"Will you please stop bouncing?" Sasuke's voice had the sound of someone who was clinging desperately to their last shreds of sanity.

"I can't help it!" Naruto grinned. "Ne, ne, you're really going to train with me today,

right?"

The other boy eyed him closely. "You're sure you feel up to it?"

"I told you I'm fine, dattebayo! It's already been a whole week since then!"

His injuries had actually taken less than a day to heal, but he didn't want Sasuke to know that. He had learned the hard way that his recovery abilities weren't normal from the looks the nurses used to give him. He had stopped going to the hospital years ago, but their expressions of disgust mingled with fear were still seared vividly in his mind. He couldn't bear it if Sasuke started looking at him like that too.

"Alright," the Uchiha boy stopped abruptly. "This is far enough."

He looked around the training ground excitedly. "So, so? What are we gonna do first?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You suck at everything, so it doesn't really matter. You pick."

"Can we do shuriken throwing then?" He gestured eagerly toward a nearby target board. "I've practiced a lot and I just know that if you give me a few pointers, I can get it perfect."

Sasuke looked skeptical, but he nodded. "Fine. Show me what you've got."

"Ok!" He pulled out his homemade shuriken and his collection of paint jars. "I made these myself," he said with pride. "I dip them in paint, so they mark the—hey!" he cried indignantly as Sasuke snatched the shuriken from his hand. "What are you doing?"

"You can't use these."

"What? Why not?"

Sasuke tossed the piece of wood in the air and caught it. "The shape is passable, but the material isn't dense enough. The physics when you're throwing it are completely different from a steel shuriken."

Naruto blinked dumbly, and Sasuke sighed. "Think of it this way. Would you throw a rock and a piece of paper the same way to hit a target? Your shuriken are too light, so they don't fly through the air the same way as a heavier object. It doesn't matter how good you get at throwing these—it will never help you with the real thing."

"Ahh, man," he said dejectedly. "So you mean all that practice was for nothing?"

"Here." Sasuke rummaged through his weapon pouch. "You can use some of mine. I have more than enough."

He perked up. "Really? Thanks!"

"You have to throw lower and use less force," Sasuke said. "Hold your upper arm steady and move from the elbow—like a hinge."

"Like this?" Biting his lip in concentration, he took aim and threw, but missed the tree completely. He lowered his gaze to his sandals, waiting for Sasuke to start yelling at him like the sensei at the Academy.

"Again."

He looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

"Again, but this time plant your feet further apart and keep your arm parallel to the ground when you throw."

Naruto straightened. "O-Ok, got it!"

Three hours later, as the setting sun painted the faces on the Hokage Monument brilliant shades of pink and orange, a sharp cry pierced the air.

"I did it, dattebayo! I hit the target! I really hit it!"

Sasuke walked calmly to collect the shuriken from the outermost ring of the target. "That's enough for today. We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Alright!" Naruto chirped happily. "And to thank you for training me, I'll take care of

dinner tonight."

The other boy blanched. "I thought that we both agreed to never let you make dinner again."

"Hey, my curry wasn't that awful!" he pouted. "But I wasn't talking about cooking. I was thinking we could go out to celebrate. Does ramen sound good?"

Sasuke only response was a shrug and a dull 'whatever,' but he couldn't quite hide the enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

Naruto licked his lips in anticipation. Ramen it was.

Author's Note: So Sasuke is a surprisingly good teacher, and Naruto and Sasuke's bond continues to strengthen, slowly but surely. Next chapter will be up tomorrow, but until then, thanks for reading and please take the time to drop a review! Reading your comments always makes my day.