Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and at this point, I'm running out of witty things to say in these disclaimers.

P.S. - It is subtle, but look over the description for this story again. There, you will realize that this fic is AU - "Since Always."

P.P.S. - The response for this story is simply amazing. I give you readers my sincerest appreciation.

Sakura wasn't talking to her.

The heiress of the Yamanaka clan had spent the first half of her weekend attempting to find her fri – her rival, and only for the pink-haired girl to rebuff or shun her at every meeting. They'd met at the market, and Sakura turned the other way and acted as though she was in a brief hurry, and as though the person in front of her was an awkward stranger or an estranged lover, creating an air of social gracelessness as Ino had stood, like a scorned lover whose advances has just been publicly rejected. They'd met at the park, and Sakura's green eyes had hit her form as she moved with the crowd of nameless, Uchiha-worshipping bitc- classmates, and the pink-haired girl's gaze would rapidly be averted, as though something more important had come into her field of vision, like the Daimyo had suddenly strolled by on an elephant, and was offering to take pink-haired girls as his brides.

Ino had tried her usual brands of teasing insults or comments, and nothing had worked, as Sakura had somehow become transcendent to the very barbs she would previously be quick to shoot down. She was perfectly content to pretend as though Ino did not exist, as though the girl she bantered with on a daily basis was a ghost and a wisp of air, unseen and unheard.

In response, Ino had spent the next half of her weekend in an obsessed, infuriated frenzy, a work ethic and dedication that would have made certain spandex wearing individuals completely enthralled, and then, mystified, then worried, and finally, outright terrified.

Sleep? What was sleep? What had it mattered to her?

Food? Excellent, it would be the fuel to keep her moving.

Rest? A four letter word that had been ripped out of the pages of her dictionary, crumpled into a ball, and used as tinder to light the flames that spurned her forward and maximized her passion.

It had not been hard to sneak out of her room when her father believed her asleep, and head to the nearest training ground as her fists and kicks proceeded to turn the innocent dummies into splinters, hapless victims to her bubbling rage and frustration.

So Sakura had decided not to talk to her. That was fine – perfectly fine, she wouldn't even let Ino explain herself or her reason, or even give the tiniest of ideas as to what was wrong, and Ino found it perfectly fine.

It was perfectly fine.

"Ino… are you okay?"

The Yamanaka Heiress drew from her musing as she entered the classroom. Monday morning had come too bright and far too early for her tastes, the birds at her windowsill sung in a manner that turned her brain to a deck of cards at the hands of a master shuffler. Her response had been to toss her comb with unerring accuracy until it smacked the creatures in the eye and told them that their musical performance was unwelcome.

If that had not been enough, the sunlight pierced through her orbs as though a clan of divine giants had decided to attach a magnifying glass unto a torch powered by the collective chakra of a thousand Kage, and use said torch to blind little girls for fancy.

A combination of her irritability and impatience did not detract her from the fact that there were indications of bangs under her eyes that her make-up kit had not been able to completely hide, and her hair possessed a brief frazzled intensity that would make it obvious that it had not been as meticulously treated as was the norm.

Had Yamanaka Ino looked into the mirror, she would have set it ablaze and run screaming at the monstrosity that stood before her. Or, her reflection would have committed seppuku and saved both of them the misery.

"Do I look okay Shikamaru? If this face was the last thing you saw at night, would you still be able to sleep?"

The boy beside her blinked, his visage clad in shock, his jaw slightly lowered, his eyes wide, as he blinked numerous times in rapid succession.

"I – I'm – sorry Shikamaru. I'm just a little… tired." she said, letting out a brief sigh.

"You didn't get any sleep." He did not phrase it as a question.

"No."

Lying to Shikamaru was an exercise in futility. Problem with the boy was that when he wasn't being his usual extremely lazy self, he was damn perceptive, extremely much so that any slight indication or inflection would tip him off.

"Why?"

"I was… busy."

Murdering wooden dummies with her fists and imagining them to be the form of a pink-haired acquaintance was rather time consuming. Her eyes slowly strayed down to her fists, which were currently wrapped in bandages in the manner that taijutsu specialists did. Of course, the only reason for that was to hide the numerous bruises and cuts that were on the skin, which would have no doubt drawn attention from her father.

Shikamaru's eyes trailed towards her hands, which made her clench them unconsciously. Then, he turned his gaze back into her eyes, and they stayed there for several seconds, as though searching for something.

Judging, condemning, evaluating, analyzing, she could never exactly know what was running through the mind of the Nara when his gaze stopped resembling a sloth addicted to cough syrup. The gaze had stayed there for a few seconds, before, as always, the boy let out a drawled out sigh.

"Troublesome."

She rolled her eyes, in part to remove eye contact from Shikamaru, and in part as a response to the boy's usual remark. "That's your reaction to everything."

He shrugged, a lazy, half-hearted shrug in which his shoulders barely nudged upwards enough to be noticeable. "It's because everything is."

"Everything is?" she asked, her tone raising.

"Troublesome."

Typical Shikamaru.

"You won't get far in life thinking like that you know."

"I'll get far enough."

She sighed, shaking her head. This back and forth exchange existed between them for a very long time, with her trying to get him to actually try for once, and him always refusing to budge. Ino paid no further heed to him, instead, turning her gaze to the door. She had arrived at school rather early after all, and other students were yet to arrive. Normally, she would have been watching the door in anticipation for a mop of shaggy blond hair, but today, her interests lay elsewhere.

Pink hair and green eyes entered into the class, chatting and chittering away with two fakers – friends, and her eyes managed to stray upwards, to the row of seats where Ino was.

"Saku –"

Again, again – her eyes flickered away as soon as their two orbs made contact. Ino was left, with her hand stretched out, her hopeful face slowly melting away, remnants of what was meant to be a beautiful meal, now an indescribable, black smudge.

Ino bit the bottom part of her lip, her fists clenching and unclenching as she could feel the heat building up at the back of her throat.

'Why won't you talk to me?!'

She wanted to yell it out, and she could feel the words die, stillborn at the back of her throat, forcing her to swallow the residues of saliva that coalesced in her mouth, pushing painfully down her esophagus.

Then, as always, black-hair and brooding gaze strode through the doors. Hearing Sakura squeal out had never sounded so foreign, so annoying, so aggravating to Ino's ears before. She could feel her teeth begin to mash against each other as her nails, routinely polished, dug into her skin slowly, with each and every passing second the thumps of her heart began to grow louder and louder to her own ears.

Her gaze zoomed in on the boy, who, as always, brushed aside Sakura, brushed aside her riv- friend, as though she were a gnat not worthy of his attention for even a second. He regarded the insects he stepped on and the particles of dust in his path with more attention than he did her best friend.

Sakura was her best friend!

Yet, there the Uchiha went, not knowing, and not caring, about just what had conspired in the background in the name of gaining his attention. He sat, aloof as ever, unaware of just what had been lost and as to just what had been cost by the people who pined over his attention, waiting day after day for him to as much as look at them!

"Ino…?"

Look at them goddamnit!

Just look at them!

"Ino – are you okay?"

Shikamaru called out her name, a trace of worry in the words that she did not pay heed to, as instead, she vibrated in her seat, and watched, as for the umpteenth time, the girls surrounded him and showered him with their wide-eyed affections and gifts and all he did, all he ever did was to turn his face to the side, and let out that infuriating, exasperating –

"Hn."

The class went silent as a palm smacked unto a desk loud enough to draw everyone's attention. Slowly, everyone's gaze turned unto the form of Yamanaka Ino, as a portion of her hair covered her eyes from being seen, and some would note, that as they did see those eyes, they were grim, heavy, and radiating with a cold, inexplicable blizzard.

"Hey goldilocks what's up with yo –"

Her head snapped over to the class's resident delinquent figure, the Inuzuka boy flinching backwards at the withering glare thrown his way and the words he wanted to say died instantaneously in his throat. His puppy companion made small whining noises as it sunk itself further into Kiba's jacket, the boy himself wishing such was possible.

She moved over from her seat, each step sounding louder and louder to everyone's ears, until, she was in front of the desk of Uchiha Sasuke, the girls parting aside as a blanketing silence overcame all of them, as Sakura seemed to be looking at her again, but at this moment, Ino had a different target. She stood, gazing into the ebony eyes of the Uchiha, and for the first time, for the first time in years, she could tell, that Uchiha Sasuke was looking at her.

She could not have been more pissed.

Her entire form shivered, angry breaths came forth from her nostrils like she was a mythical beast of fire.

Eventually, she roared.

"Fight me."

Silence begot greater silence.

Her words had been ground out, slowly, silently, but yet, in the mask of the great overwhelming silence in the class, she might as well have roared it over the top of her lungs.

"What?"

So he could speak. He could say something, he did notice their existence.

"Fight. Me."

She dared him to refuse. Her eyes gazing straight into his orbs as she placed her hands on his table, even as she tried to control her breathing and did not so much as flinch as he gazed at her.

"Five O'clock. Training Ground 14. I'll be waiting."

With those words, she turned around and walked back to her seat, amidst the deeper silence, she took her place beside Shikamaru without saying a word.

BRRRIIING!

"All right! Settle down you brats and be quie – eet? Huh? You – you guys aren't noisy today."

Umino Iruka entered the class, scratching his head at the oddity, before shrugging.

"Well, I guess it must be a rare day."

He had no idea.

Uchiha Sasuke knew the meaning of hatred.

He knew what it felt like for every atom in his being and for every firing muscle and every thought, to be consumed with white hot flames, pulsing and screeching to be released and to completely engulf the target of his rage. He understood well, the process that was involved in projecting that rage unto your target, to have it channel within you, to sing within your eardrums and push you to a point that not broke past all limitations.

He knew hatred. He lived in it. He bathed in it. Every day he woke up and was greeted with silence, he was reminded of it. Every morning he walked into a living room that still stank of dried blood and screams, he was lavished with it.

Hence, hatred was one of the few things he could sense. Detect. He had grown so accustomed to it, that he knew, he merely knew, when hatred was emitted in his general direction.

In his usual manner, disregarding of those playing at shinobi without a goal, he walked out of the classroom upon the lunch bell ringing. Within seconds, the news of the confrontation was already on the lips of a third of the Academy, and people pointed at him, with poorly shushed whispers and curious, uncertain gazes.

Ignoring them proved to be more difficult than normal today, and his teeth clenched behind his lips, as he decided he was not going to be dealing with their pitiful brand of gossip whilst trying to get a meal.

His strode away from the Academy, moving onto the roads of Konoha as he decided to get his lunch elsewhere, his mind still focused slightly on the events of the morning.

The girl, what was her name again?

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He could not recall the name of the blond haired girl, as previously, she had merely been another face amongst the crowd of females who wished for his attention in one way or another.

Yet, she was different.

There was no denying those eyes, those orbs of hers which had stared him down unflinchingly, there had been true, pure hatred within them. Hatred, anger, and loathing – these were things that Sasuke believed himself intimately familiar with, however, he could not understand why her eyes possessed that much hatred for him.

He set his gaze on a small food stand not far away, his mind still deep in some form of thought. He could not recall or think of anything he had done that would cause someone to look at him with such heavy eyes filled with hatred, to the point in which the person went as far to challenge him to a fight.

Truly, the girl was not worth his time. The hate in her eyes was good, decent, enough that if she applied it with fervor to her training she would become strong, she would grow stronger at a magnificent rate. However, he did not have the time to humor her.

His target was that man.

His target was someone who had been ANBU Captain at age thirteen. He could not afford to waste his time fighting people who were weaker than him, people to whom he would not grow any stronger from defeating, and people who could not even be considered as stepping stones in his path.

His lips twisted into a scowl. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't refuse. He would not give those at the Academy the illusion that he was somehow afraid of losing, or that he was somehow incapable of fighting against that girl. Instead, a crushing defeat would cement it in their minds once and for all that he was the best, the strongest shinobi in their entire generation, and that it would be unwise for anyone to even think otherwise.

He came to a stop at the small restaurant. It did not necessarily matter what he ate at this point just as long as he had something in his stomach. He took a seat, ignoring the noise around him, as he met the face of the brown haired waitress.

"Hello, what can I get you?"

He blinked. He had momentarily been lost in thought he had not even checked the sign outside to confirm what food this place sold.

"I want some – "

"Yo Ayame-neechan! I'm back! Can I get the Naruto special, and make it double! I've got some hard training to –"

There was a momentary silence, as dull black eyes turned to face brilliant blue.

"YOU!"

Sasuke grit his teeth. It was like the universe had decided that his day would be ruined by blonds. No, he was not going to deal with this right now.

He stood up from his seat and turned around, only to let out a 'gurk' as he felt someone drag the back of shirt, forcing the front end to tighten at his neck.

"Let go of me dobe!"

"No way! Ayame-nee would kill me if I chased away a customer, even if it's you teme!"

"That's none of my business, now let go of me!"

"Not until you've bought a bowl of ramen-ttebayo!"

What the hell was up with the idiot's grip? Sasuke knew there was no way he should have had that much power to be able to actually hold on to the back of his shirt with that much force, making him unable to leave.

"I said, let go!"

A heavy echo of ripping cloth resounded throughout the small shop. He stumbled forward, free at last, only to turn around and spot the familiar blonde boy holding unto a large part of his black shirt, the part which had the brilliant white and red fan of the Uchiha Clan on it. His back was now fully exposed, as his shirt was now more or less a tattered rag than it was any measure of cloth.

"Er… oops?"

It was official.

Uchiha Sasuke hated blondes.

"DOBE!"

"What in the world were you thinking?"

She cringed, the same question running through her mind at the moment. It was currently lunch period, and she had taken up her place beneath a tree, only to immediately find herself under the scrutiny of the one person in the class that she would have least expected.

Choji.

Yes, not Shikamaru, who sat across from her, his eyes still in their usual lazy demeanor, the person who was actually scrutinizing her decisions, asking her the hard-hitting questions and making her realize the error of her ways, was Choji.

"Well… I wasn't really… thinking?" she said meekly, which was somewhat understandable as Choji sat beside her, his normally round and cheerful face twisted into a narrow-eyed scowl. His bag of chips lay in his hands, but they were unopened.

Really, Choji was a darling but no one really understood how terrifying the boy could be when he was taking something seriously.

"Yes, Ino, you weren't thinking." He said, shaking his head and making her shrink further as she turned to Shikamaru and sent him her best 'help me' look.

The pineapple-haired Nara turned his gaze away, pretending as though he had not seen her at all.

"Traitor!" she mouthed.

He looked as though he was going to mouth something back, before shaking his head as though he realized it would consume far more energy than he was willing to give, and instead, he resorted to another lazy shrug.

To her side, Choji sighed, his face looking far less intimidating as he began rubbing his cheek. "Ino – you know you can't beat Sasuke in a spar right?"

She was the type of person who usually did not like being told whether or not they could or couldn't do things. "Come on – I have a chance –"

"No." Shikamaru said, placing his input for the first time in the conversation, and turning both of their attentions towards him.

"Sasuke might be the most arrogant person in the entire class, but most of it is well-deserved. He just might be the strongest Academy Student in Konoha, whereas, you occasionally struggle to defeat Sakura."

"Hey! Don't use Sakura as a measuring stick, you make it sound like she's…"

Choji's gaze looked over to her. "Ino, I don't like admitting it either, but Sakura really does have the lowest taijutsu and shurikenjutsu performance in our grade, and you… well…"

He sighed. "You…struggle to beat her. I don't see how you can go up against Sasuke and win."

Ino found herself biting her lower lip. "Maybe – maybe he won't show up?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "His pride won't allow it. Failing to show up could send the wrong message that he was too scared of you to fight you rather than you not being worth his time, and he'd never allow it."

She frowned. "Then, what if I don't show up?"

Shikamaru and Choji glanced at her, and then glanced back at each other, silence resonating between the two boys before they turned back to her. It was at that moment that Ino realized the weird strength of the dynamic that was possessed by the two boys, in which they seemed to understand each other without so much as saying a single word.

She was close to them, yes, that much was true, but a small part of her could not help but wish to have that same level of camaraderie that they had. To have that same level of companionship with someone.

Choji was the one to begin. "Ino, no one will easily forget the day you challenged Uchiha Sasuke to a spar and then chickened out."

That much was true. She would not be able to carry her face held high ever again without being reminded of the moment, the day in which she had marched up to the seat of Uchiha Sasuke, frightening Inuzuka Kiba with a glare as her own gaze met with that of the Uchiha, and so brazenly challenged him.

Warmth rapidly seeped into her face and cheeks as she recalled the entire thing.

Kami what in the world had she been thinking?

That was a question that Choji also seemed interesting in discovering the answer to. "Really Ino, what were you thinking? I mean… you've never done anything like that. Ever."

She bit her lip. "I – I was just angry! And annoyed! And maybe the lack of sleep played a part but –"

She groaned as she ran her hands through her hair.

"I just wanted Sasuke to look at them, at us, at any of us! To pay the girls who fawn over him at least some attention!"

Shikamaru and Choji remained silent.

"I mean, we can be annoying sometimes, and pushy, and thoughtless, but we do care about him. Sakura cares about him. Yet, I wonder if he even knows her name."

Silence wafted amongst the three friends, the only audible sound being Choji's rummaging of a bag and crunching of chips, as their small group could still hear the buzzing and chatter amongst the students, because there were numerous mixed feelings about her challenge to Sasuke.

"Troublesome."

Again, Shikamaru managed to convey her thoughts exactly in one word.

Still, she looked over to the boy, and realized that he was even usually more invested in her life than usual. He was alert, listening, watching, his eyes weren't half-lidded, and his form and posture wasn't slouched and lazy. This was the most she had ever seen Shikamaru interested or focused at something.

He caught her gaze, and his eyebrow rose. "What?"

"Nothing – I'm just… surprised. Glad I guess… I mean you rarely ever pay attention to anything… so…"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If you get beat up by Sasuke, your dad would find out and he won't be happy. He'd complain about it to my dad, and my dad would mention it to my mum, and I'd be the one chewed out for standing by and letting it happen."

Her left eye twitched. "Of course... once a lazy bum, always a lazy bum. Just when I thought you cared…"

"I do care. I don't want you to get beat up."

She tilted her head. "Really?"

"If you get beat up, you'd be sore and grumpy, and considering I'm the one who seats next to you in class… that would be really troublesome."

More irritation flowed through her form as her eye continued twitching, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"Shikamaru doesn't mean it Ino. He really just doesn't want you to get hurt."

Ino sighed. Leave it to Choji to abate her anger with a few choice words.

"Thanks guys, but you make it sound like I don't stand a chance against him – but, I'm a lot better than I look. I have a plan."

"No."

They both said at the exact same time, causing her to flinch back in surprise.

"Y-you didn't even listen to what it was!"

"Um Ino, the last time you had a plan, it ended with you looking for Naruto all over Konoha, and getting angry that you couldn't find him."

Her mouth opened, and then it closed with a dry clack.

"Trust me, this – this is totally different. It'll be different this time."

For whatever reason, the two of them gave her looks that showed clear disbelief, and a little bit of apprehension. Still, Yamanaka Ino was certain, that her plan would work.

What was the worst thing that could –

She stopped that train of thought immediately. There was no way she was going to jinx it. Nuh huh. Not a chance.

She already had terrible odds enough, no need to stack fate on top of that.

Umino Iruka knew that what he was doing was wrong.

There was a major risk to it, considering he was not an eccentric higher tier jonin like Hatake Kakashi, who could simply smile off his transgressions through a masked façade and a lazy, asinine excuse. He knew it in his heart that it was wrong, doubly so given his post as a teacher of young corruptible minds, and he knew that his reputation could take a severe nosedive like a rare Earth Country Eagle swooping down and snatching an unsuspecting lamb suckling at the breasts of its mother.

There was a very real risk involved, which of course included some of the rather more prudish kunoichi, who would henceforth regard him like a maggot that had emerged from the excreta of a worm upon discovering the nature of the act. His place in society would be condemned forever, and he would be unable to do as much as stare into the eyes of clerks when he bought his groceries without hearing hushed whispers and condemning judging looks.

Regardless of all of this, he sat on the stall of the Konoha Academy's male staff bathroom, giggling away as his fingers gently turned aside another page, enjoying the feel of the paper, and ignoring the dribble of blood that emerged from his left nostril.

It was a new Icha Icha novel, and he'd be damned if he didn't read it.

"Kazama-san you sly dog… grabbing Rashina-chan and Nikoto-chan?"

It was a guilty pleasure stretching slowly into the realms of a bubbling obsession with the book. He had begun reading the previous night, promising himself to only go about thirty pages before stopping and then getting some sleep so he could wake up bright and early and have more energy to shout at his usual brand of annoying brats. Of course, 'thirty minutes' later and there was the sound of a rooster crowing as beads of sunlight burst through his window, only drawing his attention because of the manner in which they had landed on a particular… feisty paragraph in the book, and making the Chunin instructor realize his folly.

He had been expecting it to be a horrible start to a day, but imagine his surprise on getting to class and meeting it quiet, completely removing the need for him to actually exert more energy shouting at the top of his voice in order to get the normally rambunctious brats listening to him.

Not to mention the fact that they all seemed eager to learn!

For once, all the students in the class were all at the edge of their seats, furiously scribbling and answering at his questions with the accuracy and speed of a master archer who had been blessed with an arrow-creation kekkai genkai. Everyone seemed eager and even impatient! As though they finally realized that they were not learning as much as they normally could be and wanted to absorb as much as possible in one day!

Hell, even Sasuke answered questions in class!

And Kiba was quiet all through!

Iruka could only attribute this legendary stroke of fortune on his end to the gods of erotica finally granting him blessings for being a loyal and devout follower. Hence, he had decided to repay them by continuing to read their holy scriptures, which was of course delivered by their anointed one, the Toad Sannin of Konoha.

It was lunch break for now however, and he knew he only had a few minutes of reading, and as long as he was able to allow his fingers rub the sharp edged pages and hardback spine, allow his nose take in a further decent whiff of the crispy smell of newly made paper, and allow his eyes to roam over the artistic masterpiece written in words, then he was suitably satisfied.

The day seemed to be getting better by the second, and so far, nothing could ruin it!

He froze, a shudder running down his spine as he stood up from the seat and closed the book. He peered out the stall, towards the windows, and paid close attention to any sound he could hear.

Okay, that was close. For a second he believed he might have tempted fate and just invited some sort of great catastrophe upon himself by uttering those dreaded, often ironic words.

"Calm down Iruka, you've just been reading too many novels lately… I mean, what are the odds that saying 'nothing can ruin this day' would actually cause something ironic that would happen and prove my words wrong? This is real life…"

Still, he put the book in his pocket and opened the staff door, peeking to ensure that there were no hordes of angry kunoichi about to lynch him for reading erotica in the Academy while he was on duty.

Sighing, he closed it and turned around.

"Chunin Umino Iruka."

Umino Iruka saw death.

Umino Iruka saw death in the form of purple hair, and an unmistakable cat ANBU mask.

He did not respond, instead, he made a large, tiring sigh, before he slowly closed the book with a thick snap, and then he pocketed it. Calmly, he got unto his knees, and then bent his head lowly.

"My only request is that you make it quick and painless."

He kneeled in that notion for several seconds, waiting constantly for the blade that would cleave his neck for his actions, only to blink in surprise when, after numerous seconds, it did not come.

He flicked his head upwards back at the woman, the ANBU operative that was code-named Neko, and yet, despite not being able to see her face, he could tell that she was clearly amused by the entire display.

"Are you finished?"

He blinked, once, twice. Then, realization that the woman was not about to execute him for reading Icha Icha in the privacy of the male bathroom dawned upon him, and he leaped up to his feet, coughing awkwardly.

"Ah – of course – ANBU-san, I – er – I was just… practicing… for a recital… a play – or musical – about the honorable death of a samurai – ha – ha –"

Maybe she really should kill him, if only for how pathetic that excuse had sounded.

"What you do in your free time is of little to no interest to me Umino-san," she said crisply "And you are clearly too timid to attempt corrupting a student, so I have no need for concern."

Iruka winced at the "timid". He honestly didn't know if he should feel relieved, flattered, or greatly insulted.

"I am here on the orders of Hokage-sama. Yamanaka Inoichi believes that someone could have been tampering with the student's records, scores and exams. Most particularly in case of bias against the student, Uzumaki Naruto."

All at once, Iruka's form straightened, and he was instantly all-business.

"That's – well, I know that some teachers may not particularly get along with him, but I don't think anyone would go as far as to –"

"Unfortunately what you think does not matter. What matters is that I have been given a task to accomplish, and you will aid me in accomplishing it."

Iruka took a step back uncertainly. He knew that the ANBU weren't exactly the most friendly of individuals, considering the lives they lived which included witnessing and committing gruesome acts of murder, assassinations, and sometimes, even genocides.

Still, he felt that the woman was just a tad bit rude.

"Hokage-sama requested that I meet you, and stressed the importance of discretion in this task. You are to gather every test script, every record, every paper or document in relation to Uzumaki Naruto and his classmates and you are to hand it over to me without drawing attention to yourself." She said in one quick, brisk and formal breath.

"Are you up to the task?"

Iruka's nose rumpled up. All at once, the reason as to why the woman had decided to ambush him in the male bathroom made much more sense. Still, he found himself confused, wondering why there was need for all the secrecy – it was just a couple of assignments and exam scripts, not documents detailing all the concubines possessed by the Daimyo's wife.

"I don't get it, why all the mystery –"

"Because this mission is technically classified."

Iruka scowled. "Classified?"

"Classified." She repeated again, though with a noticeable strain in her voice. "This is why I do not quite get along with shinobi in administrative positions – years spent in an unchallenging, unchanging environment ultimately dulls your skills."

"Excuse me?"

"What would happen if an ANBU operative were to walk into the Academy and ask for a compiled scripts of students on orders from the Hokage? Amongst whom, are Seven Clan Heirs to the most notable clans in Konoha: the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Hyuga, Aburame, and the last Uchiha?"

Iruka blinked.

"A reason for this would be demanded, and if the reason is given as an "investigation", the question will be asked as to what is the purpose of the investigation, which will bring into the light the matter of a suspected bias of a teacher against a student, and therefore suggest the possibility of foul play in the administration of the Konoha Shinobi Academy."

Iruka stared. "W-what?"

"What would you say if you were accused of elevating the clan heirs and giving them special attention over the rest of your students, allowing them to have better grades and scores?"

He immediately flared. "T-that's preposterous! I would never do anything like that –"

"I am aware of that," she stated, "However, the civilian populace are not. In their perspective, if one teacher is capable of letting his own personal bias influence him enough to sabotage a student, who is to say, all of them aren't?"

He swallowed dryly.

"I – I hadn't thought about it –"

The ANBU shook her head. "Of course you had not. It is not your job to consider the details and delicacies of the Konohan Socio-Political system. You're just a Chunin."

Never in his entire life, in all his years, had Iruka ever felt his rank feel so inadequate.

"Now, I ask you again, are you up to the task?"

He did not trust himself to be able to speak, and instead, he merely tilted his head up and down.

"Good. After the classes are done for the day, I expect the files to be compiled and ready for collection."

She had vanished in a swirl of leaves that left Iruka standing, in a daze, as he brought up his left hand, and he ran it through his hair.

'Just a Chunin…'

The three words pierced at him with a form of raging heat, and indescribable cold, as though someone had ran him through iceberg that was tipped with magma.

Idly, his gaze flicked over to the Icha Icha book on the ground, and then, he stared into his hand.

The loud echo of the bell broke through the entire Academy, and slowly, mechanically, a machine unhinged, a wound-up toy unleashed, Umino Iruka turned around and walked out of the bathroom.

A brand-new, crisp-clean, hard-cover novel left abandoned to the pristine white floor.

"Oi teme… people are staring at you."

"That's what happens when a dobe rips off a portion of your shirt and you have to walk back to your home shirtless."

"Hey – I did offer you my jacket-ttebayo."

His eyes flickered to the orange and blue monstrosity.

"No."

"Teuchi-jiji offered you one of his oversized shirts –"

"No."

"And Ayame-nee offered you an apron too –"

"NO."

Honestly, all of those options were far worse than walking the way he was right now. He knew that lunch time was almost over, and the journey back home would take a while, but it was worth it rather than going back to the Academy the way he was.

"Gah your clan compound is way too far! It's almost like no one wanted you temes close to the village or something."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Why are you even following me?"

"Uh… cause I feel kind of bad about ripping your shirt and stuff?"

He grunted. "I don't need your apology. Just leave me alone."

"Oh come on teme! I'm just trying to help you out –"

Sasuke rounded on him. "I don't need any help. Especially not help from you."

The dobe was absolutely infuriating. Sasuke stared at him, with those wide-eyed blue eyes, those eyes that looked upon the world as though it was made of butterflies and roses, as though rainbows were rivers and it rained happiness and goodness. The dobe's eyes were as bright and as clear as the sky, always looking free – limitless, open –

Sasuke hated those eyes.

It was one of the reasons he avoided the boy, avoided the dobe. His was a disease, an infection of obfuscating stupidity and gullibility – a naïve, open-hearted moron that would ultimately end up dying within his first five minutes of being a shinobi.

Yet, Sasuke was sure, that even if the dobe were to be cut down by an enemy shinobi, he would be smiling in his final moments, as though he was happy, as though he was peaceful – as though he was satisfied –

"Oi teme – you're shaking – are you okay? It's not that cold-ttebayo –"

The dobe had moved his hands towards him, to touch him, and Sasuke smacked it down with vehemence, the clap echoing loudly and the attention of everyone on the street to the both of them.

"Don't touch me."

Hefty silence resonated.

"What the hell teme!"

Sasuke did not care for the attention, and he found himself gritting his teeth as he angrily stalked down the abandoned route to his clan compound. He paid no heed to the sun striking against his exposed back due to the tear, he paid no heed to the stares and hushed whispers, as he instead made way back to his house, back to the reminder –

The reminder –

That was all it was to him. A reminder.

His very home was a reaffirmation of the fact that the dobe was a fool. A very reassertion as to the fact that you shouldn't, you couldn't trust anyone, trust anything – that the world was place that was a place of comedic-sick cruelty and unjustly-hilarious jokes.

"Oi teme! Wait up!"

Sasuke mashed his teeth the hardest he could. The dobe was still following him?

"Leave me the fuck alone dobe!"

He broke into a fast paced dash, his top speed, becoming a bit of a blur to anyone not at least Mid-Genin level. His torn shirt made wild, air-slapping ripples against the wind. His feet left the ground in a succession so rapid, it was as though they were levitating.

There, he thought. There was no way the dobe will catch up to me now.

"Teme!"

He was blindsided, a blur, so rapid and so fast that Sasuke barely even had time to register the fact that it was coming in his direction. The next thing he knew, he was tackled. Instinct worked immediately, as he thrust his feet out in an offensive-defensive maneuver, kicking away his attacker and gaining some distance from him.

Ultimately, both boys stood across from each other, and Sasuke grit his teeth as he found himself slightly panting, yet, across from him, the dobe barely even looked winded.

"Oi teme – what the hell is up with you-ttebayo?"

Sasuke stared at him, stared at his eyes, those same eyes, showing him compassion, showing him care –

Earlier, when he had not known the boy as well, Sasuke had assumed that it was all faked. He had assumed that the laughs were a façade, that the smiles were forced, that the happiness and cheer was all an act –

"Why…?"

Except it wasn't.

"Why –"

It wasn't.

Those eyes, those sentiments – all of it – all of it –

"Why are you so happy?"

The declaration had sprung forth in a manner that made his own voice unrecognizable to his own ears. The dobe had also flinched back, clearly not expecting, not anticipating, the wild question.

Sasuke found himself in the same shoes. He didn't understand it, didn't understand what had spurn forth that basic inner rage and anger inside him, didn't understand why it mattered – all that mattered was killing that man – nothing else mattered. Nothing else was supposed to matter.

Except, they did.

He had always thought of the dobe as someone who could understand him, or someone who could at least, relate with him – they both had similar, if slightly alternate circumstances. They both knew this, and though they had never mentioned it out loud, there was this understanding, this inherent conflict that had started as the very basics of their rivalry –

Except, despite how much both of them truly understood the concept of loneliness, truly experienced the meaning of emptiness –

The dobe smiled his way through everything.

Why? Why? Why?

"Because…" the boy said, still smiling, still grinning "It beats the alternative."

There was a relative amount of silence between the both of them.

"I get it, teme. I get you – even though you try to be all cool-and-aloof and stuff – Not that I think you're cool or anything-ttebayo! – I mean, you're still a teme… though you can be cool sometimes I guess –" The dobe ranted, leaving Sasuke just staring at him.

"Forget it."

The Last Uchiha put his hands into his pockets, as he moved to turn around.

"Not having family sucks you know."

The six words had made him freeze.

"When you get something right, you don't have anyone to celebrate with you. When you fail at something or fall, there's no one there to tell you that you'll get it next time or help you up. When you fall sick, you have to stagger your way out of bed and treat yourself 'cause there's no one there to nurse you. When you feel hungry no one will help feed you. And when you have dreams, there's no one there to give you the confidence that you can achieve it."

Sasuke's breath hitched slightly in his throat.

He turned around, his eyes turning to the boy, as he noted, now, with a difference, those bright blue eyes had morphed, transformed even, to a shade a tad darker, a shade with far much more depth, a shade that seemed to analyze everything and anything, a shade that seemed to withhold no secrets, to disregard privacy and to break down walls in the name of sentiment –

These eyes, they were so happy – so happy –

"…it beats the alternative."

And all at once, they weren't.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, his voice a bitter whisper. "It sucks."

There as a rush of movement, and then, Sasuke blinked, as in a blur, the dobe was in front of him, hand out, and big, large smile.

"So teme," Naruto said, grinning "Let's be family!"

Silence.

"No."

"Aw, come on teme! We were having a moment here-ttebayo!"

"Moment's over."

"Let's be family!"

"Not a chance in hell."

"We could be brothers!"

"I'd rather die."

Strange as it was, Sasuke found himself bantering with the dobe all the way until he reached his Clan Compound. However, there was still the lingering feeling at the back of his mind that he was forgetting something important -

Ultimately, he decided it didn't matter, or rather, it was decided for him that it didn't matter, as he began his game to chase the (surprisingly fast and nimble) dobe out of his Clan Compound.

Meanwhile...

"Um... Ino... the sun's been down for a while now... I don't think Sasuke is going to show..."

"Any minute now, Choji... any minute now."