Title: My Closest Enemy

Rating: T (high, sexual situations)

Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto

Notes: Dedicated to my crush that I "despised".

Summary: Naruto signs up to run for class president. But of these strange encounters?

That night, Naruto's mother got let off of work early and she came home at around four o'clock in the afternoon. Naruto had been down the street, entertaining Konohamaru and his group of little brats when she arrived, but he did not find out of her arrival until late evening when he got hungry and went inside.

Naruto's mom is great; really, she is. But, the questions and prying that the teen was often subjected to when his mom had the time to ask was not particularly a good thing. Especially when there was yet another thing that the blond boy is being disciplined for causing.

"Hey honey," Kushina's playful tone rings out from the kitchen where she attempting to cook. Minato seemed to be better at house things like cooking and cleaning for some reason. But Kushina still tries.

"Mom? You're here?" Naruto asks, hurrying to shuck his shoes off and step onto the wooden floor with his socks, nearly slipping and breaking his neck as he races down the hallway. He approaches the kitchen doorway and enters, observing from afar the contents of the pan that his mother was tending to. "Smells good, mom."

"Thanks," she grins, expression mirroring that on her boy's face. "What were you doing?"

"Playing with those kids down the street," Naruto answers. "You know, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon."

Kushina laughs, but is obviously trying to hold it in.

"Don't laugh, mom, those are their names!" Naruto chides, stomping a foot on the floor.

Her laughing dies down, but she speaks again, "Aren't they still elementary students?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you usually hang out with them?" Kushina stirs the food purposefully and turns the oven to a lower heat.

Oh boy. Time to lie to his mother. Naruto knows that she wants to see him being very popular and having many friends at school that are his own age, but that just won't happen. But, that will change soon. As soon as Naruto becomes class president.

"No, mom," Naruto fakes annoyance, "I usually hang out with Shikamaru and Choji, but they made family plans."

"Oh, they're related?"

"No," Naruto says, relieved. "Their fathers are best friends. They like to have dinner parties together."

"I see," red strands fall in front of her eyes from behind her ears. She pushes them back. "Well, how is school going?"

Naruto sighs, leaning against the smaller countertop on the right. When you can't tell the truth, it feels a lot like an interrogation.

"Fine, mom," Naruto replies, adding a grin afterwards for good measure.

"Haven't been getting into trouble?" His mom asks, accusatorily.

"Nope!" Naruto nods, grateful that his punishment is during the day so that he doesn't have to get a note signed by his parents. He's itching to leave and go to his room where he can watch television in peace and maybe play some video games. Even stare at his homework assignment if he has time.

"Good. Anything else, Naruto? Interesting stories…funny people…"

"No, mom. School is never that entertaining."

"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't want to talk to your old mother," Kushina laughs.

"You're looking younger every day, mom," Naruto says, sincerely. They both laugh a bit, and Naruto says he's going upstairs, to which he gets told to be down for dinner.

When he sees his bed, looking like the coziest thing in existence, he flops onto the soft duvet and falls dead asleep within a few minutes.

He was dreaming. That was most certain because in reality, you cannot walk vertically up a tree. The tree seemed to go on forever and ever, reaching into the black of the night sky. That is, until it was no longer a tree, but a tunnel.

Naruto's shadow seemed to stretch out along the near lightless hallways in which he was sprinting, chasing something. When he looks to see what it is he is running to desperately after, there is a bob of black spikes disappearing in the shadows ahead.

He raced towards it upon realizing that it was another person, but suddenly he saw who the hell it was. Sasuke. As soon as that thought formed in his brain, the black spikes stopped moving and turned abruptly around. Naruto's body, which was rushing forward with all its strength, could not stop and crashed into him, shattering and turning to dust.

Just as Naruto was wondering what in the world he was going to do now that he is dust, a voice interrupted his thoughts. His body seemed to twitch, and suddenly he was opening his eyes to his room.

"Naruto," the voice said again, now standing right next to him.

"Hmmm," Naruto sighs sleepily. His memory of the weird dream completely faded into nonexistence.

"I said dinner is ready," his mom replies, exasperated.

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes," the blond boy replied, stretching out his ribs and yawning widely.

Dinner was the usual affair, just like on the weekends when at least one of Naruto's parents were home and not working late. The food itself was pretty good, but nothing to brag about. It isn't as if Kushina is a bad cook; she just could use a lot of practice. And maybe a few classes. But it was edible and enough for someone who is hungry.

Naruto was about to finish off his rice when his mother spoke again. They had talked a bit, albeit not having much to say.

"Hey, remember my friend from work?" She asks, paying close attention to a piece of chicken between her chopsticks.

Naruto scratched his head. "No."

"Oh you silly boy," she sighs before eating the food and chewing fast. "Her name is Mikoto, remember? The painter from floor ten."

"Hmm…" Naruto scratches his head, twisting his mouth sideways in an attempt to remember.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Kushina explodes, slamming the table. Naruto laughs sheepishly. "The one who painted that mural of the red and white fan down by the police station."

"Ohhhh," Naruto drawls, rolling his eyes. "You should have said so in the first place."

His mother's eyebrows twitch in annoyance, mouth pouting, but she continues.

"Anyway, she was telling me about her younger son. I didn't even know she had a younger son. I just thought Itachi was her only one."

"Really, now?" Naruto asks, not really paying too much attention. He was waiting for the point in the story that he knew his mom would eventually make.

"Anyway, she was telling me that she remembered that you go to Konoha High School and so does her son, Sasuke!"

Naruto's body jerks into tension. His grips on the chopsticks tighten until both of the wooden sticks snap between his fingers. The blond spiky bangs on his forehead hang over, covering his eyes from view.

"Sasuke?"

"Yep," Kushina replies, waving a finger and looking off into space, "do you know him?"

Naruto takes a deep breath or two, hiding the broken chopsticks in his napkin. Lucky that he gets his air-headedness from his mom or she might have noticed.

"Hmmm, no," Naruto offered, "I don't recall the name. Perhaps he's unpopular or something."

Kushina's attention is brought back to her child and she grins. He grins back.

"What are you still doing here, Naruto?" She chides, suddenly after a few seconds of silent thought. "Go to your room and finish your homework!"

"Yes, ma'm!"

Naruto woke up the next morning with one thing in mind: going to the student council office and nominating himself to run for class president.

The unpleasant conversation with his mom the night before had not been forgotten, but he tried his best not think about it. Why, of all the people in the company, does his mom have to befriend the mother of him?

Naruto's mother works for a company that supplies many different forms of art. On floor ten, most of those employed are painters, and where his mom works on floor nine, the graphic designers reside. As a graphic designer, his mom makes webpage interfaces, pamphlet designs and other various art media made with the computer.

Kushina really enjoys her job despite the fits of anger towards all technology that she sometimes sports. During those times, Naruto's dad usually leaves Naruto to calm her down while he shuts off all computers or other things that could be harmed by his enraged wife. Sometimes Naruto envies Shikamaru's life.

Anyway, he couldn't let his mom know of his complete and utter hatred of Uchiha Sasuke. Not only because the bastard's mother is her friend, but because then that would reveal Naruto's true place at school. The place of rock bottom on the social ladder.

Becoming class president will fix that. And this year, he has even more ideas on how to gain votes.

Stepping into the office, the first thing that Naruto notices is that it is completely empty and devoid of life. This is a relief because Naruto just wants to get in and out before people see what he is doing and laugh at him.

He's grabbing a nomination form out of the box and furiously scribbling out the information, attempting to be as neat as possible so that they don't reject him because the form was illegible, when a voice disrupts his thoughts.

"Hn," is all the voice says with distaste.

Naruto nearly jumps out of his skin, and reflexively hides the paper under his arms. He looks up to see who has made such an annoyed noise at him, when he realizes that there is only one bastard capable of that.

"Sasuke!" Naruto blurts, unthinking and surprising himself. Sasuke stares back with equally wide eyes. "Don't you run on the track in the morning?"

Sasuke scowls before biting out, "Of course. But I have to clean up in here before I go out there."

Right. Sasuke was class president every year so far. He practically is guaranteed the position along with the student office being his property. Damn bastard ruining Naruto's attempts at accomplishing just one thing. Not that Naruto has had much of a chance anyway; he can't even make it to be a second round candidate let alone go head to head with the Uchiha snob.

"Hah, you complain too much, Sasuke," Naruto claims offhandedly. "I would make a much better class president."

Sasuke snorts, turning his head to the side and folding his rather toned arms over his flat chest. "You? Class president? I think that requires at least a brain to even run for the spot. From what I remember of the class rankings, you got dead last."

Tan hands clench into fists, teeth grinding together and whiskered cheeks stretch over cheekbones. Sasuke opens his mouth to say more, but Suigetsu strolls casually in, suddenly taken aback by the company.

"Sasuke-kun," Suigetsu whines, "you should have told me that you're handing out pity to losers. I have wanted to talk to that Shikamaru guy since sophomore year. Wanted to ask him how he can be so lazy yet so smart…"

"Shut the fuck up, Suigestu," Sasuke replies, coolly, and stalks towards the door, grabbing the sleeve of his friend's purple t-shirt and dragging him away.

"Byebye, Naruto-kun," Suigetsu shouts jokingly as he disappears behind the doorframe.

Typical of Sasuke who have friends that break school rules. That Suigetsu guy isn't supposed to be wearing his normal clothes to school. Then again, that bastard's friends probably get special benefits because of his damn god-status at Konoha High School.

Naruto drops his application into the correct bin for it, and stalks out of the room. His bad mood is already brewing and the day hasn't even begun. Black shoes round the corner and run straight into a teenager with black hair bunched at the top of his head.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaims once he realizes that he literally bumped into his friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Shikamaru lazily cradles the back of his head with his arm, "I was summoned to the school offices by Asuma-sensei. Ugh."

"Why would he want to talk to you?"

"Hmmm," Shikamaru ponders, "I suppose it must be another game."

"Hahaha, very funny Shika."

"I'm not kidding, you idiot. Last time he called me to his office, we played some sort of game. It was a wooden puzzle, kind of like something that an idiot like you would get too frustrated to do and quit. But, I solved it and he let me go. Such a waste of time. He interrupted my nap."

"Wow," Naruto responded after a moment. "Asuma-sensei is really strange."

"Hmmmm."

"See you in class, then," Naruto grins, turning on his heel and heading towards the classroom.

Shikamaru doesn't turn up for the rest of the day. On top of that, Choji is absent and thus not at the cafeteria during lunch. Naruto paces around for a while, grumbling and upset, before he retreats to the back of the school. There are these convenient steps where no one usually goes at lunchtime, and they make a great spot to eat lunch. Alone.

Just as the blond boy is finishing off his meal, he hears footsteps and sees a shadow from behind his head. He doesn't think much of it until a voice speaks.

"What are you doing out here?" The voice asks in an accusatory sort of fashion. Naruto spins around with simultaneously standing up in a defensive posture. He meets a pair of narrowed black eyes.

"What does it matter to you?" He snorts, crossing his arms.

"Well, dobe," Sasuke sneers, "students aren't supposed to be out here during lunch."

"Says who?"

"Some of us are class president and actually pay attention to school rules."

Naruto humphs, thinking for a bit before replying, "What are you gonna do, then? Rat me out? Force me to go back in there? Beat me up?"

The skin between Sasuke's eyes scrunch up and his mouth twists into a scowl. "Why would I do any of those things?"

"Why wouldn't you? I'm just the school loser, eh?" Naruto laughs, now, almost bitterly. He is so used to the treatment that he doesn't even get upset over it anymore, though the initial hurt does show in his voice.

"Hn."

"Go away," Naruto demands, childishly. "I don't need any pity handouts, thank you. You can tell that Suigechu guy, too."

"It's Suigetsu," Sasuke says, quietly. "And not everyone at this school thinks in the same way, Naruto."

Naruto, who had been leaning casually against the concrete pillar at the bottom of the stairs, suddenly stiffens. Something about hearing his name from the voice of someone so…revered, (by the other students at school, of course), just didn't feel right. Or maybe it just felt too natural and not full of the same hatred that Neji, Suigetsu, or even Sakura inspired in their tones when referring to the blond.

"Chk," Sasuke clicks, sharply turning his head away like he was mad about wasting so much time on the subject. "See you tomorrow, then."

The Uchiha boy's back now faces Naruto and he begins to make his way up the steps and into the doorway, and down the hall. Naruto's feet fumbles, but he runs into the building.

"Wait!"

Sasuke stops his steps and merely turns his head so that he is looking behind his shoulder. A twitch implies attention.

"My mom," Naruto calls from afar. "She is friends with your mom."

Sasuke blinks. "Okay."

And Sasuke walks away, leaving behind the younger teenager who feels his heart pummeling in his chest.

A/N: Okay so maybe this chapter wasn't exciting enough. But I rather liked it. I hope you enjoy! And maybe tell me if it was good? :)