Insanity's Slip

Chapter Two

By Boejangles

Naruto glanced up from his bowl of cereal at his brother that was running around the kitchen like a chicken with it head cut off. He knew that he was nervous, but if he was nervous about the test or Naruto failing the boy didn't know. He sighed and looked back down at his bowl. Lately he had been contemplating purposely failing.

"Alright you ready to go?" Sasuke asked, effectively breaking the blonde out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." Was the simple reply as he put the bowl in the sink and slipped his shoes on. The house was kept way too clean for his liking, but that's the way it had been since it was just the two of them.

"Alright, we have practiced really hard. We can do this okay?" The raven-haired boy assured the younger of the two as they took their seats.

"Okay, yeah." He looked over at his Aniki and then down at his hands. He didn't want to be put on the same team as him. But he couldn't just outright purposely fail; he had to make it look like he tried. Or else his brother would be made.

Naruto took out a pencil as the written part of the test was passed out. He stole a glance at Sasuke and then concentrated at his paper. 'Okay, I cant just turn it in blank. Think. Think. All right just answer the worse possible answers you can think of. Yeah that should do it.'

Soon they were led outside for shurukin testing.

Naruto watched as his brother scored a perfect before he was called up. He looked at his brother from the corner of his eye. He through the first and missed the target completely.

"Its okay Naruto, take a breath and calm down. Don't be so nervous." Iruka encouraged.

Naruto took a breath and caught sight of Sasuke about ready to have a panic attack. The blonde closed his eyes and then threw another kunai hitting the edge of the target. He threw the last one and hit more towards the center and off to the left.

"Very good Naruto. Alright class we are moving back inside for the last part of the test."

Naruto followed his head down until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I know you are going to pass the next part." Sasuke said with a confident smirk.

"But I still can't do the clone."

"Don't worry, just relax and do your best."

Naruto waited for his turn to go back playing his fingers along the desk. This is where he was going to fail. He couldn't do the clone, and he knew that he couldn't. They would have to fail him. Then Sasuke would move on and he would be put on a team next year.

He watched as Sasuke came out holding his forehead protector with a smirk.

"Good job Aniki!" Naruto smiled before standing up knowing he was next.

"Alright, just do your best okay."

"Alright." Naruto nodded walking into the back room.

"Okay Naruto, I want you to henge into someone." Iruka prompted.

"Okay." Naruto nodded and made the proper seals and before even thinking said "Henge" There standing in front of them was the exact replica of Itachi from five years ago.

Iruka went wide eyed, "O…okay good." Naruto dropped the henge. "Alright now create three clones."

The blonde took a deep breath 'alright here goes and I am home free'. He made the hand seals and then there was a loud poof and then smoke. 'Wait a minute'

There standing next to him were three perfect clones. "Good Naruto! You pass! Congratulations!" Iruka handed him a Konoha forehead protector.

'But I never finished the Jutsu'. Naruto thought dumbly taking the piece of metal and cloth before walking out of the room. He was really confused.

"See I told you it was no problem," Sasuke smirked.

"Did you?" The blonde finally put all the pieces together.

Sasuke had been standing right outside the door and made the clones and henged them to look like Naruto.

"I had to, I knew you couldn't. But hey you passed." He smiled patting the other ones shoulder.

'But I didn't want to' He forced a smile, "Yeah I passed." They left after Iruka announced that they were to come back after the weekend for group assignments and meeting their team.

"I'm proud of you, you did good." Sasuke said taking a different route then they normally took. "I think you deserve a treat, how about some ramen?"

Naruto smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that." It was really hard to get used to the nice Sasuke so soon after the mean one. Then there was always the distant Sasuke, that's the one he was most often.

They ate their ramen in quiet before heading home.

It was late Saturday afternoon. Naruto was sitting in the empty bathtub rocking back and fourth slightly staring at the wall in front of him.

Sasuke had been looking everywhere for Naruto, but couldn't find him anywhere. He knocked on the upstairs bathroom door. There was no answer so he opened the door. "There you are! I have been looking everywhere why didn't you answer my calls…oh my god are you okay?" He asked frantically noticing that he was covered in blood and staring off at nothing.

Sasuke rushed forward when he noticed the blonde unresponsive. "Hey look at me." He slapped him lightly trying to get eye contact.

Naruto blinked and turned towards Sasuke but his eyes were still kind of distant. Sasuke frowned, but couldn't find an injury on the boy, but there was so much blood. He looked down in the bathtub and noticed the bunny.

It was a brown bunny with gray speckles, but was now almost completely red. It had what looked like gauze and tape wrapped around it, but it was most certainly dead. He then realized the blonde was covered in the rabbit's blood. It must have bled almost completely dry.

Sasuke looked in shock at his brother, "What did you do! Why'd you kill him! Why'd you kill freckles?!" The bunny had been there pet for the past two years.

Naruto's eyes snapped to life as he looked at the older boy, "I didn't do it! I was trying to save him. But he was dead before I could do anything. I tried anyways, but he wouldn't come back! I couldn't save him!" Tears were streaming down his face as he looked back at the bunny that he had bandaged the already dead body.

"You didn't do it? Then who the hell did it!" Sasuke screamed very angry.

"I didn't do it, it was the monster!"

"Monster? I am supposed to believe this? I am tired of your lies!"

Three hours earlier

Naruto was playing with Freckles and laughing. Sasuke had gone out to train and he was left to do what he wanted as long as he stayed in the house. He shot his head up when his bedroom door opened.

"Oh hey, I thought you were out training."

"I was." Sasuke answered walking closer.

"Oh okay, I was just playing with the bunny before starting lunch."

"Aren't you a little old to be playing around and wasting time?" Sasuke said taking a step closer.

"Well you have to play around once in awhile." Naruto smiled. But his expression suddenly changed when he noticed the knife in his brother's hands. "Aniki what are you doing?" He asked scooting backwards.

"I am going to remove the distraction." He said grabbing the rabbit by the scruff of its neck and pulling up the blade.

"No! Don't!" Naruto screamed jumping to his feet and running forward. He stopped when blood splattered on his face and he went wide-eyed. The knife had gone down into the rabbit shooting blood out. The blonde almost went into a state of shock as Sasuke ripped out the blade pulling it up again ready for another strike. "NO!"

Naruto tried to block the knife but was only cut before it entered the rabbit spraying him with blood again. "Stop please stop! You are going to kill it!" Tears were making there way down his face, "Don't do this stop please!"

Sasuke didn't listen as he pulled out the knife and stabbed it down again. The blonde tried to grab the knife but was only cut deeply before he pulled his hand back. Cradling it in his other hand. "Please please stop. No more please." Naruto clutched his eyes shut.

"No. Watch." When the knife met Naruto's cheek his eyes shot open to see the bunny stabbed again. He was forced to watch unable to do anything as his pet was stabbed over and over and sliced up. He was unable to move, each time he asked his brother to stop or moved to take the bunny he was cut. By the time Sasuke had stopped the younger boy was covered in blood, some of his own but mostly the bunnies.

The older boy threw the dead rabbit at the sobbing boy before turning and leaving. Naruto rushed to the bathroom trying to stop the bunnies bleeding not wanting to believe that it was had long ago died.

Current Time

Sasuke slapped the boy, "Don't lie to me! There is no such thing as monsters. You did this didn't you!"

Naruto was shaking his head back and fourth, "No! No! I didn't do it; it wasn't me! It was the monster, the monster did it."

The raven-haired boy grabbed the younger one's blonde locks and yanked him out of the tub. "You are covered in blood, your clothes are soaked with it and now you tell me that you didn't kill Freckles but that it was some monster. LIAR!" Sasuke screamed.

"I didn't do it" Slap. "It want me" Slap. "I swear, I'm not the one that did it. IT WAS YOU!" Punch. Bang. Towel rack falls over. Kick. Slap. Knock out.

Sasuke stood furious that the bunny killer had the nerve to say he did it when he had been out training all day. He kicked the unconscious blood covered blonde and left the bathroom slamming the door.

Naruto woke up later that night and scrubbed the blood off him like it was a disease. He scrubbed till his skin was raw. He put the bunny in a shoebox and wrote 'Freckles' on the top in a permanent marker. He then buried it in the backyard.

Even when he got into bed that night he still felt like he was covered in blood.

Monday rolled around without any more problems. Iruka was in the front of the class reading out teams.

Naruto was still shook up over everything and was staring at his desk like it was the cause for all his problems.

"And Team Seven is Uchiha Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team leader Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto suddenly became much more depressed and didn't respond when Sasuke patted his shoulder happily.

"Alright everybody, go eat lunch and you will meet up with your team leaders when lunch is over." Iruka announced.

A/N: And The reason Naruto doesn't tell the Hokage was explained in the last chapter, its because he feels he is needed to help save Sasuke, he just doesn't know how. Alright review and tell me what you think.