Naruto was in a daze for the remaining time of the event, his eyes fixed on Sasuke, not even noticing the red head girl that kept glancing at Sasuke with blushing cheeks whenever she gave correct answers yet jabbed the boy drinking from a straw sitting next to her. The other, bigger guy spent the competition smiling at a bird sitting on the window sill of a high, round window. But Naruto's eyes didn't move from Sasuke, watching his every movement, the way his lips curved up slightly in satisfaction whenever he won his team a point. He was good, and he was smart, and he looked a little older but he was still the same Sasuke that Naruto had known. The temptation to get up and get on stage to see him was difficult to resist, but there was an odd twist to his stomach that kept him from doing anything. He felt a little sick, a little sweaty and definitely uncomfortable. This was the last place he'd expected to see Sasuke, but he was realising it was stupid. Of course he would be here; it was a regional competition, and Sasuke was enrolled in a school that was specifically for science and math.
It was still a crazy coincidence, and if he hadn't known better he would have assumed Sakura had planned this. But a quick glance told him that she hadn't, as she was tense in her seat, keeping her gaze everywhere else but at Sasuke. He wanted to reach out for her arm, knowing that she missed Sasuke just as badly as him, but she was still two seats away.
Swallowing, Naruto looked back at Sasuke and silently begged him to look his way, to see him there and smile at him or nod at him or anything to acknowledge him.
But Sasuke didn't. Naruto's heart clenched as he watched him move, remembering his habits and how they'd mocked each other for the little things they did. Sasuke would always try to cover up his smiles by a more arrogant smirk, and would cross his fingers while leaning on his elbows to hide his mouth behind them. The way his hair had to be always right, and how he'd yell if Naruto dared messing it up. It was as spiky in the back as usual, the bangs falling neatly around his face as always.
Naruto's heart was beating too fast in his chest, and suddenly he wanted to leave the room, to get away and get some air. His hands clutched the armrests of his seat before he stood, excusing himself as he pushed past Kiba, Sai, and Sakura, who gave him a worried glance. He smiled to reassure her, but it was wiped out when Neji glared at him in annoyance for hiding his view. He headed for the top doors, jogging up the stairs and wiping his too moist hands on his jeans. Jeans, why was he wearing jeans? It was way too hot for that. He slipped out the door quietly, closing it slowly not to bother anyone before letting out a long shuddery breath.
He had to do something about this. He had to find a way to see Sasuke and speak to him. He didn't know how long he'd stayed in there, or how long Mathletes are supposed to last, but he'd wait for Sasuke no matter what. He felt like a girl about to ask her crush out on a date, his heart hammering in his chest and his cheeks flushed. He hadn't seen him in so long, and...he'd missed him. Though, of course, the first thing he'd do wouldn't involve him saying that at all, and rather involve his fist getting intimate with Sasuke's face.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto made his way down a set of stairs to try and find the door the contestants had entered from. He turned around the place for a few minutes before finding it, peeking into the small window only to see Sasuke from much closer, before jerking away. He wanted to...yell at him, pull him into a hug, punch him over and over, ask him to hang out, ask him why...so many things at once were going through his mind. What if Sasuke didn't want to see him? What if he told him to go away? He hadn't contacted him or Sakura in years, after all, and there had to be some kind of reason for that. Maybe he wasn't allowed to, or maybe he was too busy (which was ridiculous to Naruto; you could never be too busy for your best friends).
He leaned against the wall next to the door, sliding down it onto the ground, running his hands through his hair. If he wanted to speak to Sasuke, he had to calm down first. He focused on his breathing, trying to keep it regular and slow. It help, as it also kept his mind off of Sasuke.
Idly, he wondered how much longer he'd have to wait. He was sure it would be nothing compared to the 3 years he'd spent hoping it was Sasuke calling him, hoping it was Sasuke ringing his doorbell.
Twenty minutes later, and it really wasn't. How had he survived 3 years, again? Knowing Sasuke was right behind that door was torture, and as he stood to stretch his legs a little, nervous and anxious, the door opened suddenly. Naruto yelped and fell against a trash can, taking it down with him. Covered in trash, he looked up to see Sasuke, looking down at him like he was a piece of garbage. Naruto couldn't blame him, really, since he iwas/i lying in the middle of it.
"H-Hey," he said, with a small smile. Sasuke's scowl deepened, and with a sniff he turned away, stepping off into another hall. The red haired girl nearly ran after him, hanging off into his arm. He heard her squeal his name vaguely, but every other brain function had shut down.
Maybe he was too covered in garbage for Sasuke to recognize him. That had to be it. It was the only explanation. It was enough to snap him out of his shock, throwing various papers and wrappings off from himself and standing, hurrying along the same hall as the auditorium started to empty of visitors.
"Sasuke!" He called, even if the boy was a lot further down the hall. His voice was loud enough, he knew. Sasuke didn't turn around, but the tall big guy did, stopping and putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He said something to Sasuke that Naruto didn't hear as he ran up to them, his heart still hammering in his chest but for an entirely different reason, the anxiety at the pit of his stomach a lot stronger and harsher this time around.
"Where are you going? Can we...talk?" He asked, a little nervously. Sasuke glanced at him, gaze empty of any reaction or emotion. The girl glared at Naruto and took a step forward, as if to protect Sasuke from him. She looked like a cat protecting her food, nearly hissing at Naruto when he took another step forward.
"Do you know this moron, Sasuke?" The boy with the cup asked. Naruto opened his mouth to reply that yes, he did, that they were best friends, and could they please have a moment, but he didn't get a chance to.
"No," Sasuke said flatly, turning away again and walking into a class room, his troupe following him and closing the doors behind them. Naruto caught a glimpse of the girl smirking smugly at him, her arm hooked with Sasuke's again. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and he was about to reach for the door and punch Sasuke in the nose when an arm slid over his shoulder.
"There you are! We were looking for you, stupid! Sakura's worried about you," Kiba said, pulling him back the other way, back toward the auditorium where Sakura was likely waiting for him to show his face to hit him for disappearing on them. Naruto glanced back at the door one, but he had to go back to his friends for now. He knew that. There was another way to get Sasuke to...remember him. Sasuke couldn't possibly have forgotten. Maybe he didn't want anyone to know he'd had friends before, or know what school he'd gone to. Maybe he was just an ass and was serious when he'd said he wasn't interested in seeing either of them again, that time behind the school. Naruto's heart clenched and he decided to answer Kiba so he wouldn't worry further.
"Haha, sorry, I was looking for a bathroom," Naruto said, chuckling. He turned away from the door, moving away from Kiba's arm as they walked.
"For over half an hour?! How dumb can you be, there's a sign right outside the door!" Kiba laughed, and Naruto awkwardly shrugged. His mind was reeling. That other way he'd thought of just moments before would require a lot of work and effort, but he was confident that he could do it. Plus, it would make Sakura happy in more ways than one.
Shoving his hands in his pockets as he neared Sakura, Sai and Neji, he took a deep breath, ready to make an announcement. Defeating Sasuke was bound to get his attention, right?
"I'm going to participate in the next Mathletes, and I'm going to win," he said with a lopsided grin.
•
A few months later, Naruto was spending every minute of his free time studying his math book, redoing homework and asking Sakura for new problems to solve. She was glad to help him, as she understood that his interest went beyond passing his math class, and had a lot more to do with Sasuke than anything else. Naruto was thankful that she never brought that up around Sai, Kiba, Ino or Neji, because he wasn't sure he wanted to hear their mockeries. The one time Naruto had brought Sasuke up with Kiba, he'd cracked up and asked him if 'he was gay for him or something'.
That had promptly shut Naruto up, and he'd decided he'd keep his Sasuke-thoughts to himself from then on. Sasuke had been his first true friend, the first one to see past his differences. Of course, they weren't always the best of friends (actually, it had been hate at first sight), and in fact surprised quite a lot of people in how they constantly hung out despite seemingly loathing each other. It was an odd thing that Naruto himself had never quite understood, but despite the arguments, the fights and the competitions, being with Sasuke was fun. It was enjoyable, it was distracting ad it was different every single time. Not a single minute spent with Sasuke was like the other. Even if some of their arguments were nothing more than throwing 'Bastard!' and 'Idiot!' back at each other, it never ifelt/i like routine, never felt like the same day was repeated over and over.
Not that his current friends weren't fun. It was just different. Sasuke brought him something he wasn't even aware he'd missed, and now that he was gone its absence was even heavier, weighted more on his heart and his shoulders.
Which is why he was working so hard on something he usually hated. Doing so seemed like the only way to reach Sasuke, and if he had to spend his every waking hour reading math books to get his attention, then he would.
The next Mathlete competition that involved Sasuke's team was the very next day, and Naruto was feeling anxious. What if they didn't win and Sasuke just laughed at him and walked off? What if he did win but it made Sasuke angry and he ignored him even more?
Actually, there was the easy solution of punching him in the gut for that. It would be easier this time as he'd expect it a little more than the first time they'd met again. Which felt like it had happened years ago, and yet barely the day before in truth. It was like Naruto's brain wasn't sure if he wanted to forget the details, or remember them intensely.
With his thoughts so jumbled and his heart in such a state, it was making studying math all the more difficult to Naruto. His mind kept wandering off to other thoughts, to his worries about whether or not it would work. Sasuke couldn't ignore him forever, but it still made something in his gut twist painfully at the thought. He had no idea what he'd done to Sasuke for him to feel Naruto deserved to be ignored.
It was nearly three in the morning, but Naruto was wide awake. Eyes looking from his exercise book to the guide sheets Sakura had made, he tried his best to refocus on the current problem. He was almost done, just one more, and he'd go to bed. Naruto wasn't realising he'd just spent an hour and a half on a single problem that should only have taken him about 20 minutes, and that he was much better off going to bed now and waking up early to cram a few problems in before school. The competition itself wasn't until after the school day, either way. He'd have more time then as well.
When a warm hand settled on his shoulder, Naruto shrieked and turned around, crossing his arms up above his head as self-defense. His father laughed at him, pushing his arms down.
"It's just me, Naruto," he said, smiling brightly.
"Dad!" Naruto said loudly, grinning wide and wrapping his arms around the taller man's waist. He'd been gone for the past few weeks on a business trip, and Naruto was relieved to see him back home safely. Minato chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair, peering over him at the papers on his son's desk.
"Still with the math? What's gotten into you, did Sakura beat you up again?" He asked as Naruto let him go, peering over his shoulder.
He hadn't specified just why he'd been doing this, a little embarrassed that Sasuke was the one making him iwant/i to understand math. Deep down he knew there was something odd with the fact that another boy made him want to go as far as spend all of his free time buried in manuals, so he'd just gave another excuse.
"Ah, no," Naruto said, quickly closing his books and putting them aside. "I just need to work harder to get better grades," he said, giving his father a smile.
Minato raised skeptical eyebrows and put a hand on his hip.
"Until three in the morning? When you usually don't care as long as you pass?" He asked, clearly not believing a word of it.
Minato was making Naruto nervous, who looked away and shrugged. Naruto had to think of some excuse quickly. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it from his parents, just that... No one but Sakura really knew the true motivation behind all of his work. He felt stupid about it, sometimes, especially in front of his parents, who he admired immensely. They knew of Sasuke, and they knew how down he'd been about it. It had taken Naruto a while to readjust without Sasuke there, and it was in great part thanks to them that he'd managed so fast.
"Is it about a girl? Did Sakura finally agree to go on a date with you if you beat her at the next exam?" Minato grinned mischievously at Naruto, teasing him and enjoying it. It was even more enjoyable that Naruto's cheeks were easy to redden, and that he sometimes squeaked and stuttered, or sometimes even flailed his arms as if he was drowning in air. He did all of these things at once this time, which told the boy's father that he wasn't far off the mark. It was about someone else, that was sure; not about grades or passing a class, but about impressing someone else.
"I -- It's just -- You -- " Naruto kept stammering, trying to say too many things at once. Minato sat on his bed, laughing softly at his reaction.
"Alright, alright," he said, waving a hand. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," he added.
Naruto relaxed some, sighing slowly. Once he and Sasuke were friends again, he'd tell them for sure. But if he explained now and failed, he wouldn't know how to deal with himself. He gave his father a small shy smile in thanks, and just as Naruto got up to sit next to him, there was a flash of red.
"Minato, you're home!" Kushina nearly squealed, having already tackled him into the bed. She gave him a big kiss on the lips (making Naruto roll his eyes, but he was used to seeing his parents' affections), before pulling away and pinching his cheek. "And you didn't tell ime/i," she added, voice a tone lower, jokingly threatening.
"Why would I do that? You're a horrible wench I'm trying to escape from!" Minato responded, and Naruto chuckled at the dark look that crossed Kushina's face. Before she could attack, though, she was flipped over and a wave of tickles made her squirm and shriek on Naruto's bed.
"My last trip had on goal, and that was to find your weak point!" He added, cackling as she laughed and laughed underneath him, and when Minato glanced behind him and winked at Naruto, he joined them on the bed and attacked his mother's feet, which he knew to be even more ticklish. After a few more moments of shrieking, struggling and tickling, the two stopped torturing Kushina. She was nearly crying from laughter, and with a frustrated sound punched Minato's arm.
"You could give your wife a nicer welcome than that," she said, sulkily.
"Hm, you're right," Minato said, voice lowering as he leaned in, smirking seductively.
"Hey, hey! If you're going to do that, do so in your room, please," Naruto said, making a face and trying to shove Minato off the bed as he laughed at him. He loved his parents, but not enough to let them do...ithat/i on his bed, nor want to know anything about it whatsoever.
"I've got to get to bed, anyways," he said, glancing at the clock and seeing it was now almost half past. It made him smile that he was the one telling his parents he had to go to bed, and not the other way around. They both agreed, getting up from Naruto's bed and each kissing his cheek before leaving the room. As Naruto settled under the covers and Kushina switched off his light, she threw him a last wink.
"Good luck tomorrow," she whispered, closing the door behind her.
Naruto was already too far gone to have heard her, but a small smile fleeted across his face.
•
The next morning, Naruto was surprisingly in a good mood. He didn't feel stressed at all, and in fact felt rather confident. Sakura and Sai had asked him questions and given him a couple of seconds to reply to see if he did well when pressured, and he'd done well enough. He still wasn't the best, but he'd understood a lot more of the concepts in the past months than he had in his entire life. Meanwhile Kiba had been busy sulking at him. They hadn't had much time to hang out lately, as Naruto had really wanted to study as often as possible.
"So, will my buddy Naruto be back after this, or is he forever lost to mathematics?" He drawled, leaning his chair back on two legs and stretching his arms behind him. Naruto was still scribbling equations on a piece of paper, solving them as quickly as he could, barely paying attention to his friend.
"Maybe," he said distractedly, frowning down at his paper, confused by the formula he'd just scribbled. Was that an 'x' or a 'y'? It kind of looked like a nine if he tilted his head slightly. A kick to his desk jerked him out of his focus, lifting his head to look at Kiba quizzically.
"What? I'm busy!" He said, going right back to his paper. Kiba watched him in silence for a few seconds, glancing at Sai and Sakura to make sure they were busy with Neji and their own studying before speaking. He didn't want to piss Naruto off too much. Yet.
"You're doing this for Sasuke, aren't you?" He asked, smirking as he brought his chair back down, grabbing a pair of scissors to start scratching onto the surface of the desk. Naruto didn't respond, but his entire face turned slightly red, even the back of his neck. He scribbled more furiously on his paper, trying his best to ignore Kiba and his taunting, teasing, mocking, whatever it was. But the bastard insisted, teasing him again.
"I was right, you iare/i gay for him," he said, eyes almost twinkling with the pleasure of seeing Naruto's reaction to that comment. Who, as per usual, nearly jumped out of his chair, his pencil falling from his hand.
"N-No! I'm not!" He said, too loudly to be casual. "I'm not at all, he's just my best friend!" He added quickly, stammering slightly, flustered and waving his hands around, unsure what to do with them. He didn't want to seem suspicious, and maybe if he put his hands here or there, it would make Kiba more certain of what he was saying. Which he didn't want, because it wasn't true. At all. He just missed Sasuke, is all. Sasuke made every day of his life better, that didn't mean he was gay for him.
Right?
With a laugh, Kiba threw the chip of wood he'd cut out of the desk at Naruto's head, shaking his own.
"You're a lost cause," he sighed, before getting up. "And I'm starved, so I'm going to grab some juicy steak," he said, waving him off, leaving Naruto to his thoughts and his math. Sai and Sakura were now arguing with Neji over some theory or other that was way beyond Naruto's mental capacities in the first place, so Naruto looked back down at his equation. But Kiba's teasing had distracted him, and now he'd forgotten what step was next, or even what the meaning of his previous scribbles. Now, his mind was filled with images of Sasuke smiling at him and holding out his hand to help him up. Of Sasuke handing him some of his lunch, looking like he was hating that he had to do it. And of that time on the swings where Naruto had convinced Sasuke to let go and jump off in mid-air. That had been a fun day, except for the few seconds after the jump when Sasuke tried to choke him because he'd injured his ankle and Naruto had sworn he wouldn't get hurt. They'd scuffled until they'd both been too exhausted to move, and then they'd shared a pack of pocky on the grass near the riverside.
He smiled a little, feeling warm at the surge of memories. The fact that days like that might happen again soon only made his smile widen. He was definitely not gay, though. Even though his first kiss had been (accidentally!) with Sasuke, it meant nothing at all.
It's not like he remembered Sasuke had tasted slightly of salmon onigiri or anything, really.
•
They were a few minutes away from the start of the competition. Naruto was a lot calmer than he'd expected to be, somehow. The four of them were waiting to be called onto the stage, behind the door. They weren't allowed to work on anything now, despite Naruto's vibrant insisting that he needed to (even going as far as claiming that he was mentally challenged and had a written permission that he'd lost). Sakura seemed to be the most nervous out of all them, despite being the one with the best grades. She was the best at retaining information effectively, and could name formulas like nobody's business.
"Hey," Naruto said as he slid behind her while she got on tip toes and tried to peer into the small window of the door. She jumped slightly, muffling a squeak before glaring at him and hitting him on the arm.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said, disapproving, before frowning and noticing a speck of dust on Naruto's shirt. She busied herself to brushing it off, and before she could drop her hand entirely, Naruto grabbed her wrist to get her full attention. She looked up at him, confused, until he smiled brightly down at her.
"It'll be fine," he said, shifting his hand to squeeze hers. She smiled back at him, squeezing back.
"I know," she sighed, wrapping his arms around him, making Naruto blush. She rarely ever hugged him (in fact, Naruto could count the number of times she had on one hand), and it made him feel flustered every time. Maybe from the rush of adrenaline reminding him that the very hands on his back had once beaten into his stomach repeatedly and had learnt the anatomy of his face by heart through violently impacting on it.
Sakura brushed his hair after pulling away, frowning again.
"You really couldn't make an effort for today? You look like a slob!" She said, before throwing an obviously meant to imply "At least they have some common sense!" look at both Sai and Neji. Sai was standing awkwardly in a corner, observing them both quietly and looking stuck up in his smooth pants and his open blazer. Neji, on the other hand, was wearing a simple button-up shirt that he'd rolled the sleeves of, and his jeans were nice and clean. Naruto looked down at himself sheepishly; old battered band t-shirt and jeans that looked 10 years old but that he'd paid 10 times more than regular pants for the look. He'd actually thought they'd receive some kind of team t-shirt, and since they would be sat at a table had assumed the pants wouldn't matter.
"I thought this was a Mathlete competition, not a fashion show?" He said, blinking as if he'd just heard some unexpected news. She rolled her eyes at him and tugged his shirt down to straighten it some in the hopes that it would look better and fancier. She was wearing a nice flowery top that opened in a pleasant 'V' shape down her chest, and her skirt was just above the knee. Now ithat/i seemed a little inappropriate. Wasn't she worried about all the nerds ogling her?
"Stop ogling," she snapped at him, tapping his (reddening) cheek in a light mock-slap. "And stop being an idiot, or I'm taking you out of the team," she said, smirking at him. That had an immediate effect on him and he straightened up, standing upright and with his hands firmly at his sides.
"Yes captain!" He said loudly and with a foolish grin. She tried to give him a stern look, but her lips were curling up slightly.
Naruto felt good about this. Sakura was there, and he'd worked hard these past few weeks. It had to work; they would win, Sasuke would recognize him and say he'd been waiting for him and would finally come back to their school, and they'd go to college together and graduate together, and maybe move in together too.
...Okay, so maybe he was getting slightly carried away. Just acknowledgement would be more than enough for now, and the whole coming back thing could be done later. Slowly. Sasuke wouldn't agree to anything if rushed into it, he'd have to be slowly eased into the idea.
Lost in thought again, Naruto missed their call to walk onto the stage, and it was Neji's firm tug at his arm that snapped him out of his thoughts. Neji tugged him so sharply, though, that he missed a step and almost sprawled all over the stage. Laughter mixed into the applause around them and Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head before doing the customary bow to the crowd, then to their opposing team.
He hadn't noticed Sasuke standing right in front of him, staring at him blankly as if he was just another piece of wall. It was so weird to see anyone with that kind of expression that Naruto wondered if he truly didn't care, or was merely trying to look like he didn't. When they straightened again, he gave Sasuke a curt nod before smirking, hoping Sasuke would get the hint that there was no way Sasuke would get away with his little act this time.
To his surprise, Sasuke smirked back and nodded as well.
It unsettled him enough that he stumbled when they were told to get to their seats, frowning slightly. Why was he already paying attention again? Was that purposeful? He heard a light giggle and looked up to see the red head latched onto Sasuke's arm again, watching him, as if taunting him.
As if she knew Sasuke was important to him, and that her behavior would annoy him.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he kept his eyes on her, making sure her hand didn't go anywhere else than Sasuke's arm. When she pulled away to press her buzzer, he was confused, until he looked around and realised the first question had already been asked. He glanced around the stage, noticing the man giving them the problems was also writing them on a blackboard. The audience was quiet, which Naruto imagined saved him from Sakura's frustration that he hadn't been paying attention. A quick glance at Sasuke's table told him the same people from last time were still there. The guy with bright hair and his cup, the tall big one staring out the window, the clingy red head and, of course, Sasuke himself. When his eyes fell on him, Naruto had trouble looking away. He looked focus, eyes on the man giving the problems, his hands ready to hit his buzzer. He was tense, but there was still a lot of grace to his movements. He'd always had this vibe, this... ithing/i he gave off. Naruto wasn't sure what it was, but it was in his entire way of being. It's what had attracted Naruto to him in the first place. He moved smoothly, without hesitating, like he knew exactly where he was going. He said only what was necessary, and hid all unnecessary emotion. It had been nice, to befriend him and slowly see more and more smiles from him, more and more laughter. He seemed to have reverted back to how he'd been before meeting Naruto now, his face expressionless and blank.
Naruto wanted to see him smile and hear him laugh again. Whatever that school was, it wasn't doing Sasuke any good, unlike he had claimed it would when he'd left.
Feeling a sharp jab to his side, Naruto turned to see Sakura making big angry eyes at him as Sai solved the next problem, giving them their first point.
iFocus/i she mouthed at him, before he nodded and turned back to face their opponents.
A voice rose above the crowd before the man could dictate the next problem, and Naruto recognized it instantly.
"Oi, Naruto! We didn't let you stay up until three in the morning for nothing, kiddo!" Kushina called from her seat, beaming next to Minato. His father smiled and winked at him, and Naruto nodded at them both before grinning wide. They'd figured out what was going on, somehow; maybe they'd found the flyer for the competition lying around somewhere, or maybe they'd spoken to Sakura or her parents.
Either way, their presence encouraged Naruto. They were there to see him, and he had to make them proud. Show them that the work he'd been doing wasn't entirely useless. The man told Kushina to please remain sitting in her seat and keep quiet, which Naruto saw she did only because Minato put his hand on her arm and gave her a look.
"An easy one for this round," the man then continued, keeping an eye on Kushina. "What is the square root of 144?"
"Twelve!" Naruto shouted as soon as the man had finished speaking, nearly interrupting him. A heavy silence fell into the room and Naruto looked around, confused as to why the mood had suddenly dropped and become so awkward.
The man looked at Naruto like he was a moron, turning to the other team.
"Your turn, thanks to the other team's idiocy," he said. Naruto stood, his chair making a loud sound against the ground. This wasn't fair at all! He'd said he answer, and he'd gotten it right.
"Hey, wait, why aren't we getting the point?!" He asked, offended and certain that he was in the right. There were mumbles from the crowd, and Naruto thought he heard his father bring his palm to his face with a sigh. When the man turned toward Naruto again, he looked at him condescendingly before pointing at the red button right in front of Naruto.
"This is called a buzzer. When you believe you have the right answer, you press it for the right to speak," he explained, not bothering being polite. "When you forget, you lose your chance," he said, smirking as Naruto slid back into his chair, defeated. Well, that was fun. Now everyone in the room thought he was an idiot. Including Sasuke, who was smirking at him. Naruto wanted to wipe it off his face so bad, wanted to make him regret smirking like that at him. He'd gotten excited, and that was all! He didn't think he deserved to be penalized for it. He sulkily straightened up into his seat, just in time for Sakura to kick him under the table as Neji gave a correct answer. They were tied now, and Naruto wasn't helping at all. He kept his mind on his parents, on Sasuke, on Sakura right next to him to remember not to give up and not let himself be defeated.
With a deep breath, he stood up straight, keeping his hands near the buzzer in case her was ever ready to give an answer. He kept the remaining time of the competition in that position, tense but ready. He attempted answering a couple of times, but made small mistakes in his formulas or mental calculations. Each false answer brought a wider smirk to Sasuke's lips, as well as his team (except for the big one, that was smiling at the birds flying by the window). They sat there, looking relaxed and as calm as if they were playing a matching game, and it was driving Naruto crazy. There were only two problems left and they were leading. He could tell Neji and Sakura were growing increasingly frustrated. Sasuke's team was simply faster, somehow managed to hit the buzzer before either of them could. Sai had won them another point, but it hadn't been enough for them to be in the lead.
Things were stretching on, and Naruto knew that it was a lost cause.