AN: Been awhile since I posted.. heh, been awhile. Dedicated to Chuck and her chuck-ness… Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, any of the characters or anything.
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A long pencil tapped lightly, beating ever so lightly along with the ticking of
the school room clock, boredom controlling it's movements. The owner of the
pencil was none other than the all-popular Sasuke, whose attention was fixated
on the clock that was held at the head of the room, awaiting the bell. The
reason why he wasn't as attentive as usual was because of his ecstatic physics
partner, Haruno Sakura.
"This is going to be so cool!" She quietly squealed, almost just as oblivious to
him as the physics teacher at the head of the class. Sasuke mentally rolled his
eyes, but physically he simply grunted in response. The young girl took this
sign as a way that their friendship was improving, and continued her work with
satisfaction.
The dark haired Uchiha scowled at his paper. For once, Sasuke actually
anticipated sparring with a certain blue-eyed blonde, he needed something
besides his paper to vent his anger on. Well, that's what Naruto was made for
after all, beating up.
"Um, sir, isn't it bad to smoke in school?" A student asked the physics teacher,
Asuma. Asuma simply looked over his cigarette, then shrugged.
"Yes, but that's beside the point. Don't do drugs, and don't have sex without
protection." Asuma told him with a serious expression, earning quiet laughter
from most of the class. The student who spoke out chuckled nervously, seeing as
how he was embarrassed to be under the attention of the teacher.
Sasuke continued to watch the clock at the head of the room, letting his mind
wander to his daily spar with perhaps the only person he ever really talked to.
He thought of the blond's grin when Sasuke was faced with defeat, then Sasuke
thought of wiping it off with a royal ass kicking.
Naruto wasn't that bad at fighting. He was actually pretty good, not that Sasuke
would ever admit to it. 'Boredom.' Sasuke thought to himself, resting his chin
on his knuckles.
The ticking of the classroom clock mesmerized Sasuke, sending him into another
time-eating daydream. Naruto was yelling childishly, and Sasuke was leaning
against the old tree that they had marked as their boundary. He faced Naruto,
scowling slightly as Naruto splashed about in the creek that ran along the
field, then tripped and fell in the waist deep water headfirst.
Sasuke took his attention off of the young blonde, gazing instead at the surface
of the clear water, hands folding in his lap. After awhile when Naruto didn't
come back up to the surface, the Uchiha felt a slight pang of worry, which
quickly changed into paranoia. He hesitantly got up, peering over the side of
the bank.
"...Naruto?"
Before Sasuke could panic or do anything else, two arms shot out of the water,
hands outstretched and grabbing him by the shoulders. Sasuke's eyes widened,
grabbing the hands that clung to him, but before he could break away he had lost
his balance and fell face first into the cool water.
Once he had processed the water weighing him down, his eyes flashed open,
catching azure eyes before his. "You… Idiot." The glare told the devious blonde.
Naruto grinned sheepishly, bubbles rising to the surface. Sasuke looked back at
his shoulders, where Naruto still gripped them, and tore them away, still
glaring at the blonde somewhat half-heartedly. With a last glance he found
composure, standing up in the creek, the blonde's chin touching the surface just
barely, looking up at him.
Naruto also stood up as Sasuke scowled at him, laughing loudly and pointing at
him. Sasuke glared his coldest, then turned to wade back to the bank. "W-wait!"
Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder, turning him back around to face him.
Naruto grinned at him, and Sasuke raised his eyebrow, wondering why the blonde
wouldn't let him go back.
"Now you're wet, so just stay." Naruto told him with a slight grin.
"Ugh… Why am I doing this…"
Naruto cheered, jumping on him, pushing him under water. Then the bell rang.
---------
Sasuke watched his feet as they carried him through the familiar hallway,
careful not to bump into anyone. Like he could anyway; most of the kids at
school would either move out of his way, and the ones that didn't weren't paying
attention and couldn't see him. Or crazy fan-girls. He lifted his gaze finally,
spotting the main entranceway, watching the floods of people leaving. Sasuke
flowed in as well, knowing his destination once he would leave the high school,
as everybody around him.
A breath of fresh outside air filled Sasuke's senses, causing him to almost
smirk in content. He sighed, stepping out to the sidewalk and taking his usual
route to the outskirts of the east side of his small town, where the forest with
the big old tree resided. From his house the walk was shorter, but just like the
year before, they would meet here right after school.
Sasuke held his books somewhat loosely under one arm, one hand in his pockets as
he walked along the same path as usual, spotting the tops of the trees. He
walked. Spotting the tops of the trees he approached the fence, climbing over it
with his books safely held, his free arm pulling him over. He planted his heels
in the soil, taking a quick glance about his surroundings. He continued his
stride into the forest, trees overhead covering his view of the clear sky.
A slight crack. Sasuke froze in his pace, looking down at his feet for the
source of the noise. Only soft moss and dirt. He looked up to his upper right,
where he could hear the whistling of a blade cutting through leaves. His hand
shot out, grabbing the kunai out of the air, chuckling.
"Have it back." He called, flinging the poor kunai back up to the leaves, then
following after it, hearing a cry of surprise mixed with pain.
"Nice, Naruto." Naruto glared at him hanging off the trunk by his collar.
"That was just a lucky shot." Naruto murmured as he caught up to Sasuke, walking
by his side.
"Keep telling yourself that." Sasuke answered quietly with a hint of a smirk,
not recognizing Naruto's glare as he looked out towards the path. They both
entered the clearing, spotting the old tree in the middle, and heard the river
nearby. They dropped their books by the path, Naruto leaving his jacket there as
well.
They noticed everything around them, seeing it was the way they had left it the
day before, but different. In a new way, as if it were the first time they had
entered the clearing. Finally, they both stretched out, then started fighting
forms. Sasuke nodded at the other, taking the defensive.
Exhaling as he braced himself, then dug his heel in the soft soil and pushed
off. He ran at Sasuke and pulled back his fist, swinging with all the force he
had. Sasuke was about to fall under the attack as he had seen it coming already,
he reached out and grabbing it.
Though the force had thrown him back some, he turned abruptly, forcing Naruto's
arm to follow over his shoulder and pulling downwards. Pushing his back against
Naruto produced a loud grunt from the other boy, who then fell chest-first onto
Sasuke's side.
Sighing, the Uchiha held fast to his grip on the other boy's arm and watched
Naruto from above.
"Had enough-" Sasuke started as he was forced to back out of the way of Naruto's
knee, just in time to look up and see Naruto roll backwards and sit up on his
knees. Naruto darted up, throwing his weight towards the other with another
full-on attack, this time a kick.
Ducking slightly, Sasuke held up an arm, allowing himself to be pushed
backwards as he blocked attack after attack evenly. Finally, he was backed up
against the tree, the blonde reaching tree. Naruto reached out and grabbed his
wrists, pushing them against the trunk and pinning down Sasuke's shoulder with
his own.
Then silence, laced with rhythmic labored breathing.
"Had enough?" Naruto taunted breathlessly.
Sasuke let a deep growl settle in his throat. "Not quite."
Sasuke feigned a knee to the other's stomach then drove his heel powerfully
down onto the blond's toe. The simple movement broke Naruto's defense and Sasuke
used the moment to bring his knee back up and strike his opponent in the
abdomen. Breaking free of Naruto's grip; Sasuke swiftly pulled him around,
pushing him against the tree.
"...No fair..." Naruto mumbled angrily and Sasuke smirked, backing away from the
other.
"That was close. You almost had me that time, dunce." Sasuke crossed his arms,
lacing the compliment with a slight insult as Naruto dusted off his pants.
"Did I hear a hint of praise buried under the lies?" He asked sarcastically,
nudging Sasuke slightly, who was still wary about if their fight was over or
not.
"No, you're hallucinating, idiot." Sasuke replied just as sarcastically,
returning the nudge with a mocking voice that met a boyish pout.
"Sasuuke!"
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Only an hour later, the duo lay sprawled on the grass, breathing hard after a
long spar and looking up at the sky.
"What do you think..." Naruto started, watching the clouds as Sasuke turned his
head slightly to look at him, wondering why he broke the silence.
"...That one looks like?"
The blonde raised a hand, finger pointing to the one left above them. Sasuke
tilted his head. It looked like... and animal with cat-like ears, but yet a
poofy tail like a squirrel. Paws like a puppy's was were visible as well. What
kind of animal was that...?
"A fox." Sasuke murmured the first thing that came to mind.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. He tilted his head, watching the cloud skeptically.
"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "It really does."
The other was looking at his wristwatch.
"We've been here for awhile... it's almost 5:00.."
Naruto didn't seem to hear him, casually folding his arms behind his head, eyes
still locked on the sky.
"Have you thought about the English essay?" Naruto's voice dampened noticeably
to the thought of it.
"I'll probably just make something up." Sasuke answered. He bit his lip,
remembering what their ecstatic English teacher had ordered them to do.
"...What about you?" Sasuke asked, watching the side of Naruto's face, studying
silent features. The daydreaming escaped Naruto's eyes, and he blinked it out
once, then chuckled at the question.
"You know.. I honestly do not know." He answered somewhat distantly as well,
turning to look up at the sky. Sasuke was still confused though. Why was he so
happy after English class then? Why would he be excited about something he
didn't even have?
Maybe he wasn't really happy at all. The quirky blonde always looked happy, at
least when he was around Sasuke. Could he actually be hiding his real feelings?
Why would he? Sasuke thought silently on this, not commenting on Naruto's
answer. Watching the fox cloud roll down the horizon, wind shaping it into a
deformed chipmunk...
"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto pulled himself to his feet, and leaned over Sasuke,
blocking his view, his hands supporting himself on his thighs. The blond
grinned, holding a hand out to Sasuke.
"Wanna come over?" He asked, blue eyes hopeful. Sasuke smirked and took his
hand.
---------------------------------------
The blonde picked up his chopsticks, holding them with both hands, between his
index finger and middle finger, the rest of his fingers crossed. He grinned,
inhaling the salty smell of ramen. "Ah, that's good... Thanks for the food!"
Naruto exclaimed, then proceeded to stuff his face, Sasuke sitting across from
him with a bowl much like Naruto's in front of him.
After a moment or so though, Naruto noticed that the scowling Uchiha wasn't
touching his food. He raised an eyebrow, scratching his head. "Oi, Sasuke, you
hungry?" He questioned, looking up at Sasuke's eyes.
"Well, I was." The other Sasuke murmured, glaring at the salty-like substance of
the broth. He politely pushed himself away from the table, standing up and
pushing his chair back in.
"But… It's ramen…"
"Is this all you eat, dead-last?"
"I'm not dead-last! And this is my favorite food!"
Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. "I don't see
why you live here…" He murmured softly, looking about the small kitchen.
Naruto shrugged, taking Sasuke's bowl and downing it. "There's no-where else to
go, plus this place is practically free. Something about death insurance from my
parents…"
Sasuke's raised brow betrayed a slight interest which he quickly masked, not
wanting to show any emotion except for uncaring and bored.
"Where were you before you came here…?"
"Some orphanage. But they found the insurance and the bank account from my
parents so I was allowed to go. But now I don't think I can stay here real
long..." Naruto shrugged, finishing his food and picking up the bowls, placing
them in the sink. "It's not such a big deal! I'll just go somewhere else for my
senior year!"
Sasuke could feel his stomach drop drastically. If the blonde got kicked out of
his apartment for not having a job, then Sasuke wouldn't have a sparring partner
anymore, he probably wouldn't have anymore friends, either. Naruto was really
the only person he ever spoke to willingly.
'Is Naruto really going to leave…?'
Naruto muffled a chuckle with his sleeve, wiping off bits of noodle away from
his mouth. He looked up at Sasuke, a twinkle of silent laughter in his eyes.
"Not like anyone here would care." He smiled, less brightly this time.
Before Sasuke could help himself, his lips were already moving. "You know…"
Naruto looked up in attention, catching the other's dark eyes that seemed
unknowing under his gaze. "What is it?"
"Well, my dad owns this apartment complex, and you know…"
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Sasuke growled quietly to himself as Naruto jumped happily outside of the school
as they had walked there that morning, still unbelievingly happy about the offer
that Sasuke had given him the night previous.
"It's not something to be that happy about… It's only until you get a job."
"It's everything! I'm so excited!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes with a chuckle. He barely felt even content at the fact
that Naruto wouldn't have to go away.
Naruto's laugh rang clearly in Sasuke's ears, but he didn't mind much. In return
he finally smirked at the blonde, looking up.
Maybe he could help him with the English essay.