-1I'm hoping things are progressing and it is interesting for you. This a little insight into Sasuke's life and the morning after, so to speak (I mean really it is but what happened was too brutal so it doesn't seem appropriate.) Enjoy the Fourth Chapter and don't forget to review! Please and thank-you O .

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Of Struggles, Pain, Power and Battle

By Spirited Dragon

Chapter 4

Thought Provoking Situations

Ten after six and something wasn't right. Sasuke could feel it and normal his indifferent silent rage nature would push this feeling aside, or better yet ignore it. This was somehow different though. It gnawed at him as he lay on the floor of room staring at the ceiling musing over the silence that enveloped his household. It almost felt like when he has seen his family and neighbours…pass away thanks to the hands of his homicidal brother. Almost yet not quite. Both representative of this feeling and outside concern yet neither at the same time.

"Hn, what a time to think about that." He grumbled to himself. Only he knew that dragging up the past like this was a sore subject indeed and one best left dredged in the murky depths. It was common knowledge what had happened back at home, well home as in where his old house was. His home didn't exist anymore. It died the day everyone else did. Mollycoddled and wrapped in bubble wrap till he could no longer take it he moved to this part of the city, a small enough area to overlook past tragedies and yet big enough so he wouldn't become bored by backward-ness and barns. More like a self enveloped town really. Plus the weather wasn't too bad either. He slowly smiled at that.

It was only his first day at his new school and already he had a following of adoring girls who would fawn over him. Some things never did change no matter where one would travel to. The only person who refused to acknowledge his presence and was down right rude to him and his hair was a certain boy named Uurumaki. No wait how could he forget that name. Naruto Uzumaki. A manic blonde with obvious psyche problems. See Sasuke liked to think he was able to read people very well and despite what that boy wanted people to think, to him he was like an open book. He had been through something enough to hurt him.

He came to the conclusion it was probably another oversensitive cliché drifter that he had come across as during the one part of the day he had shared with him he noticed Naruto drew people to him regardless of what part of the social hierarchy they were from they seemed to drift towards him. Nothing major, or overly traumatising then. Sasuke realised he had wasted to much time on this boy and silently cursed him from afar. What did he know of the real problems in the world?

He rose and winced slightly as his back cracked. Damn floor. Always against him. Seriously, was the world out to stop his revenge plotting and to ease his teenage angst? World be damned. He padded slowly upstairs from his room to the attic, one of the advantages of being an orphan and rich, and looked around. Of course it would be arranged meticulously in boxes labelled and sorted, nothing less or more would suffice. Soft moonlight filtered through the loft window and he pull the blinds up and pushed it open as wide as possible before, using almost cat-like grace, pulling himself out onto the wide ledge. He sat down dangling his legs over the edge staring at the sky enjoying the feeling of a gentle breeze whipping his hair around into soft feathery touches. Lights polluted the night sky and all but a few stars were hidden from his perceptive view.

Silence rattled through the house he had lived in for less than a week and in his mind he knew this was probably why conversations with himself occurred so frequently. The breeze slowly died out and a lone cloud drifted over the moon, obscuring it from view, paling it's beauty. He turned his head slowly to look back into the attic. Covered in shadow and spider webs the gloom that enveloped him pushed words out to break the nothing-ness. "I guess some human contact would be nice…

…Sometimes."

Naruto awoke to, well he was shocked to find he was able to get up in the first place. As he took in his surrounding he noticed some very peculiar things. One he was awkwardly lying on the floor nearest the window, when he rose to his feet everything about him screamed and dry blood flaked off him and his master was no where in sight. He took the last one to be a good thing, although how he ended up on the floor was a mystery.

Looking at a clock on the bedside table he saw he had the most part of a few house to school so he could go back to his house, never home, and prepare. That is if he could make it to the wardrobe "borrow" some clothes and make it out the front door before he collapsed with fatigue. He mused over the options and discovering there really wasn't anything else he could do, he half limped and half padded over to the wardrobe and picked out a plain red, bordering maroon really, turtle neck and jeans that were a least a size too big. "Belt, belt, belt," he thought. He settled on a black studded one with the least red rusty stains on it.

Closing the front door behind him he smiled as a morning breeze ruffled his hair and eased his aching scalp. Slowly he made his way home. Taking the more normal, easy going route as opposed to the one he had used to get here. Almost an hour later, due to his delicate condition as he liked to call it, he arrived at the door of his apartment and pushed forward into the darkness and oddly cold for this time of year front room.

Not even bothering to remove his shoes he robotically made his way to the bathroom, stripped down and proceeded to his normal, daily routine. This consisted of a slow boiling shower where trying his best to scour the dirt off his body and then he dressed in silence, the smooth material of his school shirt feeling good against his skin, trying his best to not look at the mess of bruises and other possessive marks on his body he noticed angry blue black finger marks ringing round his neck. Great, he was cool enough now in his apartment but knowing this time of year well it was bound to get hotter. Either way he was screwed, wear nothing underneath and he risked questions about the bruises, wear something to hide them and risk questions on why he was acting "odder" than usual. "Urgh! Fucking bastard!" he screamed into the nothing-ness and in his momentary anger and sudden power surge he punched the mirror in front of him splintering the glass and fracturing it into many pieces. Many of which were stuck in his still closed Fist. "Great another fucking injury. Well I Think it's safe to say I have the worst luck of them all. Such a clumsy , undeserving…" He trailed off as he walked the short space to his kitchen where he picked out the glass and took care of the many wounds he had suffered. Hardest, he realised, would be the lash marks and welts. So many. So little left in the small hospital he had acquired over the course of a year.

Arriving at school at least an hour early he sat with his between his knees on the stairs outside of his form room. Waiting. Waiting in silence. He felt someone sit down on the opposite side of the set of stairs he was sitting on through tiny vibrations and debated looking up. No, not worth the effort. Regardless he sat up and winced as his back cracked and saw none other than that pretty boy transfer Sasuke sitting gracefully intently glaring at the wall. Better now than never. "Sorry. For yesterday. Sorry." He whispered.

"Still haven't found your voice I see. Dobe" Sasuke voiced back. The smirk obvious in the condescending way he said this statement.

"Still haven't found your manners I see. Teme. Don't they teach that at the posh school of yours, you should really make sure you get your money's worth." shouted Naruto, the volume obviously not necessary this early in the day. Something about this boy just irked him right down to the voices lair. Kyuubi, was that it's name? Maybe…

"Is that something shiny?" asked Sasuke.

"What? Where?" enquired Naruto. Shaking his head around eagerly already lost and distracted from the previous…well distraction.

"At least they didn't raise kids who think like magpies," the Boy chuckled.

"Oh…I… well I thought… Never mind" Naruto muttered out a mixture of sentences and regained a drilled into him perspective and replaced his head on his knees. Once again grimacing at the slight crack and sore wounds.

"You know, why do you do that? You seem so energetic and dominant, even aware of things around you then oddly revert into this cowering bundle of submissive fear. Are you like manic?"

"…" Mumbled Naruto into his leg.

"Here I thought I'd impress you with a long sentence length."

"I said, no. I am not manic."

"Well at least I got an answer. See you around. Dobe." Sasuke rose and filtered into the classroom with the rest of the student body who had arrived.

"Don't call me that! Bloody, teme." Naruto waited a few moments and lifted himself off the stairs. Grabbed his rucksack and leisurely strolled to his seat. Leisurely indeed. Barging past Sasuke as hard as his "condition" would allow he slid down into the wobbly chair that used to be so entertaining and replaced his legs with the desk as he lay his head upon it. Eyes closed and background noise slowly muffling itself out he fell into a dream like state of consciousness. What he didn't notice was Sasuke staring at his neck where the back of hair had parted and a sliver of black blue bruise was visible. "Probably nothing. He seems clumsy," reflected the Young Uchiha.

As the teacher, Iruka briskly walked into class a slight blush across his cheeks. "Sorry, I'm late class I was, intercepted. Yes. Intercepted on the way here, had to deal with some important business, alas the life of a teacher is very tough."

"Save it for another time sensei! We have social lives to be getting on with you know!" Called a boy near the back, he had two red tattoos on the cheeks of his face in the shape of upside down triangles. Kiba Inuzuka was his name.

"That may be but I'm sure those who do, don't want you there. Kiba"

"Uncalled for!" was the huskily shouted reply.

"Sit down I need to register all you miscreants. Oh, someone PLEASE wake Naruto up that's the third time this week," and while Iruka sat down to register the class Kiba took it upon himself to wake the sleeping boy.

"Yo, Fox Boy!! Wake up. There's a time and a place you know." Naruto stirred "Psst, This isn't it." Kiba added after careful consideration.

"Oh get bent Inuzuka," He wearily mumbled, he seemed to do that a lot lately.

"What did you!!…" Cut off by a clearly angry Iruka he was ear pulled to his seat.

"Oh shush, Naruto stay awake it's only twenty five minutes a day I see you so please! Kiba shut it and say put. Anyone else want to try my patience? Really go on, I dare you!" Iruka glared across the class and the class was silent as he finished the register with only a minute to spare.

During all this Sasuke watched Naruto, weather he was sleeping or staring out the window staring at lone birds circling the tarmac. He had reached this conclusion. The one thing he could say for sure about this new, environment, was that it certainly wasn't boring. Much to the annoyance of his inner indifferent self who knew change was coming.

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Well. Wow, long chapter ne? Well for me anyways. Hope I've drawn the similarities between the two boys which is what I'm trying to do. Oh and the angst, emo, teenage thing? I had too. Taking an emo snipe at Sasuke is too irresistible, it's like a florescent yellow glove slapping you in the face. Really. Reviews are appreciated. Really.