FIRST STORY.
Be nice to me. .
Wait, Huh?
Chapter
two:
Bruised.
(There is absolutely no NaruSasu. I promise. And Sasuke will meet Hinata in this chapter. Everyone's in eighth grade.)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. Every night, you should pray that I will never own Naruto.
R&R. but mostly…
Eat
cookies.
And enjoy. :)
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The gentle rain felt like needles on Sasuke's aching body. He was sore and on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. His head darted from side to side, examining the buildings around him, his vision blurred from motion and the rain. Ebon locks were utterly soaked, flattened and clinging to his head and neck. Droplets of water rolled off of his skin, and spattered against the asphalt. His shoes splashed through the puddles, making a clapping sound as they made contact with the surface of the water.
Finally! There. Sasuke bounded toward a shabby-looking apartment, immediately slipping on the wet asphalt and falling on face. He quickly stood up and staggered forward. Half his forehead was throbbing, and his hands were scraped and black from the pavement. He swallowed the pain, and looked up at the apartment again.
The rain was rolling off the roof, spilling from the edges in buckets. Sasuke had to walk through it to get to the door, but he hardly noticed at all. The gutters made a racket as the water traveled through them, and rattled down the pipes onto the ground again.
The Uchiha's fists rose aggressively, pounding on the door. He paused for a moment, moving his pointer finger to the door bell and pressing it repeatedly. He quit on that, too, and nearly bashed the door in kicking it.
Finally, the dobe came to the door. It creaked open about six inches, and half of Naruto's face was visible. Sasuke inwardly hit the fox boy over the head for wearing that stupid hat. One blue eye locked onto him, showing surprise. His obsidian orbs stared back placidly - and innocently, considering all the noise he had just been making. There was no emotion on the boy's pale face, save for the slightest hint of amusement.
Naruto looked very shocked.
His jaw dropped open slightly, and he stood silently, totally locked in place. There was his friend, the object of his jealousy, the heart-throb of the town, the coolest guy in Konoha, the number one rookie, standing at his door, soaking wet. Naruto stood there in awe. Sasuke, well. He quickly got agitated by Naruto's silence.
"... Hn. Let me in."
Naruto snapped out of it as soon as his ears picked up Sasuke's voice. He quickly gained composure, and Sasuke eyed him with amusement as he straightened up, and cleared his throat. However, he narrowed his eyes to the coy grin that replaced his previous confused expression.
"Why should I?"
Sasuke flinched, causing a drop of water to hurry itself down his arm. He rolled his dark eyes, and sighed.
"Because I'll hurt you."
"No way."
Sasuke's eyes darted immediately into Naruto's, sending him a death glare. The boy nearly trembled, but remained arrogant, and held his head high. Sasuke kept at it, until the only thing the blonde could do was speak. Of course, as soon as he parted his lips, Sasuke decided to cut him off.
"Let me in."
"Why were you out in the rain, teme?"
Naruto had ignored him, which seriously ticked Sasuke off. He scowled at him.
"Is that important? Let me in."
The boy peered up at his forehead, and Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. It was a bit awkward with the dobe staring at him that way. He looked off at the corner.
"Sasuke, your forehead is turning red…"
The Uchiha grimaced. He was starting to bruise from his little fall. He glanced quickly at his hands, pressing them against his sides to hide them.
"A-are you going to let me in?" he snapped, somewhat embarrassed. He would strangle the dobe if he asked what happened.
Naruto just smirked again, making Sasuke fume.
"No."
Raven hair once plastered to the shadowy boy's neck was lifted as he dove slightly toward the blonde. A snarl and wide, angry eyes were visible. He grabbed the collar of the other boy's shirt, and instead of being lifted to Sasuke's face, Naruto's head bashed into the door frame. The Uchiha let go immediately, looking to the corner again, embarrassed for thinking Naruto would somehow go through the wall. He didn't dare look at the kid, who was now rubbing his red, left-forehead, which mirrored Sasuke's.
They stood there for a moment, Sasuke's arms crossed, Naruto making a throaty noise out of pain. After a while, the dark-haired Uchiha got testy, and made eye-contact again.
"Let me in, Uzumaki," he said, his words harsh and sharp.
Naruto didn't answer right away. In fact, he didn't even attempt to start speaking at all. Sasuke got pissy, and he narrowed his eyes at the other boy. His fingers flinched at his side, which caught Naruto's attention. His blue eyes became wide, and he immediately swung the door open, nearly bashing the other side of his forehead, which was already hosting a red mark from the edge of the door.
Sasuke walked in, attempting to go through Naruto, who was pushed to the left, and staggered to keep upright.
Two ebonite eyes narrowed at the sight, and a dripping-wet Uchiha stopped dead in his tracks. The two were quiet, the only sound being the small patter of water droplets hitting the linoleum floor of Naruto's… kitchen. Sasuke looked around. Pots and pans lying all over, bowls, utensils, plates, cups, garbage… Everywhere. Naruto made a sound along the lines of 'hmph', thinking to himself 'it's not THAT bad…' However, he was terribly embarrassed, and it definitely put him off when Sasuke just stood there, with a look of sheer bewilderment on his face.
So, the blonde grabbed his elbow, and led him to the living room – which I might add was quite messy as well. Sasuke maneuvered around the things carelessly left about, sweating as he jumped and side-stepped here and there, dragged by a fuming Naruto, who seemed to have memorized what was where, and stepped around them without even looking down. By the time they reached Naruto's beige couch, Sasuke was panting, and giving sighs of relief. The blonde gave him a look, and he returned it with a 'hmph' and a glance over to the corner.
"Sleep there."
"I'm… wet."
Naruto barely managed to hold in a giggle at the comment, but unfortunately could not suppress a rather large, toothy smile. Sasuke hissed at him.
"Dobe…"
His fingers twitched again, and Naruto made it his business to get out of there. He was in a rush, thus tripped over the leg of the round, mahogany side-table standing innocently next to the couch. He fell into a stack of books, making them fly everywhere. Of course, he ignored all of this, got up, and ran to the bathroom. Sasuke sweat-dropped.
He stared at the blonde as he bolted back to him, a lavender towel in his hand. Sasuke didn't ask, just dried himself off as best he could, and lay the towel over the couch after brushing off all the junk. His next move was to stare at the fox boy, who of course, didn't realize what Sasuke was looking at him for, being so dense. After a while, Sasuke got pissy again.
"Go."
Naruto left immediately. It was weird of him to not be arrogant and headstrong, and retort at Sasuke. The Uchiha shrugged it off, and just sat down on the couch. He removed his shoes, trying not to view the room, then stood up and stripped to his boxers. He pulled a thick, decorative throw off of the armrest, and draped it over his body. It was uncomfortable, but the only real option he had. He refused to sleep with his boxers exposed.
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The Morning.
---
Obsidian orbs fluttered open, viewing a dingy, stained ceiling. Sasuke immediately made a weird look, due to the tri-color of it; cream/ramen-colored. The Uchiha didn't even bother trying to figure out how Naruto managed to get ramen on the ceiling.
His eyes searched for a clock. Anywhere… he had to have one. Finally, they landed on a digital that sat on the side-table. It looked dusty and un-touched. He didn't really care, the only thing that bothered him was that it faced forward, and he couldn't see the numbers from the side. He swung his legs over, pushing the throw off of him. Just before his toes hit the ground, Sasuke made sure he wasn't about to step into something gross, or on something he could break.
Slowly, stepping around everything carefully, he made his way to the clock. His black eyes focused onto the green numbers, which read "6:39." Sasuke yawned quietly, and picked up his clothes, which were still a bit damp. He put the throw back over the armrest, and somehow found the bathroom to put the towel back in place. A smirk formed on Sasuke's lips. 'This is probably the most cleaning Naruto's apartment has ever seen…' he mused to himself.
On the way out of the bathroom, Sasuke caught his reflection in the mirror, and froze in place, one leg already in the air. His head very slowly turned to the right, and he fell over… anime-style. His hair had dried unevenly in bumps, and his skin looked like a mess. Eyes shut tight, and body still on the cold, tile floor, Sasuke dragged himself to the door, bashing his head on it of course, because he couldn't see. A shaky hand reached up to the doorknob, and Sasuke got himself out of there standing. Somehow.
Regaining his composure, the Uchiha navigated around the mess to the kitchen, where he found a scrap of paper and a pencil. It was the easiest thing in the world, he just had to scan the counter for it. He sat down in a boring wood chair, and scooted in toward the kitchen table. He knocked a few things out of his way and thought of what to write. "Thanks." He erased it. Ew. "Sorry." He raised an eyebrow at himself, and erased that, too. Neither was very much Sasuke. He thought for a second, then scribbled "Hn." Settling on that, he stood up, searching for a spot where it wouldn't blend in.
His eyes locked on the fridge.
He stood up, and pulled a magnet off of it, sticking the paper there. The first thing Naruto would pay attention to in the morning would either be Sakura, or the refrigerator. It made sense. Sasuke didn't feel particularly hungry, so he went back to the living room, put on his damp clothes, and left immediately. He sighed in relief as soon as he stepped out of the place.
What a dump.
Sasuke took in a deep breath of the clean, morning air. It was peaceful, and not many people were out. He looked around. The ground was decently dry, but a little slick in a few places, and there were puddles in the potholes. The park was just across the way, and everything looked new and green. Rain slipped off the roofs of the buildings very gently, but it was warm, and most of the water had been evaporated.
It was bright outside, and the sky was deep blue. Puffy, light clouds floated by, not a single one anything less than pure white. It was calm and quiet, with not even a single gust of wind. The Uchiha stood there for a moment, letting his clothes dry a little more. He felt good today, save for a clogged nose. Feeling it start to run, he put his hand to his face, but paused there, wrist right under his nose.
There was the heavy smell of ramen lingering on him, which brought his thoughts back to the fact that he was standing outside of Naruto's apartment at 6:40 in the morning. Awkward, much? Without wasting a single moment, he hurried to the sidewalk, hugged the nearest building, and with his hands in his pockets, he turned the corner sharply, heading straight for the Uchiha mansion. He was just across from the park, which made him feel vulnerable. Anyone could walk past there, and anyone could wonder why he was going towards home, instead of away from it, and why he wasn't even there this very moment. It was Monday morning. Only a nutcase would be out of the house by now.
And there she was. Panicky, pitch black orbs locked onto lavender ones. She had blue-black hair like his, short in the back, with bangs and side bangs – or something like that – pulled off to the side. She had a large jacket on, and pants that cut off at the knees. Ah, what was her name… Sasuke could not bring himself to remember. It didn't bother him for long, though. Her hands were together and up, resting on her stomach, laced together in worry. Her lips were slightly parted, and she looked completely baffled, slowing down and even turning around (which made Sasuke very nervous) to watch the tasseled Uchiha walk as fast as humanly possible towards home.
Of course she would've asked, if she wasn't so shy. But then again, she figured he might've actually killed her if she did. The girl wasn't able to shrug it off very easily, so instead she resumed her walk to the bench, placing herself there, and enjoying the quiet part of the morning until she had to walk to school, trying to reason with the boy's sudden appearance.
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Uchiha Mansion.
---
As soon as Sasuke hit the deserted streets, he ran as fast as he could to the mansion. He slammed himself through the door, scrambled up the stairs, and smashed into the bathroom door. He'd done a lot of that in two days – or one, depending on how you want to look at it. Sasuke fell back, hitting the top of his head on the other wall. He pulled himself into a ball as soon as he felt the contact, and landed that way, falling on his hip. That was the safest way to land, and thank … someone … that he did. Sasuke stood up again, and shook his head, having had the wind knocked out of him.
He tried again, this time calmly and civilly opening the door. He stepped inside, resisting the urge to run through everything. He made his way to the shower, turned both knobs, stripped, and stepped in. It was cold. He adjusted it, and it quickly got warmer. He preferred a hot shower, but he needed to rush.
Sasuke washed the ramen smell off of him, shampooed his hair, and got out. 6:53. Sasuke did not own a hairdryer, since he usually got up at 5:40/6:00-ish, and did not have a lot of hair. He sighed, just combing it out, and running off to find an outfit. He hastily dressed himself, and surprisingly enough, opened the door before he bashed into it.
Some of the water in his head was creeping down to the ends again, so Sasuke returned to the bathroom, pulled a towel off the rack, and dried his hair. He re-combed it, then looked himself in the mirror. He sweat-dropped. The left side of his face and his entire forehead had become purple – very purple. The corner of his upper-lip was slightly swollen, and he had marks scattered about his face.
Sasuke would've skipped school to avoid embarrassment, but he was not one to skip school – for anything. The boy let a very long and distressed sigh slip through his lips. Suddenly he doubted what's-her-face would have even noticed him if he wasn't all bruised up. He really should've watched for those doors, and it had been extremely stupid of him to run on wet pavement. Sasuke almost hit himself over the head for it, but decided there was really no point in that.
The Uchiha left his home, it now being around 7:05. It took him around ten minutes to get to school, and he could use the extra time to let his hair dry out. As soon as he hit the streets, his hands retreated neatly to his pockets, and he walked calmly toward school, his eyes taking on that placid, emotionless look. It probably looked strange; Uchiha Sasuke walking down the street innocently, as if he didn't notice someone had beaten the crap out of him. Of course, no had exactly hit him, but how were they supposed to know?
The only thing that bothered the raven-haired boy was that the girl had disappeared. It was beginning to annoy him again that he didn't know her name, and he was going to ask for it. Maybe he'd see her at school. Actually, he planned on tracking her down at school.
Naturally, the most annoying thing in the world had to come bounding down the street behind him, singing "Sasuke-teme!" Sasuke decided to ignore him, figuring he didn't even remember Sasuke had come to his door in the rain, and probably didn't even see the note on the refrigerator. Did the Uchiha care? Hardly. It was better that way. As he walked along, he was very glad that Naruto was behind him, and didn't see his face. The questions he'd have to suffer.
That very thought was cut off by Sakura running down the street towards him, screaming "SASUKE-KUN!" (and thinking 'Who touched Sasuke-kun! I'LL KILL THEM!') He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening, because behind him, he heard the dobe screaming "SAKURA-CHAN!" He put the pieces together quickly. Sakura was running at him, Naruto had probably forgotten he was even there, and was running toward the pink-haired girl. He didn't even try to figure out how the blonde managed to see where Sakura was in front of Sasuke's figure, or how he'd even managed to discard his existence.
As soon as he could, which happened to be right before the contact, Sasuke stepped off to the side, causing the two to smack into each other. They lay there on the ground, the tips of their feet touching. Naruto looked like a love-struck ninny, and Sakura appeared extremely pissed off. Sasuke nearly laughed, but thought better of it, and quickly resumed his walk, wincing at the sudden screams that came from behind him. He decided against looking. Besides, he already knew what happened. Sakura jumped up, yelled at Naruto, then Naruto jumped up, defending himself and probably blaming Sasuke, and the two started had started a pointless argument.
It would be a war all the way to school, Sasuke knew that. So he decided he would take advantage of it while the hallways were still quiet.
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Konoha Middle School.
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Sasuke entered the doors placidly and calmly.
"SASUKE-KUN!"
His eyes got wide, and he was immediately swarmed with fan girls. He ran as fast as he could, turned a corner, and bashed into a classroom door. Good thing the class hadn't started yet. He regained his composure, taking the time to brush himself off... Which was clearly a huge mistake. He looked up at the herd of fanged women, and slipped off, turning another corner, and shoving himself into his locker.
Damn. He'd smacked the back of his head right against the metal. He winced, and watched carefully through the vent.
"Where'd Sasuke-kun go?" "Saaaasssuuukeee-kuuuun!" "Where is he!"
Sasuke held his breath till they gave up and left. He exited the locker and gave a sigh of relief as soon as they'd rounded the corner. He stopped and stared, like a deer in the headlights, as Sakura and Naruto, still bickering, turned in toward him. They looked up at him, and a mixture of anger and relief came running toward the Uchiha.
"SASUKE-TEME/KUN!" was screamed simultaneously.
"SASUKE-KUN!"
Sasuke sweat-dropped. A stampede of rabid fan girls and a pissy Naruto charged toward him. His eyes widened, and he turned to run. He prayed he'd find a closet somewhere. Sure, he was bruised, but the last thing he need was a bunch of girls on top of him, trying to fix him, while Naruto attempted to kill him.
Soon, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto, all bruised, realized that the fan girls were able to run faster than them, out of their sheer determination to glomp Sasuke. The three ran for their lives, and turned yet another corner. Wonderful… a dead end. Sasuke looked around with an immense amount of panic on his face. He spotted a closet, and bolted quickly to it, unfortunately unable to stop himself before…
"WATCH OUT FOR THAT DO—" Naruto covered Sakura's mouth. "Hush!" he whispered hoarsely.
Sasuke jammed himself into the closet, closing the door just in time for Sakura and Naruto to also bash into it. Somehow they all crammed inside before the swarm of fan girls managed to even turn the corner.
It was hot in that closet. Sasuke and Naruto were pressed cheek-to-cheek, which made both of them extremely nervous, but they couldn't move an inch, seeing as Sakura was pressed against them, and clinging to the shelves on the wall for dear life.
"Where is Sasuke!" "He must've used his amazing ninja power to poof to class!" "LET'S GO FIND HIM!"
Sasuke sweat-dropped. Naruto sweat-dropped. Sakura made a face. They all sighed quietly.
"Wow. What idiots…" Naruto said softly.
A single fan girl turned around. Sasuke flinched, and their eyes expanded. There was a small window at the top of the door, and they could see her. She suspiciously eyed the closet. Sasuke started sweating.
"Did you hear something?" she asked.
"No – besides, it's not important. Let's go find Sasuke-kun!" And the girl grabbed her by the elbow, and followed the rest who had run off.
As soon as the three relaxed, they fell into the door, and it popped open, emptying all of them onto the floor. Sasuke smiled. It was Sakura who had bashed her head, and Sakura the two had landed on. He chuckled slightly, stood up, brushed himself off, and walked down the hall to class.
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PHEW! Done. :D
Ending sucks, but eh…
… Thank you so, so, so much for all the reviews. I got loads more than I expected. xD And sorry this took a few days to get up, I would've normally put up the second chapter immediately because of the reviews, and I wrote one… but it sucked and I hated it, so I deleted it and started the next day. It took a long time to write this one, because my AC exploded and I didn't want my computer to do the same because of the heat. I could only write for a short time at night, but now I have a new AC and the problem is fixed. Anyway, I like this one better.
And I think it's a nice size, too. :D 3,334 words:o (not counting the A/Ns) (Unfortunately, not much happens at school yet, because I didn't want to make it insanely large.)
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Five
reviews? Pwease:) I'm not asking for a lot. I've got twelve.
Five more makes 17. I'd love to see that number. (or
beyond!)
Again, I don't care if they're good or bad.
…But no flames. You will be kicked.
haveaniceday.
