Author- CloudNeroZ
Parings- Sasuke/Naruto (later)
Warning: Yaoi (later) Don't like? Don't read! OOC-ish, just because I have only ever read the manga. AU-ish, I did this for a creative writing class so not every thing is correct… I changed some of the story, but they are still ninjas and rivals. Ititach is not evil and never killed anyone.
Email- Favorite Idiot
Sasuke POV
As I sneak a quick glance behind me I see my pursuer slowly catching up to me. I gasp loudly as I feel a protruding root catch my foot. I stumble but quickly catch myself and break into an even faster run. Not like the idiot chasing me could ever match my speed but I don't want him to think he has a chance at catching up. He's yelling my name now, like I am going to slow down to see what he wants. What an idiot. I gracefully leap over a fallen tree and smirk. I bet the idiot will hit that. Sure enough five seconds later I hear a "thwap" followed by a string of curses coming from him. He is slowing down now and has finally shut up. I hear the rushing of water, this means the river is near. I run the final distance and stop in the small clearing next to the river. He stops behind me and tries to catch his breath.
" You run way to fast!" He said shaking his head.
" You run to slow." I retorted. He stuck his tongue out at me. How mature.
I wait a few moments to allow him to catch his breath. It would be no fun beating him if I had an unfair advantage. I lean down to adjust the heavy weights wrapped around my legs. After they are readjusted I adjust the ones on my arms. The weights do make it harder to fight but they train my muscles faster then if I didn't use them.
This was just like any other day. We race to the river, I win, he catches his breath and then we fight. We do the same thing every day. After all we are supposed to be rivals and what would everyone say if we didn't have our daily fight? I turn to see that he is still trying to breathe. I did sort of run faster than what I normally do. Tomorrow I will go slower so my friend won't have this problem again. My friend? Naruto, my rival, the bane of my existence, my friend? Yes, I suppose that somewhere along the way we had became friends. Unlikely I know. With his hair so blond it was almost white, and my hair a deep black. His sunny personality and my brash, sarcastic mood. Yes, we are opposites in every sense of the word yet, still friends. But don't think that I would ever tell him that.
"Are you ready idiot?" That sounded a bit to harsh even to me. He looks at me with a lop-sided grin that tells me all I need to know.
I take my stance as he takes his. A stare down begins. I won't attack first this time. I will let him think he has the upper hand and then strike. I switch my stance into a defensive one to let him know I will not attack. He grins and launches himself at me. I block the first punch aimed for my cheek but allow his kick to hit my side. His eyes widen and I can tell he is pleased with himself. My side actually hurts as I twist to guard against his attacks. He is getting better. I let his right arm swing past my head and I grab the moving arm with both hands. I quickly knock his feet from under him and he crashes to the ground. As a result of me holding his arm, his face ended up hitting the muddy grass. I let out a chuckle when he raises his head to glare at me. His entire face is covered with mud. I let him yank his arm out of my grasp and he wipes some of the mud off.
I know the frown on his face is fake. He is probably laughing on the inside. He always expects to lose to me in our fights. So when ever he lands some attacks he becomes very proud, a little too proud if you ask me. Even though he is a year older than me his skill is not yet at my level. I think it is because he doesn't take anything seriously. He thinks everything is a big joke. Such an idiot. I know the day will come when he has to face the fact that life is no game and that we train for a reason. A part of me wishes that I could be like him, so carefree and happy. But I know I can not ever be like that. Not until I avenge my older brother's death. We were so close when it happened. He was my best friend and my teacher. There was only three years separating us but it seemed like much more. His eyes always hid something. They were always so sad looking, even when he was smiling it would seem like it saddened him to do it. He seemed to know to much for a person so young. The coward who killed him ran away after he had did the deed. My brother had died protecting me and I swore that day I would not let his murderer escape with out punishment. That is why I train. I never want to feel helpless like that and lose someone else I care about. I train to protect. After all these years I still have no idea why Naruto trains.
I finally snap out of my thoughts to find Naruto missing from his place on the ground. Where did he go? A hard hit slams into the back of my neck that makes me see stars. Oh, there he is. I feel the rushed kick to my lower back as I am shot forward by the force of the kick. I try to land on my feet but to my dismay the ground has gone missing. That stupid idiot had pushed me into the river! He knows I can't swim! My body splashes into the cold water and I can feel the tiny bubbles brushing against my skin as they rush to the surface. I try to swing my arms in circles like I have seen Naruto do but I can not. My arms are very heavy, too heavy! My bruising back lands on the bottom of the calm river. I try to move my arms again but they won't. Why can't I move them? Oh yeah my weights. Crap. My eyes search wildly for anything that can help me. Nothing! All I can feel is the mushy sand of the river bed and the ache in my lungs. The feeling of weakness sinks into my heart. I have failed. Burning lungs interrupt my self loathing. I need air! I see an eclipse over the sun above the water. It must be Naruto! Hopefully he has realized I am not coming up. He is just standing there! Do something you idiot! Think Naruto, think. Remember, I can't swim.
Finally, I see the water being disturbed by an object diving into the chilled water. My eyes close as I struggle to not breath in the cold water. Naruto's arms wrap around my waist and he tries to use the floor as a spring to get to the surface. We don't move. I open my eyes and looked pleadingly at him. He looks oddly at me as if asking why. Come on you idiot, think! I jerk my head toward my left arm trying to hint at the problem. My lungs are about to burst, and I just want him to understand! His eyes follow my gaze and he realizes the source of the problem. He rips the heavy weights from my arms and then my legs. He spares me a quick glance to make sure I am still okay as he once again wraps his arms around me and pushes from the floor shooting us toward the surface. I would help him but I can't. I need air badly.
We break the surface and I gulp down as much air as I can. He swims us to the bank and hauls us out of the water. I collapse on the ground, my face looking at the warm sun as it heats my tired, chilled body. Naruto crawls over me and stares at me with wide, concerned eyes. It seems a little fitting that he would be the one next to the clear sky. His eyes shinning the same sparkling blue that is displayed above us. It also seems fitting that I am the one on the muddy grass, my eyes reflecting the muted green on which I lay. I brush him off with a wave of my hand and sit up. He sits back on his heels and waits for me to say something. I can tell he thinks I'm mad. Should I thank him or scream at him?
"What the hell took you so long idiot? I'm not a freaking fish you know!" Yelling works for me. But then he looks at me with such sadness in his eyes it reminds me of my brother…
"I meant thanks idiot." He perks up at this knowing it is my way of saying I was sorry. I am beginning to think I call him an idiot to much. In fact, I don't think I have ever called him by his actual name. He doesn't seem to mind though.
" Come on, lets go now and eat." He must have sensed my tiredness. I sit there for a second before trying to move from my spot.
"I am so hungry! Let's eat! Please?" Okay, maybe the idiot sensed his hunger rather than my weariness. I fully stand up and force my aching tired muscles to carry me back to the village.
The walk into the village is quiet and usually we do not talk. Naruto is absently tossing a knife expertly from hand to hand in boredom. As we pass the wooden sign reading " Leaf Village 1 Mile" Naruto flings the blade and it lands perfectly sticking out of the 1. He turns to me and smiles a stupid grin as he runs to the sign, pulling out the blade. That is one thing I have always been envious of Naruto for. He had such a perfect aim. No matter how much I trained I could never match his skill.
"Why do you do this?" This has been something I have always wondered.
"Do what?" Of course he doesn't understand what I am asking.
"This," I say with an accompanying wave of my hand. "Why do you train?"
"You know why! Because we have to protect our village." He says as if I should have known the answer. When both of us were small we would always fight. No one could stop us. So, when we were ten the village leader decided that it would be a good idea to put our fights to good use and made us the next village protectors. Now we must train everyday so that when the time comes, we will be ready. Naruto continues ahead and I drop the subject. Maybe he really does train because of that.
We head toward our favorite restaurant instead of our village. It is a bit secluded and far from the village but the service and food make up for the walk. As we approach the restaurant I sense something very wrong. Naruto does too. We stop and look for any signs that something is amiss. We scope it out until our favorite waitress comes running out of the door.
"Oh thank goodness you two are here!" She latched onto Naruto's arm as she cries into his sleeve.
"Mao, what's wrong?" He asks softly. Naruto always was better at comforting people then I was. She turns her tear streaked face to look at me.
" A man came in and just started to kill the customers! It's horrible! I escaped out the back exit. Please stop him before he kills any more." Her soft voice cracks and she takes off for the village, hopefully to get help. I look at Naruto and he returns my gaze. I am about to ask him if he wanted to do this but he beat me to it.
"Are you sure you are up to this? You're still hurt and you almost drowned. We can go get help but it may be too late if we do." He wants to do this I can tell. Maybe he has realized this is no game and that we need to protect these people. There is no question in my mind, we must help these innocent people.
"Let's go idiot. Remember this is for real, no joking around or you may end up dead." I know I didn't need to say it because I could tell he would take this seriously.
Not wasting another second we both rush to the entrance to the restaurant. We slip inside as slowly as we can and we take in the damage. The tables are all broken along with the chairs. There is food and broken glass covering the floor. I count the people on the ground not moving, four. He has killed four. Four innocent people! My heart aches for them and in the corner of my eye I see Naruto starting toward one of the bodies. I grab his hand and shake my head. There are more important things to worry about now. I search the rampaged room for the murderer. All that can be seen is a group of scared villagers shaking in the corner. Finally, I spot a large man facing the back door. He lets a low rumbling laugh escape his lips and I know I have heard that sinister laugh somewhere before.
"Hey! Turn around and face up to the crimes you have committed!" Naruto must be angry.
The criminal lets out another laugh as he turns around. The first thing I notice is the smirk on his nasty face. The second is the angry red scar traveling from the top of his forehead, across his left eye, and finally stopping right before his ear. I know that scar! My brother gave his murder a scar just like that before his life was taken. Understanding slams into me hard. My brothers murder is standing right in front of me! Anger fills me as my eyes narrow. I notice that his armor is made of Kunai. Rows of the deadly knives lined his chest and arms. The murder sees us and smiles with the wickedest grin I have ever seen. He must remember me.
"Want me to kill another loved one brat?" Oh yeah, he remembers. I can see the confusion on Naruto's face. When his confusion turns to anger I know he understands who is standing in front of us.
"The only one dying today is you, you murdering coward!" Naruto always did have a way with words.
"Ha! You brats think you can defeat me? The great Kurokami? Try and die!" He is even more of an idiot than Naruto. At least now I know his name. Not that it will belong to him for long anyway. Finally, my brother will be able to rest in peace.
The coward quickly draws two of his kunai and flings them both at us with precision. We were ready for his attack though and both of us move out of the path of the knives. I ready myself for an attack and I see Naruto do the same.
"No." I simply tell Naruto. He looks at me with confused eyes.
"This is my fight, not yours." I can tell he wants to argue but he simply switches his stance into a defensive pose. I nod my appreciation at him as I focus on the coward glaring at me. I launch a punch-kick combo at him and he blocks it! Damn, he's fast. This may require a bit more work that what I had thought. We continue to fight and to my dismay none of my attacks are getting through his guard. Quickly, he changes his stance from defensive to offensive. He kicks my chest painfully hard, knocking the wind from my lungs. I fly back and land on a broken chair. I hurriedly try to get air back into my lungs.
I watch as he runs to Naruto and punches him in the face and kicks him away in the same fashion he had done to me. I then watch in horror as his pulls two Kunai from their harness and prepares to thrown them at the dazed Naruto. I rush from my spot with out thinking and dash in front of Naruto. I see Kurokami let the Kunai fly from his hand. Time seems to slow to a whisper. I watch the knives head toward me and I reach my hand out. I grasp one of the thrown Kunai keeping it from hitting it's mark. I hold my breath and wait. I hear a pitiful groan from behind me and I turn my head toward the noise, keeping the front of my body from view. Naruto's grimace turns into a smile as he sees the Kunai in my hand, thinking I had stopped my own doom. He races next to me and I turn my hazy eyes on him. He reaches the front of me and his eyes widen impossibly huge. I follow his eyes to see a Kunai protruding from my chest. Okay, now I feel the intense pain from the knife that is protruding from my body. I sway on my feet and fall forward onto my knees. Naruto's eyes tear up as he glares at the Kunai in my hand.
"Why?" He chokes out and it sounds more like a sob then a word.
"This one would have hit you had I not caught it." My voices sounds very weak, I wonder if it really sounds like that or if I just think it does.
"But why?" I can tell he is trying with all of his might not to cry.
"People like you need protecting and it is my job to make sure you survive." That wasn't why I had done it. I hadn't even know I had gotten up until I saw the knives headed towards me. My body had moved under it's own will. Why did I grab the one kunai headed for Naruto?
The murdering bastard chuckles, proud of his work no doubt. Naruto's eyes flash with an emotion I had never seen in those blue depths before. In a rage, he snatches the Kunai from my hand and hurls it with great speed and aim toward the coward. I see the murderers head snap to the side. I think Naruto has killed him until the coward turns his smirking face towards us. I look pass his disgusting face to see the knife embedded in the wall. Naruto missed! He never misses! The last of my strength gives out at the sight of this and I fall forward. Naruto is there and he catches me before I push the imbedded Kunai in further. He turns my weak body over so I have my back against the hard-wood floor. He stands up and launches an attack at the criminal. He fights better then I have ever seen before but not good enough. He will lose I know. I close my eyes so I do not have to witness it happen.
"Get up idiot and fight!" What the? That was my brothers voice, am I dead already?
"No, you are not dead, but you will be soon. Now get up my little idiot and avenge me!" But I can't! I am too weak!
"No, you are not. Now get up and help Naruto, if you don't he will die too." I then feel a push making my sit up. I scurry to my feet with a strength I had not known was left. I can see Naruto still fighting and it seems that he had somehow acquired one of the murders kunai and was fighting with it. I start towards the fight as I rip the knife from my chest. Pain explodes in me but I disregard it as I begin to fight along side Naruto. The criminal is so surprised to see me fighting that my punch to his face goes unblocked. Naruto looks at me with huge eyes and then smirks as he kicks the murder in the stomach. The murder ends up on the floor grasping his middle. Naruto and I both stand back to back and let the kunai fly from our hands. As I see both of the knives make their mark I feel relief flow though me. Both of us had aimed for the heart and my knife was the one to hit the mark perfectly, Naruto's was a bit off. I smile at Naruto and try not to collapse from blood loss and pain but I fail. I stagger forward but Naruto is there to catch me. He wraps my arm around his neck and starts to walk us to the village. I try to keep up but I just can not do it. Naruto must see this as he stops to pick me up. I try to resist but in my weekend state I can not do much. He looks down at me with his huge blue eyes that are still teary.
"You are going to be fine Sasuke. You'll see." he then smiles at me with such warmth I can only say one thing.
"Let's go home, Naruto."
TBC? Read and review and we will see… :P