A/N: As a kind reviewer mentioned, I've been neglecting Sasuke… the thing is, this is a subtle thing for Sasuke, because he's still lonely and he's still obsessive, just about different things. I find Itachi easier to write, to me his character is clearer than Sasuke's.

So… without further ado… Naruto. About Sasuke. Who is in the end both his best friend and worst enemy.

That Marching Song

Naruto enjoys life. He isn't some whiny bratty little shit like some people, and he doesn't cry about little things or get all upset over the bad stuff that happens sometimes. So what if he doesn't have so many friends or a family or tons of other stuff that he wishes he did. To Naruto, there is Iruka-sensei, and there's his Team 7 (which is, he is proud to say, still doing alright) and that's about all he needs. After all, anything else is just extra perks, and a ninja's gotta live sparingly and all that junk.

So he laughs and he plays, because hell, if Kakashi-sensei can read that stupid book of his, he hasn't got any right to be telling Naruto that painting Sasuke's hair green in the middle of the night isn't team-spirit-like. And anyway, it gets a laugh (though hidden) out of Sakura. And Sasuke, after he finished trying to beat Naruto up (well, he did, but Naruto managed to push him off a cliff so they're even now) even smirked in that totally lame "I'm so much cooler than you" way he always has. That bastard. How anyone can look cool with neon green hair is beyond Naruto, but this guy manages it just fine, at least according to Sakura. It must be some sort of clan secret.

And they even managed to get the mission done properly that day, which is always a bonus. Iruka-sensei was so proud (or so resigned) that he treated Naruto to ramen afterwards. Sasuke and Sakura came too, but that's mostly because Kakashi-sensei just wouldn't go away (it was something about his fridge spontaneously combusting, and how Iruka-sensei who is so smart could buy that Naruto just doesn't know) so it turned into a team dinner. Sasuke ordered pork, that bastard, and Naruto had to order some too (he did manage to eat that guy under the table, though). Iruka-sensei tried to strike a conversation but eventually it just degenerated into Sakura screaming at Naruto to calm down a little and Kakashi bonking them all on the head (Iruka-sensei really got mad that time, it was scary). Sasuke even managed to smirk at that, and then team 10 came in for a celebratory dinner and everything went to hell.

Afterwards, Iruka-sensei told him that he had a lot of work to do that night and Naruto couldn't sleep over after all, and maybe tomorrow. Naruto understands that stuff, he doesn't mind (even though he complains, but that's just so Iruka-sensei wouldn't think he doesn't want to, cuz Naruto's smart that way). So he headed home, and then Sasuke mentioned something about his brother being away for a few days so Naruto had a great idea. It took soooo long to convince Sasuke to have a sleep-over, because Sasuke has such a huge stick up his ass it's not even funny. But they did, eventually, and without Sakura too (Naruto wanted to, of course, but then Sasuke said he was a pervert cuz Sakura's a girl and it's not right, so it was just the two of them).

Sasuke is such a strange guy. He gets all wound up about the weirdest things. Like when Naruto mentioned that Itachi must be a neat freak because their house was so clean (it really was, too, you'd expect an ANBU captain to have cool secret mission stuff scattered all over the place, at least, or weapons or traps) Sasuke freaked out and stopped talking to him and said he should just go home, in that case, and he hadn't been invited anyway.

It's a good thing Naruto knows how to speak Sasuke-ese. No means yes, and yes means "oh god, please, Naruto please," and whatever means "I secretly want to, but I can't say that cuz I'm just too cool". So he stayed after all and they had a good time, watching TV and playing games and eating cereal out of the box (even though Sasuke thought it was gross at first). Sasuke unfolded his brother's spare camping equipment, which is a lot better than Naruto's because it's standard issue ANBU, and they spent the night comfortably on the tatami floors. It's kinda like Iruka-sensei's house, really traditional and stuff. Naruto always forgets about the damn tatami and Sasuke has to tell him to be careful and not run around and stuff. What kinda moron lives in a house where you can't run, Naruto doesn't know.

When they were going to sleep, things got really quiet and strange. Sasuke turned away so Naruto couldn't see his face, and Naruto just stared at the ceiling like he did every night, except that time the ceiling was strange and there was the sound of someone breathing beside him. It's kinda wierd, but not bad. He's heard it before, but Iruka-sensei sleeps really lightly, although his breathing is heavier. He wakes up at every sound. Sasuke's is the other way around. Naruto keeps expecting him to be a light sleeper but he isn't really. Or maybe he hides it well.

Sasuke is such a weird guy. He is so quiet, although maybe that's just because he's trying to act cool. When he says stuff he's really saying stuff and not just talking. Sometimes Naruto thinks he says a lot more in his mind and the words just don't come out. That's what it sounds like when he talks. He gets riled up over the stupidest things, like his stupid older brother whom Naruto sees every day but never speaks to.

Itachi is even weirder than Sasuke, he's not just quiet, he's like a mute. It's like he doesn't even have anything to say, or he doesn't know what's right to speak. And Sasuke is so defensive of him, like his brother needs defending, because come on, ANBU? Even Naruto knows Itachi is one of those guys who don't pull their punches, even in practice. He hates those guys, the kind who hurt people even if they don't have to. He thinks Itachi is really cruel, even though he's never spoken more than ten words to the guy. He wonders sometimes if Itachi beats Sasuke. Now THAT makes him angry. He'd kill the guy if it were true. It's not, though. He doesn't really believe it. It's just Sasuke is really, really quiet about Itachi. Like he's embarrassed or something. Sometimes Naruto thinks it'd be better if Itachi just disappeared.

Because sometimes, Sasuke is done being a bastard, and then he is the guy who Naruto trusts his life to, and Sakura's life and Kakashi-sensei's life and Iruka-sensei's life, which is a pretty big deal. He is the guy who is one of the only kids who Naruto can really make smile, even a little. It is never really at his pranks, otherwise he'd pull a lot more of them. Naruto never quite figures out what Sasuke smiles about exactly. It just seems random. He still likes it though. He tells Iruka-sensei that he keeps pulling those stupid pranks because he just wants attention, because that's the easy thing to say, but really it's because he thinks it makes Sasuke smile a little more and even if he's wrong, it's worth it. Iruka-sensei believes the stuff he says, or he says he does, because he'll always trust Naruto.

Sometimes, though, Sasuke is just so weird, and of course Naruto blames it all on his brother, but Itachi doesn't really do anything, he's just there all the time. It's like he can't quite let Sasuke go, and then Naruto thinks sometimes that Sasuke is the same way. He never mentions his brother, but Naruto just knows he's always thinking about the guy. He doesn't really get why. It must be a family thing. He wonders if he could ask Iruka-sensei somehow, but then maybe not.

Sasuke is so damn clingy. Naruto thinks, right before he falls asleep. That part he remembers clearly the next morning.

Itachi did show up at the end of that night, Naruto remembers thinking that the guy was a stalker, in the morning, but then Itachi just shrugged and disappeared again. Sasuke didn't wake, or maybe he just pretended not to, but Naruto did and he stared at that guy silently for a long time. For a minute in the moonlight and the shadow he thinks he'd seen Itachi's eyes turn red, even though he knows that they're big and black, like Sasuke's. Maybe it was the Sharingan. He's seen it before, in Sasuke's eyes. It's cool but creepy. It doesn't look like Sasuke's eyes when he does that, his eyes look painted-over and blank and it's kinda scary because it's not Sasuke, y'know?

Naruto wonders, later, what the hell is going on in that house. But, well, as long as Sasuke isn't going nuts it's gotta be ok, right?

END

A/N: I was struggling with this because I try to give every chapter (and indeed, every work) that I do some sort of general meaning, whether in or out of context, and here (and in Sakura's chapter) I just couldn't really do it properly. Or rather I did but I doubt anyone would catch it, because of how random that was. The title is an example of that. Sometimes the stuff you write only makes sense to you, y'know?

This one wasn't easy for me. I love Naruto, but I can't write him worth a damn. Dunno why. If it's OOC please tell me. I think I am writing him too enthusiastic to hide the fact that I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I adore that mix of clueless-ness and perceptiveness Naruto has sometimes, but I can't get it down on paper.