Red Storm

Chapter 11: Cruel Intentions

"Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate that."

~Oliver Stone

Naruto slowed to a halt as the bell rang its warning for five minutes left of free period. He hadn't even been paying attention to where he was going and was headed in directly the opposite path to his class. The teen shook his head and dug his hands in his pockets as he turned around and made his way back towards the English classroom on the second floor. He knew running away from Sasuke hadn't been the kind or thoughtful thing to do, but his legs had moved before he'd had a chance to think.

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh as he went up the stairs and through the crowded corridors. Sometimes he would give anything to be rational rather than the impulsive idiot he was.

Students were slamming locker doors and talking loudly as they made their way to classes, and the blond was too engrossed in his thoughts to notice the strange reactions he left in his wake. Teenagers looked up from their cellphones as he passed by, and shot each other smirks and knowing looks before delving into whispered conversations.

He went past all of this completely clueless before reaching his classroom denoted by a brown sign above the doorway saying '203B'. Iruka-sensei had not arrived resulting in students sitting on desks, talking and laughing in small clusters. As Naruto stepped through the doorwary, everyone looked up and a soft hush descended on the room. Now this, even the unobservant Uzumaki could notice. He kept his face impassive as he passed between the desks of the now silent teens, staring at him shamelessly. The blond sat down at his desk before looking up and meeting their gaze squarely.

"What?"

Everyone quickly looked away and began talking again although their conversations were in quieter voices and the odd bouts of laughter rang out before a quick glance was sent his way.

Naruto ground his teeth together, curiosity and anxiety burning in the pit of his stomach. If people were going to talk about him, couldn't they at least be a bit less obvious about it?

"All right, class. Let's get started." said Iruka as he entered the classroom and picked up the chalk. "We'll be continuing from page 138, so please get out your books."

There was a rustling of bags and a shuffling of feet as the students quickly got back to their seats and began taking out their books. The object of everyone's attention tried to keep his head down and ignore them as he felt glances being shot his way throughout the entire duration of the class.

It was the end of last period and Naruto strolled down the halls, making his way to soccer practice, his backpack hanging off his shoulder. The last few classes had been weird. Everyone whispering, laughing at him. It made his blood boil.

"Hey, Uzumaki." shouted a voice. Naruto turned to see a greasy-haired teen across the hallway safe amongst a crowd of snickering friends. The guy was grinning widely. "Not interested in giving the ladies some of that action? I always knew you guys were too tight! In more than one sense of the word."

His friends around him collapsed into laughter, and Naruto glared. He was obviously missing something, but hell if he knew what it was.

"What are you talking about?"

The guy just grinned and whispered something to a girl next to him who laughed loudly.

Naruto ground his teeth and turned, trying to look casual and unperturbed as he walked away while the irritation pricked at him like sharp, tiny needles.

A few stairwells and corridors later, and he heard a voice followed by running footsteps.

"Naruto! Oi, Naruto!" yelled Kiba as he ran down the hall, pushing past the other students. "Get out of the way." he said grumpily to the skinny boy he had rudely shoved past, looking at him as if he'd been the perpetrator of the crime. He didn't even glance back as the boy shot him a dirty look and walked away.

"Are you ok?" asked Kiba, panting slightly as he reached his bewildered friend.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" asked Naruto.

Kiba shot him a look of pity. "Well, I mean, what they're saying about you. That kind of thing would drive me bat-shit insane."

Naruto frowned. "What who have been saying about me?"

Kiba's eyes widened. "You mean, you don't know? It's all over the school, man."

That would explain the weird behaviour of practically everyone in his classes today. Naruto folded his arms."So what's going on?"

Kiba laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's stupid really, you know…about you and Sasuke."

Naruto froze. Him…and Sasuke?

Kiba continued, "People are saying you two were…you know, uh..." he coughed, "...getting off in the boy's toilets."

Naruto almost choked, his eyes going wide as saucers. "What?"

"There's even this crappy picture going around which is supposed to look like you two kissing, but it's so blurry it's laughable."

"What?" said Naruto again, his voice growing higher.

Kiba carried on oblivious, "Well, I mean it does look kind of like you guys, but obviously it's photoshopped. Everyone's saying you two must be having some kind of secret relationship. Boy, did that get the fangirls mad."

"What?" repeated Naruto for the third time, this time his voice was so high it was practically off the decibel scale.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy, right?" laughed Kiba. "I mean you and the Uchiha? Anyone with half a brain would know there's nothing going on between you and Sasuke freaking Uchiha, right?"

Naruto didn't say anything now. He couldn't. His throat was blocked by some unknown force and all he could do was stare at his friend.

Kiba laughed again, a slight nervousness creeping into his tone. "I mean, right?"

It was obvious now. Kiba had come here looking for confirmation that it was all bull. Should Naruto lie?

A hot flush of embarrassment engulfed his face and he could feel his cheeks giving off heat like a small, flaming sun. The smile faded from Kiba's face.

"Oh my dear lord. Is there something going on with you and-"

He was cut off as Naruto grabbed his arm and tugged him along the hallway to get as much distance as he could from potentially-listening ears.

"Of course not." he said. "I mean, we weren't freaking 'getting off'."

He blushed deeper as he repeated his British friend's words. Kiba remained shell-shocked as he allowed himself to be dragged along.

"But you were doing something…there…in the bathrooms."

"No!" cried Naruto, "Well, I mean…"

He slowed to a stop and let go of Kiba, unable to face his friend. "He kind of might have kissed me."

Kiba's reaction would have been hilarious had it not been for the fact that Naruto was currently freaking out. Kiba's eyes bulged and he opened his mouth and closed it several times looking very much like a surprised fish brought onto dry land.

"Uchiha…kiss…you…he…" choked out his friend.

"There's nothing going on." said Naruto, waving his arms. "He's obviously seriously deluded right now. I told him to back off, and that's all there is to it."

Kiba just shook his head looking as if his entire world had been turned upside down. You'd think he was the one who'd just been kissed by one of his best friends.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Gay. I just can't believe it."

Naruto shifted his back pack on his shoulder and continued down the hallway. "Neither can I. Believe me."

His friend jogged up next to him. "So what are you going to do?"

Naruto frowned. "I just told you. I said to him to back off."

"And he just did? That doesn't sound very…Uchiha."

"It's either that or I break his face," replied Naruto. He curled his fists tightly. "And I'm seriously going to after this."

Kiba shrugged. "What's the big deal, man?"

Naruto almost tripped as he stared at the other boy. "What's the big deal? What's the big deal? Only the entire school thinking I'm gay. Have you any idea what this is going to do to my reputation? I spent so long just trying to get people to accept me as normal, to not hate my guts. This is going to destroy everything."

Kiba gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I mean, it's not that bad. I mean, being gay, isn't like when people thought, you know, that you were some kind of evil psychopath."

Naruto shook his head. "You don't get it. It's being different. In high school that's bad enough. With my reputation it's ten times worse." He groaned. "How does everyone know already? It only happened this afternoon."

Kiba stopped in mid-step and stared ahead of him. "You don't think…"

"What?" asked Naruto, turning to face him.

Kiba looked at him. "Well, it's funny how everyone found out about you and him kissing right after you rejected him, isn't it?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

Kiba noticed his expression and quickly backtracked. "Forget it. Even Sasuke wouldn't do something like that."

But it was too late. Naruto was off, marching down the corridor and holding his backpack in a death grip.

"I'm going to fucking kill him."

When Kiba and Naruto arrived at the locker room, Naruto had managed to work himself up into a dangerous, frenzied anger.

"Where is he?" he yelled to his surprised teammates half in the middle of changing.

"Where's who?" asked Neji.

"That asshole Uchiha, who else?"

"I'm here." came Sasuke's calm voice as he slammed the door of his locker and turned to face him.

The sheer serenity of his entire demeanor made Naruto want to punch him in the face twice as hard. He walked up to him and shoved him. Sasuke stumbled back against the locker, but he didn't look surprised or even try to defend himself as Naruto shoved him again.

"This is your fault, you bastard."

"Whoa. Take it easy, Uzumaki." said Neji, grabbing Naruto's arm and holding him back. "What's going on?"

"You mean you haven't heard the juicy gossip this asstard has been spreading around? I thought you'd be the first on it with your reporter skills, Neji."

The other boy narrowed his pale eyes. "I don't put much stock in rumors, Uzumaki. You know that. And even if it was true, I wouldn't care."

That statement made Naruto stop. "Why not?"

"It wouldn't matter to me if you were gay."

Naruto looked around at the other team members who were all watching the drama unfold before their eyes. Shino, Kiba, Choji, Rock Lee and Sai all staring at him.

"So you have heard." He said and took a few steps back. "Yeah, well, I'm not."

He sent as fiery a glare as he could muster at Sasuke. "And you'd better remember that before you go around telling the whole school shit like that."

Sasuke straightened his blue and white soccer shirt. "I didn't tell anyone anything."

"Oh yeah, well, if not you, then who did?"

Apparently, Sasuke had no answer for that. He merely frowned and looked away.

This enraged Naruto even more. Did he seriously think that was going to cut it?

"I know I didn't go broadcasting that crap to the whole school," said Naruto. "So if not me that leaves one other person."

Sasuke took a step forward and said in a low voice, "Look. I'm sorry this happened, and I swear that I-"

"No." interrupted Naruto, pushing him back. "You know what? Forget it. This, the thing with Sakura, everything. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you and your twisted mind games. You need to find another hobby, Uchiha. One that doesn't consist of ruining my life."

With those words, he stormed out of the locker room towards the soccer field, his gym bag still over his shoulder. No chance he was going to change in the same room as that bastard.

Sasuke opened his locker and grabbed his soccer boots, ignoring his teammates' eyes that were boring into his back. It was difficult to keep his movements calm and purposeful when inside all he wanted to do was throw a massive tantrum and punch every single person in the room including himself. Hell, even Uzumaki.

It wasn't his fault everyone knew. He hadn't told a soul. Obviously, someone had found out somehow. They must have been eavesdropping in the bathrooms. Now it was all over school, and even though he didn't give two flying fucks what a single turd in this school thought of him…Naruto did, and now Naruto hated him. That mattered.

Meanwhile, Choji broke the awkward silence that had descended on the locker room.

"Holy shit, man. What did I miss today?" said Choji, the half-eaten sandwich in his hand forgotten as he stared at the people around him. Shino shrugged, stood up and without a word followed Naruto's path through the door to the soccer pitch. Choji quickly finished off his sandwich and followed him.

"Hey, wait up!" he said.

"I want to know what's going on." said a protesting Lee as he was dragged away by Kiba and Neji.

"Leave it, man. Haven't you got some push-ups or something to work on before we start practice?"

The three boys exited the locker room, leaving only Sasuke and Sai in the room.

Sai tied the last laces on his soccer boot before standing up and stretching. He smiled at Sasuke.

"What a shame. All your hard work for nothing, huh? Looks like you just keep getting him to hate you more and more."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his mind putting the pieces together. "You took that picture, didn't you?"

Sai smirked. "Now what would give you that idea?"

Sasuke took a threatening step towards him. "Don't mess with me, Sai. You think this is funny?"

He stopped and met Sai's gaze steadily. "Did you take the picture or not?"

Sai merely shrugged. "You can't expect me to see something as hot as that and not tell people about it."

A flash of anger shot through Sasuke and he slammed Sai against the wall. The other boy's smile only widened.

"You had no right." ground out Sasuke.

Sai's eyes showed no fear, only mirth. "You can't stop freedom of speech."

"This isn't a fucking joke." shouted Sasuke. "Did you ever think of the damage it might cause?"

The infuriating pleased look never left the smiling boy's face as he easily held Sasuke's menacing gaze.

"Scared I've ruined your chances? Don't worry, Uchiha. I'll be here to pick up the pieces." the smile widened. "And if he ever needs a shoulder to cry on…"

That was it. Sasuke snapped. He pulled back his fist and smacked that sadistic guy hard in the face. Sai's head whipped to the side and he stumbled slightly as Sasuke let go of him. Touching his rapidly swelling cheek he straightened up and shot Sasuke a smile.

"You know, I have a theory that it's the weak-minded that fight with fists. The intelligent fight with wits."

Sai headed out towards the soccer pitch, pushing through the swing doors.

"May the best man win, Sasuke." he called back.

Sasuke was breathing heavily. He glared at the white brick wall in front of him and hit it with a yell. Man, he hated that Sai guy. He would gladly wrap his hands around his throat until he stopped moving.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke followed the route of all the other boys and headed out into the corridor towards the soccer field. The bright light of the sun shone far too calmly on him as he pushed through the second set of swing doors and onto the pitch where everyone had already started their warm-up exercises with Gai. He needed to keep calm if he was ever going to convince Naruto to talk to him again.

50 minutes into soccer practice and Naruto had managed to avoid talking to or even looking at Sasuke Uchiha. Of course, there was no talk of drama with Gai watching them, and besides, they were far too busy trying to concentrate on their movements. That was one thing Naruto loved about soccer. It pushed everything else out and made you focus on the game - at least...usually.

"All right, boys" shouted Gai. "All of you in pairs. Neji with Choji, Shino with Lee, Sasuke with Naruto. Sai, you're with Kiba after he's done in goals. We're going to practice passing and trapping for the last ten minutes. First pair, Neji and Choji. Go."

Neji and Choji raced off up opposite sides of the pitch, passing regularly to each other as they neared the goals. Neji kicked the ball to Choji, and Choji fumbled slightly before hitting it back towards the goal. Kiba leapt on it before it could hit the net.

"Nice form, guys. Try and get more control on your aim, Choji." shouted Gai. "Next pair. Shino and Lee."

Lee looked slightly nervous as he ran up the pitch, the ball passing back and forth between himself and the stoic Shino. Shino appeared to be about to blast the ball, but at the last moment, passed back to Lee, who although surprised, managed to adapt and kick the ball into the corner of the net.

"Nice teamwork!" roared Gai approvingly.

Naruto groaned. Gai must have had some kind of subconscious sadistic side to pair him and Sasuke together today. He tried as best he could to avoid meeting Sasuke's eyes as he passed the ball to him and they ran up the opposite sides of the pitch. He passed to Sasuke. Sasuke passed back.

"More eye contact, boys!" came Gai's voice. "You need to be able to read each other's movements."

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked at Sasuke at the exact same moment the raven-haired teen looked at him. He momentarily held his breath as he met his friend's gaze. Sweat beaded on Sasuke's brow and the determination in his eyes said that he wasn't going to lose. He dribbled the ball up the pitch, his lean muscles moving against his shirt. It was hard to describe the expression on Sasuke's face. It was an intensity mixed with some other emotions Naruto couldn't read. It was the same odd look Sasuke had gotten in his eyes before he'd been about to kiss Naruto, and the same one he'd gotten when he'd confessed his feelings.

Naruto tore his gaze away as an odd feeling curled in his stomach. No, he hated Sasuke. He was mad at Sasuke and he was going to stay mad at him, that stupid bastard who was ruining his life, who-

"Naruto! Heads up!" yelled a voice, and Naruto turned to be met with a ball coming towards him. If he'd been paying attention he could have bounced it off his chest and controlled it to move in front of him and down to his feet, but Naruto hadn't been paying attention and in his panic he spun slightly on the grass. The studs of his soccer shoe got stuck in the turf and his leg twisted making him lose his balance. The soccer ball flew over and past him and he fell forward roughly onto his shoulder. There was a crack as he landed and the momentum carried him a few feet up the pitch, the grass burning his skin.

In the next few moments everyone was running towards him. Naruto got up slowly wincing as pain tore through his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" asked Kiba, first to arrive from his position in goals. "That looked pretty nasty."

Naruto nodded and grimaced. "I'm fine."

"Let me have a look." said Gai running up and examining the teenager. He noticed Naruto's stiff movement of his arm. "Can you move your shoulder?"

Naruto moved it slightly. Pain shot through him and he stopped.

"May I?" asked Gai, holding out his hands.

Naruto nodded and allowed Gai to press his fingers into his shoulder, feeling the bone and muscle. He asked Naruto to move it several different ways before finally stopping his torturous examination. Naruto heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, I don't think it's broken or dislocated," said Gai. "But you might have sprained it." He stepped back. "The school nurse is gone for the day, so I want you to get to a doctor as soon as you get home, all right?"

Naruto nodded. This was so embarrassing. So much fuss over a sprained shoulder which had been his own fault anyway.

"We'll finish practice here today, boys. Remember, in any sport, concentration is key. Everyone off the pitch and to the showers."

Gai led the way, helped by Shino, Lee and Choji as they picked up the cones and other soccer equipment lying around the field. Naruto made his way to the locker room with Kiba - Sai and Sasuke trailing close behind.

"Are you ok?" muttered Sasuke as he followed Naruto through the swing doors into the corridor.

Naruto didn't reply. Partly out of anger, partly out of embarrassment. To think he'd gotten so distracted by Sasuke he'd done this.

"Don't worry, Uzumaki. I'll gladly nurse you back to health." said Sai next to him, throwing his arm around his waist. Kiba rolled his eyes, throwing Sai a look of disgust.

"Back off, Sai." said Naruto through gritted teeth. He couldn't even shrug him off with his sore shoulder, so he opted for grabbing his wrist with his good arm and pushing it away.

"Come on, you need some assistance." said Sai, putting the hand back around his waist. The next moment Sai was yanked away from a surprised Naruto and slammed against the wall.

"He said back the hell off, Sai."

Naruto and Kiba both stopped and gaped.

"Dude, calm down." said Kiba.

"I won't calm down." shouted Sasuke shooting Kiba a look of pure fire. "He's the one who went around telling everyone. He was hiding in one of the cubicles, eavesdropping on our conversation then thought it would be fun to tell the whole school."

Naruto's eyes flicked between Sasuke and Sai, settling on Sai. "Is that true?"

Sai's eyes widened. "Of course not. I know I pull some pranks, but I'd never do something like that. Sasuke just thinks it's me because of how I am sometimes."

Sasuke pressed harder on Sai's throat. "He's lying."

Naruto frowned. "Why would he lie?"

Sasuke looked like someone had hit him in the chest. "Who are you going to believe, him or me?"

Naruto sighed. His head was throbbing, his mind was a mess and it felt like someone was shoving hot pokers through his shoulder. He just didn't feel like thinking about any of this anymore. He wanted to go home, get his shoulder fixed and go to sleep.

"Look," he said finally. "I-I can't deal with this right now. We can talk about it later. Just...let him go."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open, and nobody saw the smirk that Sai flashed him. It seemed there weren't enough punches in the world to wipe the smile of this sadomasochist's face.

"I'm past the point of caring right now, ok?" said Naruto. "I want to go home and forget this day ever happened."

Sasuke said nothing in reply to that as Naruto walked through the second set of double doors into the locker room. What could he say? He reluctantly let go of Sai who made a big show of brushing himself off.

"Guess it's just you he hates, Uchiha." said Sai quietly enough for only Sasuke to hear, and winked as he followed Kiba and Naruto through the swing doors, leaving the Uchiha standing there, clenching his fists tightly. He let out a frustrated growl before heading into the locker room. He needed a damn cold shower after all this.

Fifteen minutes later and a tired Naruto was struggling with his shirt as he tried to pull his arm out without twisting it too much. He could feel Sasuke's eyes on him and purposefully ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on the locker door in front of him. He had only just gotten out of his shoes, socks and shorts, and all the other boys had already showered and dressed. Sasuke was among the last, sitting on the bench as he packed his gym bag. He stood up and walked over to the blond teen.

"Do you want a hand?" he asked.

Naruto didn't look at him. "I'm fine." he said gruffly.

Sasuke sighed. "Look, it's obvious you can't get your shirt off yourself-"

"I said I'm fine!" interrupted Naruto, shooting him a heated glare. "You've done enough, all right?"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them, but at the same time felt a grim satisfaction as guilt flashed across Sasuke's face.

"Fine. Whatever." said the dark-haired teen as he threw his gym bag over his shoulder and left the locker room. Soon after, the other boys followed suit.

"Hey, Naruto." said Kiba as he passed him. "Maybe you could cut him some slack, eh? All he did was like you."

The words shot through Naruto like an arrow, but Kiba was out the door before the teen had a chance to reply.

He frowned as he stood in the now-empty locker room. Kiba Inuzuka was standing up for Sasuke of all people? He never took Sasuke's side. Naruto sighed. He knew Kiba had a point, but, hell, he was angry, and he needed someone to be angry at.

Shouldn't you just get angry at Sai then? he thought to himself.

Then another voice rose in his mind. Well, yeah, but this is Sasuke's fault too. If he hadn't kissed me…

You know Sasuke wouldn't have told anyone, replied the irritatingly rational voice.

Naruto growled and pulled off his sweaty soccer shirt, wincing in pain as he moved his sore shoulder. He knew that, but if Sasuke hadn't freaking kissed him none of this would have happened.

Naruto's argument with himself was cut short as the door to the locker room swung open. Hidden amongst the rows of metal lockers, Naruto froze as he heard a familiar voice.

"Those retards will be finished by now, so we'll have the soccer pitch to ourselves." said Kenta.

"Won't we get in trouble for using the soccer equipment without permission?" asked the higher, thinner voice of another boy.

The low rumble of Goro's laughter echoed through the room. "The teachers don't check if anyone's on the pitch by this time. School's over, man. They've gone home. Nobody cares."

The voices were coming nearer and Naruto glanced down at himself. He was still only half-dressed in his boxers. He wouldn't have time to get dressed and out, he didn't even have time to shove things in his locker. Maybe they wouldn't come this way, maybe he could-

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Naruto's heart sank as he turned to face the three boys that had stopped at the end of the row of lockers.

Kenta looked as if Christmas had come early, his white teeth gleaming in a wide grin as he bounced a yellow and blue soccer ball back-and-forth between his hands.

"Look, guys, it's the freak." he said, nodding towards the solitary teenager, "Or should that be …the faggot?"

Naruto swallowed and said nothing as Kenta began to walk towards him. His mind was racing as he sought desperately for a way out. He could run, but no, even if he wasn't half-naked his damned pride threw that thought out the window.

Without warning, Kenta lifted the soccer ball and made as if to throw it at Naruto's face. Naruto flinched and automatically his hands flew up to protect his face, making his shoulder scream in pain.

Kenta grinned. "What's wrong, freak? I thought you'd be used to having balls flying at your face."

"Whatever." muttered Naruto, and he turned away, taking his white shirt out of the locker and pulling it onto his injured left arm, trying as best he could not to show any pain or weakness. Maybe if he ignored them, gave no reaction, they'd just go away.

Yeah, that was a stupid hope.

"What's wrong, freak? Too good for us now, are you? Or is it that we're just not your types?"

Kenta smirked as the two boys behind him sniggered. When Naruto still didn't turn to face him, the smile on his face dropped. He grabbed the blond's shoulder roughly and yanked him round. "I'm talking to you, fag!"

Naruto let out a cry and grabbed at his arm, moving away from Kenta. He glared at him as his shoulder throbbed angrily, making his head pulsate.

"Fuck off, Kenta. I'm not in the mood."

Kenta grinned. "Aw, did the little freak hurt himself playing his little games?" He threw the ball up in the air and caught it. "You should leave soccer to the real men."

Naruto couldn't help himself. "You mean the real men who can't graduate or go to college?"

The expression on Kenta's face hardened, but the smile remained and he remained eerily calm as he looked at his friends. "You know what, guys? I think we should help the freak out. Look at his soccer kit." He pointed at the mound of grass-stained clothes on the bench. "It's filthy."

He grinned at Goro, "Why don't we wash it for him?"

Goro lips curved into a sadistic smile. "I know just the place"

"Grab his soccer kit, Eiji." said Kenta.

Naruto wasn't sure what to think, but he had a feeling this couldn't be anything good as he watched the thin, sandy-haired boy pick up the mound of sweaty clothes. He looked younger than the others and glanced at Naruto nervously.

"We should wash his school uniform too." said Goro.

"What a thoughtful idea, Goro." agreed Kenta, and the next moment Goro was pulling Naruto's pants and socks out of the locker.

"The hell are you doing?" said Naruto as he tried to grab them from the bigger teen, but Goro simply shoved him back.

"We'll take this too." said Kenta as he grabbed the white shirt that was only half-on, and yanked it roughly off. Naruto gave a yell as his shoulder twisted back, almost grateful as his arm came free of the material. Kenta threw the shirt to Goro who caught it, adding it to his pile of clothes.

"Take them to the nearest bathrooms." ordered Kenta, smirking at Eiji and Goro. "Give them a good soak in the toilets. Feel free to add your own…flavor to the mix."

Naruto's eyes widened and he lunged at Goro. "No, give me back my clothes!"

But Kenta blocked his way and punched him hard in the jaw. He saw stars and stumbled back, feeling a pair of hands grab him before he was slammed face-first against the cold steel of a locker. The next moment his injured arm was pulled back and up, twisted painfully towards his upper back, and it hurt. Oh god, it hurt.

He cried out as lightning bolts of agony shot up and through his arm, zinging into his neck and throbbing into his skull. The stars still clouded his vision and blood seemed to rush through his head at a million miles per hour. He blinked hard and his vision cleared a little.

"Get going." said Kenta to Goro and Eiji who still stood there holding the clothes. Goro grinned and turned to walk away, but Eiji hesitated.

"Should we really be doing this? We could get in a lot of troub-" began Eiji.

"Fucking go, or I'll be shoving you in the toilet next, dickweed." growled Kenta, grabbing Naruto's other arm and pinning his wrist to the locker as he struggled in his grip. Eiji quickly followed the larger Goro, and there was the sound of the door slamming as they exited.

A strange sort of silence descended on the empty locker room after the other boys left. Naruto was breathing heavily. His head had cleared, but his shoulder was still twisted painfully and he was trying not to move too much. Any movement only exacerbated the pain.

Kenta relaxed a little as Naruto stopped struggling, but he kept a firm grip on the other teen's wrists should he lash out. He adjusted his stance, pinning the other teen more securely to the locker wall with his body. The blond squirmed uncomfortably. The larger teenager was so close he could smell Kenta's sweat.

"What's wrong, freak? Isn't this turning you on? I thought this would be a dream come true for a fag like you." he said.

Naruto craned his neck round and shot him a glare.

"I'm not fucking gay." he ground out.

Kenta flashed his pearly teeth in a grin. "Could have fooled me. Or is it just the Uchiha kid that gets you off?"

Naruto looked away and said nothing.

"Why don't we find out?" said Kenta, and he let go of the hand he was pinning up against the locker and snaked it around Naruto's waist, feeling at the band of his boxers.

Naruto jerked back, pushing against the other boy's body. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kenta growled and shoved him forward. "You think I didn't hear the rumors - that you were fucking one of our teachers?" He laughed and pushed his face close to Naruto's ear. "I bet you played all kinds of dirty slut with him, so don't act all innocent."

Naruto's whole body went cold and his heart beat so fast he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He had to get away. Now.

Kenta grunted as Naruto threw his head back, catching him on the chin. The shorter teen tried to get out of Kenta's grip, kicking against him and hitting at him with his other arm.

Kenta responded by twisting Naruto's injured arm up his back even further until Naruto yelled, standing on the tip of his toes to try and ward off the pain, and Kenta slammed him onto the locker with a bang that rang through the room.

"You think you can just strut around this school like you're number one, Uzumaki?" he hissed. "Think you can act the hero, and people will just forget? Other people might have fallen for your little 'poor me' game, but I don't forget. I know what you are. You're a murderer. Fucking fag scum."

The older boy relaxed his grip slightly, just enough to let Naruto fall back onto his feet, but still enough to keep him rocking onto the balls of them, his back and neck stretched in an effort control the pain. He felt nauseous, and he stiffened as Kenta's arm again crept round his waist. He couldn't move. It was just like his nightmares. And this time every sensation was real, just too damn real - from the low humming of the air conditioner on the far wall to the cold metal of the locker pressed up against his half-naked body to the trickle of sweat that formed at the nape of his neck and trickled down his back. It was too sickeningly real as Kenta pushed his hand into his boxer shorts and Naruto's entire body stiffened as the teen's fingers snaked around his member.

"S-stop. Why are you doing this?" said Naruto, trying to turn and face the other teen, to look him in the eye, but it was hard with his cheek pressed against the cold metal.

"A fag like you should be enjoying this." murmured Kenta, his breathing getting heavy, and Naruto felt an unmistakeable hardness begin to press into his back.

Naruto grit his teeth as hot anger shot through him. "I'm not the one with his hand down another guy's pan-"

It was all he could get out before Kenta pushed his arm up further, twisting his shoulder, and Naruto cried out in pain, standing on his toes. He continued to stand like that, pinned against the lockers, arm twisted behind his back and another boy's hand on his limp privates, slowly beginning to pump. Now he was sure he was going to vomit. His member slowly began to harden in spite of himself and the first stirrings of that unnatural heated feeling began curling in his stomach.

The door to the room slammed open, the jarring sound ringing off the white tiled walls. Kenta immediately stepped back, yanking his hand out of Naruto's boxers and loosening his grip on his arm.

Goro and Eiji came around the corner, and looked back and forth between the two boys.

"What's going on?" asked Goro, raising his brows at the flushed expression on Kenta's face.

"Nothing." said Kenta quickly. "Just making sure he didn't run away while you two were taking care of things."

Naruto took his chance. He jerked his arm completely out of Kenta's grasp and punched him as hard as he could across the face with his good arm. Then he shoved past him, leaping over the benches like a gazelle escaping the sights of a shotgun.

"Get him!" yelled the older teen.

Naruto managed to round the corner before Goro was on him, grabbing his arms. He kicked at him hard and the guy let him go with a grunt of pain, but no sooner was he sprinting off than someone grabbed his legs, pulling him to the floor. He landed with a yell on his sore shoulder and his head cracked against the hard surface. Goro was on him again and grabbed him by his collar, lifted his head a foot off the floor and punched him. Agony exploded through his skull, spreading out from his cheek where he'd been hit. It was like being hit by a brick, and he fell back prone on the floor as his entire head seemed to ring and reverberate.

"Nice work, guys." said Kenta as he came up to them. He wiped at his mouth and looked at the small traces of blood on his fingers. He stared at it for a moment before kicking Naruto hard in the torso as he tried to get up. The blond doubled over and clutched at his stomach with a groan.

"Grab him." said Kenta. "I think he needs to cool off."

Naruto felt himself being lifted up and half-carried somewhere. His vision was still clouded and it was hard to tell which way was up and which was down as the world spun around him. All he could feel to guide him were his feet being dragged along the rough concrete floor. Then it became smoother. The two teens holding him finally let him go, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, vaguely registering the cold wet of the tiled floor beneath him. Someone kicked him again in the stomach, making him fall onto his side, and he could see the shadowy figures of Goro, Eiji and Kenta above him in the dark gloom of the shower room.

"Turn it on." said Kenta.

One of the figures moved out of his sight. He heard the squeaking of metal, and the next moment he was assaulted with ice cold water pouring down on his unprotected body. He gasped. The shock of the temperature woke him from his stupor, but his arms and legs wouldn't move properly as he tried to get up and out of the way, his hands slipping on the surface of the smooth tiles. Again someone kicked him, this time their shoe connecting with his mouth, and he fell onto his back, tasting blood from the lip that had been knocked into his teeth.

"Stay there until you wash the scum off your skin, freak." came Kenta's harsh voice.

The barely-conscious boy heard the footsteps of the other guys echo off the walls as they walked away. He spat out an iron-tasting liquid from his mouth and his eyes flickered open to see the gob of blood mix with the water and trickle away into the plughole. He couldn't bring himself to move, lying still under the icy shower. It was times like these he wished he had the ability to just curl up and die.

The cold stream of water continued to pour over him and Naruto just lay there, staring at the white tiled walls of the shower room.

Sasuke's shoes squeaked on the linoleum of the hallway as he strode down the corridor. He just wanted to get his stuff, get home and pretend this day had never happened. It was Naruto's fault he'd forgotten his boots in his locker. The whole argument had stopped him from thinking clearly. Rounding the corner he stumbled as he walked right into a burly figure's shoulder. Sasuke pulled back to find himself face to face with Kenta and his little 'gang'.

Kenta fixed him with a look of disgust. Sasuke simply smirked, a surge of satisfaction sweeping through him as he noted the older teen's lip was bleeding pretty badly.

"Watch where you're going, Uchiha fag." said the fair-haired teen as he covered his lip and walked past him, but then he paused and shot Sasuke a grin. He pointed at his mouth. "If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy."

He laughed and disappeared around the corner while the other two boys followed him.

It took a moment or two for the gears in Sasuke's mind to click as he realized what Kenta meant.

"Naruto." he whispered, before setting off at a run.