A/N: Thanks for the enthusiastic reviews for last chapter! I really appreciate them… Well… Hmm. I hope you guys like this chapter too. Always remember to review more – I like t3h reviews! Anyway… on with the show.
Professional Ninja Skills for Idiots
Chapter 2
"HyaaaaaAAA!" Naruto screamed as he slammed his leg into the straw dummy's head, making the inanimate object fly backwards and snap, the force of his kick ripping the "skin" of the "head". With a nasty tearing noise, the cloth that in a previous life had been a potato sack released its contents - straw and grass. They showered the boy with plant matter, but he didn't mind - it smelled quite good, like a spring that had gone old, musty but at the same time full of life.
Panting with exertion, the blond boy gave a little cheer before sinking to the ground, sweat pouring down his forehead. 'Yes! I finally broke the stupid thing!' he thought, tired but triumphant. "Ha-HAH!" the boy gloated out loud, to no-one. He'd found that very little people he knew came to train in the afternoons, except the Genins... but they somehow tended to avoid him, clustering in their own groups. Though Naruto couldn't help but feel hurt, he thought upon retrospect that it wasn't that bad. "I get to use this place all by myself! A future Hokage should be given the space he needs, after all!" he said loudly. "And, I guess they have to train too, and since they're all older than me... I see! I see!" he said, nodding to himself.
It had been a week since he'd gotten the present from Iruka-sensei. 'I've been doing what the book told me to,' he thought, 'but it's actually getting kinda easy. Pretty soon I'll be able to move on to the next level… and then the next… and then! I'll finally be able to beat Sasuke into the ground, the proud idiot! And then, I can beat Kiba…' So lost in pleasant daydreams, Naruto sighed happily and lay down upon the fragrant green. He shifted his head until he found a satisfactory position where no errant tufts of grass were poking his head, and wondered just why he hadn't started training seriously earlier.
The training grounds were really quite pretty. Lush, green grass carpeted the area for as far as the eye could see - the main city was a mile or so away, linked to the training rounds via a path on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy. Trees, with their thick, smooth trunks and overlapping branches, were in abundant supply; the entire area was shady, and pleasant to be in. The area was also quite windy, and when resting as Naruto was currently, one suddenly realized all of these factors and went back to training happy that he had such a nice place to train, and proud of Konohagakure. At least, that was how Naruto felt.
The particular clearing Naruto was in was quite large, and there were a line of dummies similar to the one Naruto had just busted. A few villagers came by every night to replace the dummies, and so the training grounds were quite well maintained.
Taijutsu wasn't Naruto's strong point (not that anything was, really), but lately, it seemed that it had been getting better, all of which was due to the extra time he spent training every day. Now, the Genin exam might still be quite far off - but! It was still quite tough. He thought he had a pretty good chance of passing the taijutsu component pretty well, though.
Of course, he had this all thanks to Iruka-sensei. Recalling just how Iruka had managed to turn Naruto about so startlingly was one of Naruto's favourite pastimes - he really, really wished that the elder Chuunin had given the present earlier. Perhaps, then, he might have been able to actually beat that stupid Sasuke... or maybe he might have been able to attract the attention of the gorgeous Sakura-chan. Then he would really prove that he wasn't the worst ninja in the whole class. "Iruka-sensei really is very nice..." Naruto said to himself. "I know! I know! Maybe... if I save up enough from the weekly allowance the old man gives me, I can treat him to ramen! Though," he grumbled, "Iruka-sensei really can afford that for himself..."
Closing his eyes, the hyperactive little shinobi sighed happily again, already imagining the godly taste of the sinfully silky noodles sliding down his throat, the broth-like soup made up of so many spices and herbs... ramen had to be what everyone got every day in heaven. It was that good. Naruto was so caught up in his thoughts that he never heard the footsteps approaching, as leather sandals crunched on dry grass to give off a crackling noise.
"Hey, dobe. What're you doing here, and why are you drooling?" he heard someone say. Opening an eye, he glared angrily at the intruder.
'Sasuke!' Naruto thought. A tall, pale youth with striking black hair all in spikes and falling around the fringes of his face, Sasuke was the top of the class - and Naruto's eternal enemy. One would think that the top of the class and the class clown (and almost permanent failure, though he'd been doing better as of late) would be unlikely enemies, especially when you factored in that one was quiet, dark, and brooding, and the other was... well, as extroverted as you could get. He leapt to his feet and prepared to retort.
"Dammit, bastard, don't call me that!" he replied hotly. "And I was NOT drooling!" However, the blond boy was somewhat doubtful of his claim, and quickly wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his orange jumpsuit.
"I will. And you were. Why are you training here..." the brunette glanced at the straw dummy, "...since I've absolutely no information that has led me to believe that you paid any attention in school or cared anything about becoming a Genin?"
Dammit! How the heck did that bastard manage to sound so calm and cool! Naruto fumed angrily about the matter, quickly trying to think up a witty reply. Unfortunately, the blond's brain, which wasn't very sharp in the first place due to lack of use and had already been trying to cope with Naruto's sudden burst of intellectual usage, struggled to deliver a satisfactory answer - the operative term being "struggled".
"I care more about becoming a Genin than you could know about or care to know!" he blurted. Hmm. That hadn't sounded half bad! He mentally gave his brain a pat on the back. He followed it up with the burning ambition that had haunted him since he had, as a child, seen the looks of pure respect and adoration the people gave the Third. "And one day... though you may not believe me... I'll be Hokage!"
"Yeah, whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes. The boy wore clothes that were blue, a deep blue that was not unlike the colour water became when you were about a mile down from the surface. Or so Naruto imagined. A pair of white shorts completed the outfit, and the Uchiha had a backpack casually slung onto his back. "So. Move over, and let me train here." Sasuke stated calmly.
"What!" the blond's anger suddenly overflowed, not unlike fizzy sodas that bubbled over the top when you poured them into cups too fast. "No way, you bastard! I was here first!"
They stared at each other, Naruto's almost crystal-like bright blue eyes boring their way into Sasuke's dark, liquid ones. "So?"
"So I have the right to this place, dammit!"
Finally, after a few seconds that seemed like minutes, Sasuke looked away, to Naruto's surprise. The youth relaxed his face, his expression turning into one of confusion.
"Okay," Sasuke shrugged. "I'll go somewhere else." As he prepared to leave, Naruto suddenly felt unsure, his anger boiling away. Sasuke was the first one who hadn't treated him like that just because... just because he was him; he treated everyone like that. Which actually wasn't very nice. 'But…' Naruto thought.
"Hey, you moron. I didn't mean it like that." Naruto's voice called, rougher but somehow soft. "There's a lot of space over here; you can use the dummies to the left, and I can use the ones here."
The brunette paused, stopping in his tracks. Then he turned around, a arrogant look in his eyes, and a smirk on his face. "Who cares? I don't need to train near a dobe like you anyway. It might affect my performance." With that, he continued on his way."
'WHAT!' the quick-tempered blond thought, furious. "Why, you... dammit, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A FIGHT!" he yelled, swinging a finger at him like he was going to kill him with the velocity of it. His mood quickly changed, from semi-peaceful to roaring angry.
The brunette snorted, raising a hand to stop whatever protests the blond might have. "Save it. You're so weak right now, it wouldn't even be a challenge to utterly beat you into the ground."
"Like real! Teme... take this, you pompous ass!" Naruto snarled, dashing towards his rival, arm coiled back in preparation for a devastating punch... if it had landed.
The Uchiha bent down, letting his opponent's fist pass harmlessly over his back, barely touching it. Naruto cursed angrily as he realized that his lower body was now open to attack, and tried to twist his body, shielding himself with his hip. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke, with incredible speed, grabbed his foot and pushed up, taking a few quick steps forward.
Overbalanced, Naruto could only flail about while yelling incoherently. "Let go of me! Argh!"
The brunette, clearly with the advantage, lifted up the leg with his left hand to the very top, until Naruto was practically doing a vertical split. "Ow, ow, owww! Hey, put me down! You moron! Let's see you deal with this!" the loud-mouthed ninja lifted up his other foot and kicked his opponent across the face, not unlike what he had done earlier to his dummy, then quickly lifted up his arms to protect his body as Sasuke, reeling back in pain, dropped him. He fell with a thump on the ground, but cushioned by the grass, he quickly recovered.
"You hit me," the dark-haired boy said, his face going even paler.
Naruto snorted in derision, flipping back onto his feet. "Scared of a little contact, Sasuke-chan? Looks like you made the wrong choice when you decided to be in the Academy and be a ninja. Just go home and cry, if you're so devastated over this. Nyah, nyah!" the prankster sneered, making a slightly frightening face he appeared to think of as taunting.
"You're dead last, and you hit me," Sasuke repeated, in shock that rapidly turned to anger. "Damn you, I'll show you what true skills are," he said grimly. "Let's see you laugh after this!" So saying, he almost flew towards Naruto, his speed was so great.
Before Naruto could react, he felt two powerful blows in his stomach. He doubled over in pain as Sasuke followed it up with a lashing kick to his gut. Falling to his knees, Naruto barely had a moment of respite before the brunette backhand-slapped him in the face, sending him back onto the ground. Bruised and injured, the blond managed to struggle to his feet, to see a scornful Sasuke looking down on him.
"Next time, practice more before you even think of challenging me... about ten years or so of practice." With that, the brunette turned on his heel and stalked off. Unseen by him, Naruto fell onto the grass, panting heavily.
It was a while before he regained his normal status. 'Dammit, dammit, dammit! I can't believe I lost... again! Of course, I actually got a hit on him this time... which was more than I could say the last time. Oh well.' So thinking, the ninja rose wearily and walked to a tree that he leaned on before sliding slowly to the floor. "You won't win next time, Sasuke-bastard!" he muttered to himself. At least, not if Naruto had anything to do with it...
"What did Iruka-sensei tell me again..? I should 'analyze the fight', whatever that means. Stupid Iruka-sensei, always talking in riddles... there wasn't that much to look at anyway, all I could see was a blur before I got hit," the perky little ninja grumbled. "I suppose that kinda means I should improve my speed... how, though?" he frowned, struggling with it. "Iruka-sensei should definitely know... I'll go ask him, then." This having been decided in Naruto's mind, the blond stood up determinedly, and took off at a running pace for the Ninja Academy.
END CHAPTER 2
A/N: Ah, Naruto and Sasuke have clashed. Naruto is the loser; will he remain so for long? Or will Sasuke forever be a step ahead?
BTW, by your votes, I have seen these results:
NaruSasu – 3
NaruTemari – 2 (Awww…)
NaruIno – 1
NaruSaku – 2
NaruTen – 2
NaruHeckLottaGirls – 1 (OO) (OO) (wtf?)
NaruHina – 0 (Whoa! Surprising, that.)
And one vote for: NotYaoi + NotHinata. So… continue to vote! There'll probably be about 1 chapter more before romance kicks in, so hurry up! I need time to gear my fanfic towards a certain pairing, so…
And I support NaruTemari! Since I'm the author, that makes it NaruTemari – 99999! Nah, I'm not that evil. So… vote away.
SD