I was gonna be Hokage one day! No matter what anyone said. Believe it!

But right then, I had to get through the day, which was harder than it sounded. School was a real pain, y'know? Everyone always looked at me like I was some kinda idiot, and maybe I was... but not for long!

"Oi, Naruto, focus!" Iruka-sensei shouted at me for what felt like the millionth time that day.

I grinned sheepishly. "Heh, sorry, sensei! I was just thinking about... uh... ninja stuff."

Iruka sighed, shaking his head. "You're always thinking about 'ninja stuff' but never doing it."

I puffed out my chest, pretending not to care even though the words stung a little. "I'm just... warming up, okay?"

Some people in class laughed, but whatever. I was gonna prove them all wrong. I had a plan! Sort of. Maybe. And it wasn't like I was alone. I had friends now. Real friends, not those jerks who used to ignore me.

Especially Sasuke. He was a real weirdo sometimes, but he was smart—smarter than me by a mile. He'd even helped me out a lot. He didn't talk much, but when he did, it was like... different from everyone else. He didn't treat me like an idiot. Plus, he taught me my new clone jutsu! My clones were finally alive!

Okay, so maybe I still sucked at things... but that was why I practiced all the time. Like, *all the time.*

Iruka started another lecture about chakra control or whatever, and I just couldn't help but zone out again. My fingers twitched with the urge to try out more clones. I wanted to make a hundred, no—a *thousand* of me! Imagine how cool that'd be! Then I'd definitely be Hokage in no time.

But nooooo, I had to stay in that dumb classroom.

I glanced over at Sasuke, who was sitting in his usual spot, taking notes with his beautiful handwriting. His hair was all short now—kinda made him look like one of those nerdy kids who were always reading books, like Shino or something. But nah, Sasuke was different. He wasn't stuck-up or anything. Just... quiet. Focused. Even if he was a pervert and read perverted books.

I also knew Sasuke knew all the things Iruka-sensei was teaching.

"Hey, Sasuke," I whispered, leaning over toward him. "What were you writing all that for?"

He didn't even look up. "Because I can."

"Aw, c'mon! Weren't you bored?"

"Maybe you wouldn't be bored if you paid attention."

"Huh?"

Sasuke finally glanced at me, a small smirk on his face. "You wanna get better, don't you?"

I blinked. Of course, I did! What kinda question was that? I was gonna be Hokage, after all! "Yeah, duh."

"Then stop messing around and start thinking. I already showed you how to fix your stance last week. You still messed up yesterday."

Ugh. That stupid stance thing again. Sasuke was always nagging me about my taijutsu stance, like I was supposed to remember every little detail. I could still fight just fine.

But he was right, though... It kinda did help. Those stances—I got to hit better when I got the shot. Not that I'd ever tell him that. I wouldn't want him to get all smug or anything.

Even if I had started to win in Taijutsu matches (I wasn't the dead-last anymore! Yay!), the stances and angles and stuff... helped.

"I'm trying, okay?" I huffed. "It's just... hard."

He raised an eyebrow. "So what? Do it anyway."

I frowned. He made it sound so easy. But that was Sasuke for you. Everything came naturally to him. He worked so hard too. I had seen him practicing Katas and meditating again and again. Sometimes I felt jealous—how could he sit still for so long?

No! Bad Naruto!

Even the fangirls didn't bug him anymore 'cause he said something to them. Like he's A-suction? Or Ace-something. How the heck did he do that? I'd kill for fangirls following me around, screaming my name. It'd be awesome!

The bell rang, and everyone bolted for the door. I grabbed my stuff and headed out too, ready to get away from the classroom and do something—*anything*—else.

But before I could escape, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Sasuke. Again.

"Meet me at my house later," he said, and it wasn't a request. "You need more work in Taijutsu. Shino will join too."

I scratched the back of my head, trying to come up with an excuse. I mean, I wanted to train, but I also wanted to eat ramen. I hadn't eaten ramen in three days! Damn Sasuke, he always made dinner and fed me.

My chest felt warm, kinda tight, but in a good way. There was this buzzing in my stomach, like little butterflies or something, fluttering around and making me feel all tingly. It was like... I didn't know—like standing in the sun after being stuck in the rain.

"Fine," I said. "But no making fun of me when I screw up." My face felt warm.

Sasuke just nodded. "Don't be late then."

A few hours later, we were out in the training fields of his clan compound. I was sweating buckets. Sasuke stood there, all calm and collected, even though he was drenched in sweat too. Shino had already left—he had a clan meeting that day or something. Like usual, while I was huffing and puffing, trying to keep up.

We'd been going at it for what felt like forever. My arms were sore, my legs burning, but I wasn't about to give up. Sasuke was fast—*too* fast—but I had my clones keeping him busy. He dodged and countered, taking out one clone after another, but I saw an opening.

That time, I didn't think. I just *moved*.

I ducked under his punch, using the momentum to slide behind him. My heart was pounding, adrenaline rushing through me as I twisted and swept my leg, catching him off guard. His feet left the ground for just a second—just long enough. Before he could recover, I was on him, driving my elbow into his chest and knocking him back.

Sasuke landed with a grunt, skidding across the dirt. I was breathing hard, barely able to believe what just happened.

I... won?

Sasuke sat up, eyes narrowed but with that familiar smirk tugging at his lips. "Lucky shot, Naruto."

I grinned, wiping sweat from my forehead. "Yeah, maybe. But I still won!"

--

After training, we grabbed some ramen at Ichiraku's. That day, I didn't let Sasuke cook; I dragged him there. I was slurping down my noodles like there was no tomorrow, while Sasuke just picked at his. He was always like that—barely ate anything.

"You're too slow, man!" I laughed, shoving another mouthful of noodles into my mouth. "You eat like a bird."

"And you eat like you're in a race," Sasuke replied, not even looking up from his bowl.

"Well, if I don't eat fast, you might steal my ramen!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "No one's stealing your ramen, Naruto."

"Yeah, well, you better not try." I narrowed my eyes at him, then burst into laughter again. "Just kidding. You wouldn't steal anything. You're too serious all the time."

"I'm not serious all the time," Sasuke said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

We finished eating, and as we left, I couldn't help but think that the day hadn't been so bad after all. Sure, I still sucked at Ninjutsu, and Sasuke was way ahead of me, but it wasn't like I was giving up anytime soon. Not with friends like him around to push me.

One day, I'd catch up. Heck, maybe I'd even be Hokage before he knew it.

It had always been like that. Sasuke was just... better.

I hated admitting it. But it was the truth. The guy was a natural. Everything seemed to come easy for him. His stupid demeanor, the way he fought, how he talked without caring about anyone's opinion. And me? Well, I was the opposite—loud, annoying, and not exactly the smoothest ninja in the bunch.

But I was catching up. Slowly. I worked my ass off, day and night, pushing myself harder than anyone else because I had to. If I didn't, then what good was I as a ninja? What good was I as a future Hokage?

In Taijutsu, I was catching up. I was as good as him now—almost, anyway. We sparred a lot. And yeah, sure, I could throw punches and kicks as fast as Sasuke. But in real fights? That's where the gap was. Sasuke was still ahead. Always one step further, one move faster, and it pissed me off.

He was just so fast.

Yet, even with all of that, he never left me behind. He'd hold out his hand—well, not literally—but I knew. He was there, always pushing me,always challenging me to catch up. To reach him.

It made me angry sometimes, frustrated even, but I couldn't deny it. Sasuke was the guy I was chasing .

For some reason , he made an odd face when I told him that . That I would reach him . Then he had said something that had frozen me.

"You don't have to catch up to me idiot . You will surpass me one day ." Then he had left.

I decided not to think about it , even if I felt like fuzzy butterflies tickling the insides of my belly and chest .

He trained Sakura-chan too. Even though at first, he didn't really like her, not the way I did. I mean, Sakura-chan was so pretty and smart, but Sasuke apparently disliked fangirls. But Sakura-chan had stopped doing that too . After Sasuke had said something to her . They would not tell me at all . But Sakura was like.. super pumped . To do training.

But then so was Sasuke . He'd act all calm, like nothing bothered him and then have that cool smirk and then he would smile at me , at Shino , at Kakashi sensei too . And now at Sakura too. Then he would read those same stupid perverted books Kakashi read .

But I knew there was something always bothering him. He was always... tense .He had something else—something driving him. Maybe that's why I didn't care that he was better. Maybe that's why we were... friends. Even if we never said it out loud.

Later , he told me what his brother did . It was horrible . I could not even understand it . How could someone do that to his own brother ? To his own family ? I would have done anything , anything to have a family.

But Sasuke lived. Yeah. And Sasuke... He was always with me.

Like during the Wave mission. When things got serious with Zabuza and Haku, Sasuke was there. He protected me from Haku's ice mirrors, throwing himself in front of the attack. It was the first time I really saw him fight with everything he had. And then he killed Haku. Just like that. Then he cried . There was no noise. Only tears dripping down his cheek . I remembered how he held me close , held Sakura close .

Sasuke had once told me the Shinobi world was cruel . I had not understood it then . I understood it now . Shinobi were wielded by their villages as tools . Weapons of war . I was one too, wasn't I? I had the nine tailed demon inside me .

It was then I had decided . I would be Hokage to change the shinobi way. The shinobi way was why I had a demon sealed inside of me, why it was sealed inside me the day I was born. Because I was meant to be a tool right ?

Haku lost his entire family in civil war . Sasuke's own brother killed his entire family. Zabuza killed his entire batch of classmates .

Then Sasuke killed Haku and Kakashi-sensei killed Zabuza .

I didn't want to be a tool. Or a weapon used to destroy another village. I was more than that, everyone was more than that . We were people . And I only wanted to use my power to protect those precious to me. To protect lives, not take them. I wanted to make it to where people were not used as tools, especially kids.

It was why I would be Hokage .

I had been excited for the Chunin exams . And then what a mess it was . We were all thrown into the thick of it, fighting those creepy Sound ninjas. And then Orochimaru... Ugh, that guy gave me the creeps. But Sasuke? He was so scared. Yet he fought like a demon, like his life depended on it—and it did. Even when Orochimaru branded him with that weird curse mark, Sasuke kept fighting. It was terrifying, watching him go up against someone like that, but he didn't back down.

And I was happy, I did not too , neither did Sakura-chan .

During the invasion, when everything went to hell, Sasuke was still there, right in the middle of it. He fought like he always did, strong... better. But sad . Sasuke was always sad when fighting . He had said it himself to me . He did not like fighting.

It made me push myself harder because no way I would ever let Sasuke fight alone . Like he did with Gaara . Like he did with Orochimaru.

But then, I saw the note.

--

It was a normal day. Well, as normal as things got after the invasion. Konoha was still rebuilding, and there was a lot of work to be done. People were on edge, but we were starting to pull things together. Kakashi-sensei was off doing who-knows-what, probably reading that dumb book of his like he always did. Sakura-chan was somewhere, helping out with the hospital, I guess. And me? Well, I was supposed to be training, like always.

But I found the note instead. It was crumpled up, tucked into the corner of my room. My name was scribbled on the front, in Sasuke's stupid neat handwriting.

"Sorry, Naruto, I'm not going to be able to see you for a while. Don't slack off. You will always be my cute litle friend ."

I stared at it for what felt like forever. The words didn't make sense at first. Sasuke never apologized for anything. He never said stuff like this. It was weird. Off.

I read it again. And again.

Not going to be able to see you for a while...*

What did that even mean?

Something twisted in my gut, a weird feeling that made my heart race and my stomach feel like I'd eaten something bad. Sasuke wasn't leaving, was he? He wouldn't just... go. Not like this. He was always there. Always. He couldn't just disappear without saying anything. Without fighting me one last time.

But deep down, I knew. Sasuke had been different lately. Quieter. More distant, like he was always thinking about something else. He was not smiling . Not even training with me .I didn't want to believe it, but I'd seen it coming, even if I'd been too stubborn to admit it.

I crumpled the note in my fist, my chest tightening.

"Stupid... stupid Sasuke," I muttered, my voice rough. "What the hell are you thinking...?"