I'M ALIVE! Yes, indeed I live! And I'm a butt, I know... No excusing being absent for this long so I'll just get right back to work and save you guys the drama. Needless to say, I didn't expect to be absent for so long nor do I expect it to happen again. For what it's worth, my apologies to those I've made wait. Here's Chapter 4, hope you enjoy it, review as you guys always do and expect the next one in a MUCH shorter time than this one! I'll make this up to y'all, that I promise.

Chapter 4: The Academy

Naruto never told him, but he felt weirded out every time he entered Sasuke's dojo and saw the raven-haired boy sitting with his legs folded in deep meditation. To him it was unnatural for anyone to be staying so still. Why would Sasuke do that anyways? Every time he asked, the Uchiha shrugged and said it was "training that crazy snake bitch told me to do," and so Naruto stopped asking after a few tries. Who was this snake bitch Sasuke talked about? The blond didn't know, and curiosity was killing him after a few weeks.

And so it was that Naruto kept going to Sasuke's dojo and sparred with the boy, while at the same time tried figuring out the mystery of this Uchiha boy. Sasuke had warned him against following his steps to the forest, convincing Naruto that the risk of finding a ghost was too much just to satisfy his curiosity. The blond noticed something in his spars, though. Sasuke now always fought with a blindfold on, and after a few months he was just as good in taijutsu as he was without them. The blond had also improved, sometimes even taking advantage of Sasuke's blindfolds. Naruto still lost most of their spars, but he surprised even himself at how he improved his fighting skills with every day that passed. Sasuke didn't improve so quickly, though his skills always remained above the blond's.

Anko observed all this as the sneaky kunoichi she was: a simple Henge into a garden snake and she slithered to one corner of the dojo with no one the wiser. No one except the ANBU watching the two kids, that is, but they knew better than to annoy the snake mistress when she had a mission. At first she had considered Naruto the "Kyuubi brat" and didn't think much of it. Seeing him first hand made her puzzled at how he could be so strong yet so naïve. His endurance far surpassed Sasuke's. His stamina was clearly superior, and he could track the Uchiha's much faster movements even though he wasn't that fast himself. She wondered if his senses were simply boosted by being the Kyuubi's container, but regardless of the reason, his skills were definitely worthy of a shinobi already.

The day before class started at the Shinobi Academy, Anko waited for Sasuke at their usual spot in the Forest of Death. The Uchiha walked carefully towards it, remembering all the traps and nasty surprises the kunoichi often had for him on the way. Her so-called "training" consisted of him dodging nearly every animal in that forest when they would attack him, which could be at the drop of a kunai. Sometimes, she even joined the hunt after him. He never could sense her coming. Even now he struggled to sense things behind him, but he excelled at sensing things at front of him.

This time there were no traps, but he could feel a surprise coming. Anko was unusually quiet as he stood a few steps from her, his hands twitching towards a kunai already. The snake mistress looked at him without much interested and put her hands in her pockets in a bored manner. Pulling out a notebook, she threw it at the Uchiha who caught it and looked at her with as much confusion as his pride would allow.

"You're going to the Academy kid." she said without preamble.

"Hn." was Sasuke's answer, but he knew better than to think that was all. Anko smirked at this and drew a kunai, something the Uchiha immediately mimicked.

"Let's spar Sasuke. But this time…" she said, then appeared next to Sasuke who had to duck to keep his head attached. He jumped backwards and kept dodging Anko's attacks until a kick was too fast and sent him crashing backwards.

"This time, use your Sharingan. Or else, I'm gonna hurt you for real." she said dead seriously, making Sasuke scowl. He hadn't used the Sharingan ever since their first encounter and it had driven Anko angry for the better part of two years now. Still, he shook his head and closed his eyes. Anko snarled.

The snake mistress moved too fast for Sasuke's sensing, and soon he was covered in bruises and scratches. 'Ugh, this is different from her usual,' he thought as he tried to get more space between him and the near-psychopathic seeming kunoichi, but to no avail. Her attacks were vicious, not even needing her usual snake-based ninjutsu to keep the Uchiha backtracking. She was obviously holding back on her taijutsu as well, or so Sasuke thought until she suddenly blurred past his senses, and dealt a rib-crushing kick that left him rolling in the ground.

"Gak!" he exclaimed as he tried his best to end his roll and standing. Barely managing a crouch, he suddenly felt a wave of fear wash through him as the pain told him he had at least one broken rib. 'She didn't hold back at all! She's serious!' his mind shouted as his body tried desperately to keep dodging despite the pain. He knew he'd eventually dodge straight into one of her kicks or punches; that was the nature of her style, and he had failed to recognize she was using it to its fullest extent now.

There were no words from her, but they both knew she was furious at his stubbornness, and that wasn't going very well for the Uchiha. After a few more exchanges, she jumped back and started waving hand signs. 'Oh crap' was all Sasuke could think before he jumped out of the way of a fireball that nearly turned him into a crispy Uchiha. Another fireball and he was running for his life until he heard a snake's hiss far too close of him to be coincidentally there. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't even think until it was over. A kunai rested on the snake's skull, his hands were forming the handsigns for a Great Fireball and three tomoe circled in his now-red eyes.

Anko smirked, and her fireball met his head-on. The explosion snapped Sasuke back to what he had done, but he didn't have time to deactivate his Sharingan before spotting three incoming shuriken. He blocked them with his kunai, knowing he'd never been able to do that without the Sharingan and cursing himself mentally for it. But now that threat was over, and Sasuke slipped into the dust to find some cover from the crazy kunoichi. He tried sensing her, but his attention was split between his chakra sense and his Sharingan.

It was still good enough to detect a sudden chakra spike to his left, however. Looking that way, his Sharingan read through a Fuuton jutsu just before the Great Breakthrough blew the dust away with Sasuke in it. Fortunately he flew past a tree branch and managed to grab it, then swung himself behind the tree to resist the incredibly powerful wind. The Great Breakthrough done, he stepped back from the tree, just as a snake nearly bound him to it and then blocked Anko's heel kick. Smirking in satisfaction, Anko jumped sideways and attacked Sasuke from his left who also smirked at being able to see her every move now.

With sleight of hand that Anko herself taught him, he drew a kunai and prepared to stick it right on her belly. However, just as he launched his hand forward he realized his mistake too late. 'No, I miscalculated!' his mind screamed as Anko's kick hit him first and sent him crashing through the air, straight into a decimated tree trunk. The bark broke, and Sasuke was left embedded in it, gasping for air and spitting blood. Anko looked at him solemnly, then stored her kunai.

"That's enough for today brat. You know why you sucked so bad while using the Sharingan?" she asked.

"…" Sasuke remained quiet, looking at the ground and not moving a muscle.

"Oi, look at me when I'm talking to you!" Anko exclaimed, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"…Because I should not have it." he said almost in a whisper. Anko growled and bumped her forehead with his as her eyes showed unrestricted fury.

"A shinobi doesn't pick his traits! If you have it, you use it! Or else you die like a dog and you get everyone around you killed, got it?" she nearly yelled, her eyes almost challenging Sasuke to rebuke her.

He wanted to tell her how wrong she was. That he DIDN'T have the Sharingan, his brother did. That these were his brother's eyes, not his. Itachi was the reason he survived every time he used the Sharingan. He wanted to tell her that he couldn't keep living off the brother he had killed, but Sasuke bit down his words and his tears. Looking up, he gave her a solemn nod that would make any shinobi proud.

Anko was indeed proud, but her own nod hid an immense worry for the boy. Even as she stood and pulled Sasuke up with her, she wished he would yell back at her or refuse her words. She knew he disagreed anyway, but she hated how well Sasuke hid it. Anko couldn't tell what was on the Uchiha's mind, but she resigned herself to know that if push came to shove Sasuke would use the Sharingan again.

No one could see Sasuke's bandage across his torso the next day, though the Uchiha could certainly feel the cracked rib mending itself. The nurse said he should have stayed at the hospital, but the Academy's first day was too important to pass up. Standing at front of it, he didn't have time to look at how big it was before he felt Naruto jump off its rooftop and land precisely next to him.

"Yo!" said the blond to Sasuke while everyone else backed off.

"Hn." the Uchiha grunted out and shook his head as if he wanted to facepalm instead.

"Hey Sasuke, why weren't you here last year?" he asked tilting his head.

"You mean you were?" Sasuke asked slightly surprised.

"Yeah! I failed it though." the blond answered looking down slightly.

"Tch. Anko never said anything about it."

"Is that the girl you're always talking about?" Naruto asked, and suddenly all the girls in the classroom were trying their best to listen in on Sasuke's answer.

"She's my sensei." he declared, and suddenly all the girls in the classroom breathed in relief.

"O-oh. You already got a sensei? Why the hell you got special treatment?" the blond exclaimed while crossing his arms. Sasuke scoffed and looked at him directly.

"I don't. She's not my official sensei, she just likes to torture me and I happen to learn some things in the meantime." he said with venom in his voice.

"So, she's like you when we spar?" the blond asked with such innocence that Sasuke couldn't help but wince. Even if Naruto had been improving, the truth was Sasuke pretty much used him as a punching bag every time they fought.

"No, Naruto, I don't send poisonous snakes and fireballs at you." he said, having the decency of not adding "yet" at the end of his sentence. This time the blond winced and looked at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Why the hell would she do that? And why haven't you told me before? I can kick her ass for you dattebayo!" Naruto answered, and Sasuke looked at him as if he was crazy. Before the Uchiha could answer him though, the bell rang and they were forced to run into the academy to find their classroom in time.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel… something after Naruto's offer. He knew it was crazy for Naruto to even try touching a hair of Anko's – she was almost a jonin and if Sasuke couldn't reach her level Naruto wouldn't even come close – but he didn't hate the idea. It's not that he wanted the blond to help him, and he didn't need it. He was the last Uchiha; he didn't need Naruto's help. He trusted the blond meant well, though. Sasuke almost didn't want to admit it, but he liked his friendship with Naruto. The thought alone brought a smile to his face, but only a slight one. A slightly big one.

'What's with all the looks, though?' was what Sasuke thought as he closed his eyes and sensed all the girls looking at him. A part of him wanted to run away, but that would just be ridiculous. Another part of him told him the girls would catch him anyways. So he kept his cool, glancing every now and then to the blond who nobody seemed to be looking at.

The scarred man known as Iruka stood at front of the class and presented himself as their teacher. At first looks he didn't seem to have remarkable skill or importance, but Sasuke knew better than to judge by appearances. Anko looks ready to kill him every day but he's still alive, so anything's possible he thought.

The first class, which turned out to be history, was a drag to Sasuke and pretty much everyone in the class. Even with first day introductions it was dull and boring, and even Iruka was glad it was over by the end of it. Sasuke actually had to drag a yawning Naruto out to the yard, where Iruka announced their first taujutsu sparring match would be held.

Even while yawning, Naruto had an easy win against his opponent as his hits were considerably harder than his matchup's. Sasuke's fan club had taken every spot besides the Uchiha however, so the blond was forced to grumble his way to a side and watch the rest of the matches alone. The Uchiha send a few glances every now and then, almost as if apologizing for not jumping over to him. Naruto flashed him a cocky grin, and the raven haired boy rolled his eyes but was obviously relieved afterwards.

Iruka had purposefully left Sasuke for last. It was made clear why when the Uchiha stood in the circle and looked into a pair of pale eyes staring at him impassively.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuuga. Start!" ordered Iruka, who immediately leaped away into the sidelines and watched closely. The two didn't so much as twitch a muscle, instead watching the other for any move or slip.

Without a word, Sasuke pulled out his blindfold and put it on at front of a bewildered Neji who only stared in surprise. After tying it to the back of his head, Sasuke stared at the Hyuuga who finally found his words.

"Is this a prank?" he asked in a demanding tone, earning Sasuke's direct stare into his eyes.

"No. This is how I fight" he answered and returned to his form. Neji's eyes narrowed, but the silent tension returned and neither moved for a few seconds.

They both charged forward and threw a kick at the same time, crashing into each other and starting a flurry of attacks, dodges and blocks that didn't stop for five full minutes. Iruka himself had to stop it as the two kids matched each other blow for blow. There was respect in both their eyes once back in the classroom, and fangirls had a new glint in their eyes while looking at the Uchiha.

Iruka let them off not much afterward, and Naruto soon caught Sasuke after he somehow lost the fangirls. They had tried following him, but found even an academy student can be sneaky if he wants to.

"That fight was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly next to Sasuke, who cringed at the loudness of his voice and nearly lost the hoodie he disguised himself with.

"Shhh. Keep it low Naruto, I don't wanna be found." Sasuke said, holding a finger to his lips in the universal sign for silence. Which, apparently, the blond didn't know about.

"You would'a kicked that guy's ass if Iruka-sensei hadn't stop ya!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of several bystanders. Sasuke glared at the blond and grabbed his arm, walking faster to the Uchiha Compound where he let go of the protesting boy and glared at him.

"First, it was a sparring match Naruto. Second, I was already going all out. Third, do you WANT those fangirls to get me thanks to that loud mouth of yours?" Sasuke spoke still glaring at Naruto, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry teme, I thought you liked them." he said and had the decency to look sheepish when Sasuke's glare nearly lighted him in fire.

"How would YOU like a whole mob of girls trying to grab you while saying stupid things?" Sasuke nearly growled while slipping his hands into his pockets and glaring at the boy. Something flashed through the blond's eyes, almost too fast for the Uchiha to see, but it was gone before he could ask anything.

"Yeah, I guess that would suck. Sorry teme." Naruto said while walking next to Sasuke. The Uchiha could see Naruto was thinking hard about something, and suddenly realized that Naruto didn't have a single fangirl that he knew of. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he could do was nod at the blond and then stare at the ground while walking home.

Before Sasuke could apologize, Naruto started talking again and nearly dragged the Uchiha to the ramen booth by force. The ramen that day tasted more bitter than he remembered, but his mind was focused on something else entirely. It wasn't until they both stood at the compound's gate that Sasuke lifted his eyes from the ground and looked at his friend dead in the eye.

"Wh-wha-?" was all Naruto could say before Sasuke suddenly embraced him for a brief moment. An instant later Sasuke had his back turned and was walking to his house, but before the blond could ask, the raven-haired boy looked over his shoulder with a smile, tiny but truthful.

"Thanks for caring Naruto. And sorry about earlier, I know you'd probably like having fans and people like that..." he said while the blond stared, unsure of what to answer. "See ya later, friend." said Sasuke before entering his compound, leaving a very confused but suddenly happy Naruto at the gate.

Aaaaaand that's a wrap! This is only Naruto's second year in the Academy so I always wondered, how didn't he ever see Team Gai when they supposedly graduated a year before Team Seven? In my story, it only takes one year to graduate from the Academy which means the rest of the Konoha 12 will show up next year. But who didn't want to see an early skirmish between Sasuke and Neji? I sure as hell did! And I'm the author so I do what I want... Mwahahahaha!