Kicking Sasuke's ass always gives me a rush. When it's just me and him fighting I have to be creative, you know? Like, I have to find a new way every time because he never falls for the same thing twice. It's just one on one, me and him, and it's fair, which is why it pisses me off so bad when I have to be the diversion and "take down as many as possible," like he said. Actually it has nothing to do with Sasuke, but when we're fighting, we fight as equals. It's like, it's kind of like, well...Fuck.
Sometimes I have these dreams about tearing apart Konoha and everything's on fire and I'm killing people left and right and it's people I know and I'm just killing them and I know it's Kyuubi, like a memory or something, but it's like it's me doing it, so when I have to fight all these people that don't stand a chance it feels like I'm just doing what everyone thinks I would do, like the villagers and stuff, you know? Like I'm just...I don't know. I don't like doing it. I've spent my whole life trying to prove everyone wrong about me, that I'm not a drop out, and now it just seems like I'm proving them right in a whole other way. So I hate when people just tell me to powerhouse my way all over the place because that's not what I want to be known as. And lately, well, now's not the time to get into it, but I've been having some chakra issues lately, so once I decide to get serious, things get really serious. Right now though, I don't have a choice.
I let off my chakra control a little bit and let it channel through my body. It's always a rush doing that, like turning a faucet on full blast. Suddenly a five ton beast kneeling on my back is nothing at all and I just roll onto one shoulder to give myself some leverage and propel myself to the side with one foot, sending Thug Number One skidding to the side. I regain my footing in time to block the next punch. Thugs Two and Three are going for me, and as Three comes up from behind I leap backwards into him, knocking him into the ground and using my momentum I grab Two's arm as he tries to deck me and pull him down, kicking him in the stomach and flipping him over me as we go down. Four comes at me with an elite thug club, and it's too easy to wrench it out of his hand and snap his arm as he takes a swing at me. The way they're moving, they're so slow, like it's through tar instead of air. It's ridiculous, there's no way they can win. Before Four can even fall I leap for his throat, snapping his neck in a clean motion, which takes me to Number Five, who had been hanging back. I don't blame him. I mean, these are just guys. Sure they're kidnappers and they've probably killed people, but fuck, I kill people.
I fling two shuriken behind me towards Three who was starting to stand up. I hear them impact as I draw a kunai and gut Five from sternum to groin. What the hell am I doing? These are just guys, they're just trying to get by, same as me, what the hell am I doing? Three's on his back with shuriken in his chest and throat. I turn to face Two and Six. I tense and go for them, their eyes are like plates and the smell of fear and sweat is so thick I can feel it in my lungs. I lunge at them, ready to end this and – wait, now I'm going sideways. I didn't even see Seven coming from the right, a lot faster than those thugs can move. It's half a second before I realize it's Sasuke, dragging my ass through the woods, and he's livid. We're a good ways away before I finally manage to break away from him, he was practically carrying me. I sort of scramble away from him and get my footing. He's breathing real heavy through his nostrils and his teeth are clenched so tight I can see the muscles in his jaw working.
"What the hell did you do that for?" I scream at him. The only reason I don't punch him in the face is...no reason, so I punch him in the face. "What the hell did you do that for?" I scream again. Of course he punches me right back but I'm so wired I don't even feel it.
"We don't have time for this" he yells at me, and turns towards where Sakura probably went off with the kid. I grab his shoulder and spin him around to face me, ready to deck him but he grabs my wrist before I do.
"Naruto!" He says.
"What the hell did you do that for!" I shout again. My voice starts cracking in a really unimpressive way, and even I don't know what I'm talking about, pulling me out or sending me in like that in the first place. I'm about six seconds from freaking out, and I'd really rather not do that in front of Sasuke, so I just keep yelling, trying to pull my wrist away from him so I can hit him again.
"What the hell did you--"
"We have to go," he snaps, and starts pulling me through the woods. I almost fall over, but stumble after him since I don't have a choice while he's got my arm. Once we get going I jerk my wrist away, but keep fallowing him. The running's kind of calming me down. We haul ass until we catch up with Sakura and by then I'm pretty much normal except I want to keep running but I can't since we have to regroup. Sakura's got the kid, looks like half boy half octopus the way he's hanging onto her neck with his legs around her waist. His eyes are all huge and he looks way past freaked, like he doesn't know what to do, so he's just hanging there. Then Sasuke belts me one and sends me sprawling, and he starts yelling and I start yelling and the kid starts crying and Sakura's about ready to hit the roof. Which there isn't a roof since we're in the woods.
"What the fuck happened back there?" Sasuke demands, pointing back towards the secret lair like I don't know where he's talking about. "We were supposed to get in and get out, and you start screwing around--"
"Fuck you, bastard!" I yell from the ground, raising myself up on one elbow. "We don't always have to do everything exactly how you say!"
"You do when I'm leading the team!"
"Well you're a crappy leader!" That fucking arrogant, self-centered bastard! I'm on my feet now and I swear to God I'm going to kill him.
"It's the shit you pull that gets people killed, not what I--"
"Fuck you Sasuke, that was not my fault that guy got--"
"STOP!" Sakura shouts with all that surprise volume I told you about, looking like she's kill us both if she wasn't holding the screaming kid. "That is enough, both of you!"
If the kid wasn't still screaming you could probably hear a pin drop. Sakura never yells at Sasuke and when I glance at him from the corner of my eye he looks totally shocked. Haha, take that, bastard, you're in just as much trouble as me. Any minute now she's gonna completely flip. Just as long as she tears Sasuke a new one too, and not just me.
Yeah, any minute now. I brace myself.
"We have to get back," she says, calm as anything, and turns and starts walking, just ignoring the little screaming squid she's carrying. After a minute Sasuke gives me this glare and follows after her.
"What the hell?" I shout. I haven't even moved. "Is that it? What were you--"
Sakura pivots and cuts me off with this looks that's like molten lava.
"I have completely had it with the two of you bickering like little kids!" She starts, building up steam. The kid's still screaming and she raises her voice to be heard over him. "We're supposed to be professionals, you two are chunnin! Did it ever occur to you that you just broadcast our position to anyone in this forest? And now we're just standing here, asking for trouble because you two can't work together as a team! Naruto, you jeopardized the entire mission with that stunt and Sasuke, you have been just plain pissy lately, and I'm not just talking about this mission!"
I really wish I hadn't said anything. I don't know if she'll ever stop now since she's got going.
"We have at least two days ahead of us, and if you two can't get over whatever the hell is wrong with you, you can bet the Hokage's going to hear about it! Do I make myself clear?"
Jeez, she sounds like Iruka-sensei, lecturing like this.
"I said AM I CLEAR!"
"Ah, ye-yes!" She is going to make a terrifying mother some day. She turns on Sasuke and levels him with a glare of death.
"Yeah, we're clear," he mutters, looking away.
"Alright then, let's go." She says, and walks off like she's the only one there. Somewhere along the line the kid stopped crying, probably because he was afraid for his life. Seeing Sasuke cowed in the face of true terror is enough to make the rest of my week though. I don't even care that I just got railed out. I'm too busy committing this moment to memory that I don't even notice how far ahead they're getting.
"Hey, hey! Wait up!" I call after them, and run to catch up. I'm still kind of jumpy, and still pissed at Sasuke, but I chalk it up to him being a bastard and try to forget about it. No point in ruining what's suddenly turned into a good day. Sort of.