried to console her. Kaede sighed.

"Hopefully..."

For a moment both went silent again. Then Hane suddenly straightened up and flashed an excited grin at Kaede.

"Hey, remember what we did last time they were bickering?"

Kaede tore her eyes away from the game to glance at him. Hane started explaining, eager for her to catch on.

"You know, after spring break when they had this big, stupid fight."

Kaede rose an eyebrow.

"I hope you're not thinking what I think you are."

"Why not? Even though it was supposed to be a joke it turned out pretty good in the end."

Kaede looked back at the field where Naruto voiced a loud curse, after Sasuke stole the ball from him before racing after to get it back.

"Well...",

she finally said.

"Maybe it's worth a shot."