Taiikusai

Because I haven't posted in so long, most of the people who originally read this story are gone ;__; But those of you who just started it and like it, I'm glad you can enjoy this rather old story... >.> I know I wanted to finish this by Saturday, but it took me a bit longer because this chapter was kind of difficult for me to write. Anywho, it's not the last one as I predicted... *sigh* But the story is wrapping up soon. Hope you enjoy.

Taiikusai

Team leaf, assembled beneath their signboard, stared out at the field and cheered on their teammates. The green scarves they tied around their necks bounced as they jumped up and down in excitement. Some waved them around in their hands as they poured encouragements into the flurry of battles playing themselves out on the grounds.

Sasuke, though physically present, did not join them. Knees pulled up to his chest, sitting on the hard dirt, he stared out into the field without seeing anything. His ears hardly registered the screams practically in his ears, quietly contemplating Sakura’s words, contemplating how to answer.

::Why do you have to pretend?::

The simple question haunted him. And though it wasn’t meant in any deep, soul searching way, the words had locked themselves into his mind- kept him chained and floundering for a way to answer. And no matter which way he tackled it, each answer only led to one question: how long had he been pretending?

A familiar laugh broke his reverie. He glanced across the way to see Naruto smiling at an upper classmen. Naruto greeted him politely, bowing and using his name; they joked casually before another girl interrupted, asking for a photograph.

::There’s no pretense about him.::

There is no- there was none. Somehow this simple realization hurt; to know that what he had back then, the friendship he failed to cherish, the trust he failed to believe in, was real; to know that Naruto had spent the past few months offering him the proverbial olive branch and he had spit on it, all because he had to pretend.

How many pretenses had he convinced himself were real?

His brother once told him that reality is what you make of it- your beliefs forced into being. He had scoffed, dismissed it as nonsense, but now the words settled into him with meaning. He tried to remember why he hadn’t told Naruto of his feelings, of his preferences, recalling that he didn’t think the boy besotted with silly girls like Sakura would understand- convinced hiding it was best for both of them, and so he held that part of himself back, pretending he didn’t care.

Sasuke watched as Naruto exchanged greetings with more people, laughing and joking, joining in on the cheers. He hated it that Gaara didn’t pretend- that Naruto accepted him; the shining proof that everything he convinced himself of was a lie. He was Naruto’s best friend, not Gaara. And yet Gaara had trusted him more than Sasuke ever had.

Best friend- another pretense. Not on Naruto’s side, but on his. Things were fine until conflict showed up and instead of working things through like friends were supposed to, he went running. He was still running.

“Oi, teme, cat got your tongue?” Naruto’s hand landed heavily on Sasuke’s shoulder. He looked up in annoyance, but didn’t shrug him away. “Why aren’t you cheering with everyone else?”

“You meditating or something, Uchiha?” Kiba chuckled. “You look like your dog just died.” Sasuke glared at the remark, trying to school his face into disinterest. He caught himself as soon as he did. The irony of it wasn’t lost on him.

“Something like that,” he smirked. “Until I was rudely interrupted.”

Naruto jostled his shoulders. “Well time to wake up man, we gotta go line up!” Sasuke’s eyes darted to the field, startled. Had he been sitting here that long? How did he not notice it was almost time for their race? Kiba held out a hand to help him get up. He glanced at Naruto who smiled at him and took it hesitantly.

“I hope you’re ready Uchiha, cuz I plan to kick some ass,” Kiba said. There was no threat, no warning, nor coldness in his manner. It was his way of cheering him on. Naruto threw an arm around him as they walked out onto the field.

“Of course he’s ready,” he said, blue eyes glancing at him sidelong. “And when your slow ass drags behind it’s gonna be this guy putting us back in the lead,” Naruto teased. “Right, Sasuke?” Naruto’s arm squeezed him. Sasuke was reminded of a time when such gestures were familiar- a sports festival where something similar was said.

Kiba bristled and lunged for Naruto. The two engaged in a game of tag that Sasuke tried to avoid. Watching them, he calmed.

::You’re part of the team:: He imagined Naruto holding up an olive branch, shaking it persistently. ::Whether you’re willing to accept it or not.::

Shaking his head, Sasuke chuckled. “Relax Kiba, even if you manage not to screw up I’m sure this one won’t be as lucky.” Sasuke dodged a swipe at his general direction. “You’re slow, dobe. Maybe it’s you we should be worried about,” Sasuke smirked. He crossed the field, leaving Naruto behind, Kiba following along.

The first year boys’ 800 meter relay was announced as the next event. Sasuke watched Shino move to his lane composedly, green ribbon wound around his chest. Unlike the fidgeting runners in the other lanes, he took his position calmly, waiting for the gun to fire. To anyone not looking, one would hardly notice him there. The gun was raised, a cap was fired and they were all off.

Kiba’s voice boomed in front of him, cheering on their teammate and telling him to run faster. Sasuke didn’t join, but his eyes followed his teammate, watching him keep up with the other runners. They ran in a pack, seven boys sporting different colored ribbons- no one really leading and no one trailing behind. They entered the curve where sound’s team started to pull ahead. Suna began to pull forward and Shino close behind. Rain began to lag, but all seven were still fairly close together. They exited the curve, entering the straightaway while Kiba walked over to his lane to wait for Shino.

“Come on Shino, pick up those knees!” he screamed. Shino didn’t seem to register his voice or was ignoring it. There was no visible change in his pace. The runners ran hard, sound reaching them and passing off his ribbon first. Suna was next before Shino yanked the ribbon off and passed it to Kiba. Kiba took it at a running start, throwing it over his head and taking off. Shino panted, but remained quiet. He walked in small circles as he caught his breath. Sasuke knew he should say something, but felt slightly awkward. He kept his eyes on Kiba and his progress over suna instead. Sound was still leading, but their advantage was growing. The other four runners were starting to fall further behind. Their teams screamed at them needlessly. Unless someone tripped, rain and wave wouldn’t catch up now. Kiba passed the ribbon to Naruto smoothly. Sasuke noted that they did so effortlessly. They must have practiced without him. He felt a stab of guilt as his absence.

“Uzumaki is fast,” Shino commented. He didn’t try to scream at Naruto or yell at him to move faster. He, like Sasuke, watched quietly. “He’s gaining on sound. Maybe their third runner isn’t their fastest.” Sasuke nodded, watching as Naruto pumped his arms forward, large strides bringing him closer to the huffing sound runner looking over his shoulder.

“No, Uzumaki is fast,” Sasuke admitted. “He trained hard for this.” Sasuke thought back to the early morning runs and the practices with the track team. He watched as Naruto caught up to sound exiting the curve.

“Better get ready,” Shino prompted. Shino’s warm hand pat his shoulder tentatively. “Tanomu.*”

Sasuke nodded, “ah.”

He stepped over the chalk white lines into his lane. Naruto was red in the face with exertion, but didn’t slow down. Girls were screaming Sasuke’s name even though he hadn’t started yet while their actual team continued to cheer on Uzumaki. Sound was keeping up with him and suna was on their tail. Naruto continued to pump his arms forward. As soon as Naruto neared, Sasuke began jogging forward. Facing over his shoulder he let Naruto run up to him. Naruto struggled to hold the ribbon forward, releasing it and nearly dropping it too soon.

Sasuke backed up a little to snatch it quickly, nearly dropping it completely. As soon as he was sure it was safely in his hands he threw it over his head and took off. Sound was already ahead of him. The one step had cost him.

He focused on the competition ahead of him, balancing swift steps upon his toes and forcing himself into a sprint. The other runners were fast and he didn’t have a lot of time, but he kept up as he entered the curve. The runner in front of him stuck to the inside lane and though it was risky, Sasuke took the lane around him, pumping his legs faster to make up for the extra distance. He passed his teammates as he overtook sound and a burst of screams erupted from beside him.

He was used to being praised, but the burst of support was slightly exhilarating. He had done little to bond with his team or get to know his classmates all year, but he realized that at this moment, none of that mattered. For now, he was part of their team, and that was enough for them.

A white ribbon was unfurled across the finish line. Two first year volunteers pulled it taut, waiting for the winner to cross the line. Kiba jumped up and down waving his arms in the air screaming at Sasuke to keep going. And when he crossed that line, another eruption of screams and cheers sounded. He gasped for breath, forcing himself to inhale slowly as his legs slowed down. He was unable to calm his racing heart before Kiba pounced on him, laughing in his ear and congratulating him. A few of his teammates ran over to him, adding their praise. They ushered him back to the team spot while the next race was prepared. He noted Neji lined up on this side of the field, smiling at him. And while his first reaction was to scowl, or ignore him, he held himself and check and nodded in return.


* * *


Naruto stared at the scoreboard carefully. He ran over the top three scores and while they held one of them, it was not the highest. Naruto’s team won their first relay. The points from the second years’ victory, thanks to Neji and Lee, had helped as well, but their defeat in the third year race and the girl’s so-so performance had cost them. It seems they didn’t place so well in the ball toss either, wave surprising them all with a first place victory. With only a few more events left, it would be close. They couldn’t afford to do poorly in the next three events and with the 800 meter relay being one of them, Naruto was anxious.

“What was that about kicking everyone else’s ass?” Gaara asked.

“Hey, we won the first year AND the second year 400 meters!” Naruto snapped defensively.
“Lee so kicked your butt in that race,” Naruto teased. Gaara glared.

“Well you’re not safe yet,” Gaara reminded him. “Unless you guys pull ahead in the next three events, better ask Sakura for tips on shaving your legs.”

“He’ll be covered in bandages even with Sakura’s help,” Sasuke piped up.

Naruto looked surprised to see him. “Oi, whose team are you on?” Naruto laughed.

“I should be asking you that. They’re lining up for tug of war. Abandoning the ranks?”

Naruto’s eyes widened in panic. “Already!?” His eyes darted over to the field where the large ropes were being laid across the field. His classmates and teammates were lining up on either side. Due to the uneven number of teams, the honorary teachers’ team was also assembling. “Man, don’t tell me we’re up against the teachers first! I bet they’re putting Chouji’s dad on the end.” Naruto made a face. “I gotta go guys. Root for me, okay?” He winked in their general direction as he trotted over to the field.

Both boys watched him silently. Gaara crossed his arms, maintaining silence and seemingly ignoring Sasuke’s presence. Eight teams lined up on the field, their teammates behind them waving colored handkerchiefs in the air and banging plastic bottles together to make noise. Naruto was the first one in a line of students. His blue P.E. shorts stood out next to the students in red next to him. Sprinkles of blue, red and green marked a line, denoting the mix of students from different years. The teachers were less colorful in their drab workout clothes. Chouji’s father was surprisingly absent this year. They had sent in an even bigger gun: Asuma-sensei. His muscle shirt showed off his rippling biceps. A few smaller staff members were up front, perhaps to balance things- Shizune, the school nurse, Kurenai-sensei, and Iruka, the disciplinarian. It would be a tough competition indeed.

Sasuke noted all this before mentally shaking himself and getting back to his self imposed mission. He watched absently as the figures on the field took their places, his mind running over the words scrolling through his head, trying to think of the least awkward way to say it.

“Gaara-sempai!” a first year girl approached him carefully. Her eyes darted over to Sasuke cautiously. “Would you and Uchiha-kun take a picture with us?” She held up a disposable camera, gesturing to the group of giggling girls a few feet behind her. They all looked at Sasuke hopefully, erupting into even louder giggles when he looked their way. Sasuke had flashbacks of his fanclub.

Gaara nodded. He looked at Sasuke without asking whether he wanted to or not, simply gesturing with a nod of his head over to the girls. Sasuke didn’t feel like taking photos, but he dared not disagree with Gaara at the moment. He walked over to the girls and stood in profile. He looked at the camera as if it were no more interesting than his biology book. Girls seemed to like it when he looked bored. The camera flashed and the girls erupted into excited giggles.

“Me too, me too!” Another girl shouted. She pulled a camera out of nowhere and before he knew it, there were four cameras out and he was being pointed in various directions and told to smile. It was Gaara who stopped them all when more girls threatened to run over for pictures, explaining that his siblings were in the tug of war and he wished to go cheer for them. In the madness, all of them had missed the start of the big tug-o-war and all the girls sheepishly walked away, giggling to their friends over their big “get”. Gaara didn’t bother saying good-bye, walking over to the visitor’s seats to watch the heated battle. Sasuke watched him go, debating whether or not to run after him and try to sneak in a private word. In his moment of hesitation, a first year girl caught him alone.

“Uchiha-kun,” she faltered, “may I… may I have a word with you?” By any man’s standards, she would be considered cute, her shiny black hair parted into pig tails for the event. She tugged on the hem of her blue shorts, another hand behind her back as she lowered her eyes to her feet.

He agreed quickly, hoping to hurry her along, but she hesitated, turning her toes in to face each other and deliberating on what to tell him. “What is it?” he said fairly impatiently. She seemed startled, cheeks turning pink, but didn’t look up at him.
“I…” her hand came forward and in it was an intricately folded piece of paper. “I want you to read this!” she thrust the heart shaped letter into his hand. Pink swirly writing addressed to his name was printed on the top. “Please answer me whenever you like. No hurry!” she added. Sasuke stared at the heart shaped paper, stunned. She was… confessing to him?

She tried to scurry away after that but he caught her arm. “Wait.” She looked at him with slight terror, but didn’t try to struggle free. He let her arm go gently and held the letter back out to her. “Thank you, but I can’t accept this.” He had never led on his fangirls because it was more efficient to cut off their hopes from the start. Her brows softened, her eyes expressing a disappointment Sasuke, for once, could understand.

“I’m sorry. But I have feelings for someone else.” His heart pounded with his own admission. Usually he didn’t try to explain, he didn’t try to make any of them feel better about their rejection. But for once Sasuke could understand their point of view and he found himself wanting to ease this girl’s pain.

She nodded, accepting his words. “Is it true then? About you and Uzumaki?”

Sasuke was startled by her quiet tone. There was no revulsion in her voice, just a simple desire for affirmation of an already held belief. His heart raced at the way she looked at him, like she was imploring him for the truth. This wasn’t a trick of any sort, just an honest question. But could he answer it honestly?

He looked out onto the field where the tug-o-war was still in progress. Naruto’s body slanted towards the ground, digging his heels into the dirt to prevent the rope from slipping forward. Now was his chance to be honest, to finally stop pretending. But his heart was pounding and fear nailed through him. Even when he had tried to be honest, the PTA wouldn’t believe him. They railed on Gaara and Naruto as though it was only natural any wrong doing would be on their shoulders. Being honest now would make life difficult.

“Uchiha-kun?”

He looked back at the girl who watched him worriedly. Sasuke’s expression relaxed.
“Uzumaki and I are childhood friends. I know the rumors, but there is nothing more between us. He’s happily dating Sabaku-sempai.” A type of relief flooded her face and Sasuke felt disappointed in it.

“So then the person you like…?”

“That person knows my feelings,” he smiled bitter-sweetly. “And maybe someday I’ll work hard enough to deserve them.” He looked back at the field. Failed again, but at least something learned. He looked down at the girl making watery round eyes at him.

“Good luck, Uchiha-kun.” Her hand reached out, but she seemed to think twice about it. She retracted her hand, smiling weakly, and walked away.

Sasuke’s eyes swept around the area, noting the people whose heads were facing his direction pretending they hadn’t just witnessed his moment of awkwardness. All except a haughty second year smiling at him in amusement- his long hair swept up into a pony tail, green handkerchief tied around his head. He walked over slowly with a confidence Sasuke instantly found annoying.

“Walk with me Uchiha,” he said. He placed a hand on his back and gently nudged him towards the field.

“You want to confess too?” Sasuke asked. Neji chuckled and kept pushing him forward.

“Hardly. Don’t take it personally, but you’re not my type.” Sasuke remembered Gaara’s tall, busty, blonde sister.

“That’s right, you have a thing for blondes,” he snorted.

“Don’t you?” Touché.

“What’s this about Hyuuga? Come to mock me?” Neji’s gray eyes twinkled in amusement.

“Would that make you feel better?” He paused near the goal post where relatively few students milled around. Most of them were busy cheering on the fields.

“No, but I imagine you’d enjoy it.” Neji touched his chest in mock hurt.

“You do me wrong, Uchiha.” He looked out onto the field somberly. “I take no pride in hurting the wounded.” Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. Neji waved to a few passing girls, smiling politely until they were gone. “It’s not easy being forced into self realization.” He looked at Sasuke knowingly. “To have the walls you built securely around yourself ripped down and everything about you called into question.” Sasuke looked away. He wasn’t accustomed to people seeing him so clearly. “That’s what he does, you know.” Sasuke looked out at the field, at the blond lining up for the next match. “Tears down the walls we can’t break down on our own.”

Sasuke never knew what had passed between Hyuuga and Naruto. He could never understand what had prompted Hyuuga’s fierce protectiveness over the former outcast or why someone as distant and untouchable as he would suddenly smile and treat one such as Naruto like a brother. He imagined that it was something not too different from what he was experiencing now.

“Ah,” Sasuke agreed. A lot of questions had shown up today, but despite the abundant lack of answers, one thing was clear: Sasuke wasn’t ready for Naruto. Not yet. And though he was loath to admit it, it was Sabaku who succeeded where he had failed. He was so blinded by jealousy, so wrapped up in his own selfishness that he failed to acknowledge Gaara’s real courage, hard work and persistence. He tried to imagine throwing away his good reputation, trying to succeed when everyone was against him and still managing to smile.

Sakura was right. He had a lot to learn.

“I won’t apologize for deceiving you about my relationship with Uzumaki,” Neji continued, “I did it to protect them.”

“Hn.” Sasuke held back a retort.

“But Gaara has done everything in his power to deserve him and I won’t allow anyone to get in the way of that.”

“Is that a threat, Hyuuga?” Sasuke crossed his arms, regarding Hyuuga with suspicion.

Hyuuga smiled and him and shook his head. “Not unless you make it one.” Sasuke relaxed. “But I get the feeling I won’t have to worry about you anymore.” Sasuke snorted. “Not in the near future at least,” Hyuuga teased. Sasuke couldn’t hold back a smile.

“What are you guys smiling and laughing about?!” Sakura shouted at them. “We’re getting creamed! Get onto the field and help us cheer!” she demanded. Neither of them argued.


* * *


Sakura bent forward, hands resting on her knees. Her body struggled to catch its breath, huffing and puffing as her heart rate slowly returned to normal. Her female teammates crowded around her and pat her on the back.

“It was a good effort forehead. You worked hard out there.” Sakura tried not to scowl at Ino. She didn’t even participate in the race.

“What place did we get?” she asked, eyes darting to her team members. Ten Ten and Hinata glanced at each other worriedly.

“Fifth, I think,” Ten Ten responded. Sakura winced. This would not help their score. She had the feeling that after this event, they were no longer in the top three. “Let’s hope the guys pull us through,” Ten Ten added. She glanced over at the boy’s team lined up on the opposite side of the field. They were the only team without third years present. She hoped there was a good reason for that.

“Let’s get off the field. Looks like they’re getting read to start,” Sakura managed to say without gasping. Their small troupe walked slowly to their team where they received a warm welcome despite their less than savory results. They were given words of encouragement and comfort before attention shifted back to the last race, the boy’s 1600 meters. This was a race of endurance and though it was long, it was never dull.

Neji stretched out his legs, pale legs balanced and muscles flexing. His long hair was neatly tied in a pony tail that still managed to fall half way down his back. His pale eyes were narrowed in focus. Everyone watched him closely as he took his place at the line. The gun was raised, the cap fired and everyone was off.

A few reckless first years took off at a sprint, pulling ahead of the more conservative runners. The rest followed behind at a medium pace, rounding into the curve in a pack. Neji seemed to be the one setting the pace, a small pack of runners keeping close behind. Sakura and the others yelled and hollered as he swept right past them, their cries lost amidst the yells from other teams. At the midway point, Neji began to visibly speed up, his legs darting forward a little faster and his arms beginning to pump forward. The angle of his body changed and though a few runners were far ahead of him, little by little he seemed to be catching up to them. The cheers from the crowd began to escalate- some calling for Neji to keep going, some yelling warnings to the other teams up ahead. When he caught up to the second place runner the yells seem to escalate even higher, members of the crowd on the opposite side of the field were suddenly audible and when the switch off came, the chants altered, cheering on the fresh runner.

Sakura watched the smooth pass to Sasuke who seemed to take off at an easy stride. He kept ahead of the second place runner, slowly gaining on the first place runner who was obviously not as fast as the first. Sakura grinned. The first runners were trying to compensate for their slower members. It was an easy ploy to gain the lead, but much more difficult to maintain. By the midway point, Sasuke had already caught up. And just like Neji, he used that point to start speeding up and make his move. The crowds went wild and girls from other teams forgot to cheer their own team on in their excitement over Uchiha’s current lead. Sakura added her own voice to the chorus, exhilarated by the prospect of a first place victory. She realized that the runner behind Sasuke, a mist runner was slowly losing steam. Soon suna’s and sound’s runner were both overtaking him, trying to speed up in reaction to Sasuke’s new lead. But Sasuke held his ground and exiting the curve into the home stretch, he maintained a good yard ahead of the other runners.

Students from all sides screamed at the runners to keep going, to move faster, to catch Uchiha or just do their best. Naruto readied himself on the field, hopping on his feet in anticipation of running. He was being passed the ribbon, threw it over his head and took off at a reckless pace. Sakura tried not to groan. Naruto was always easily excitable.

Her attention was called back to the other runners when she noticed a familiar shock of red hair on the field accepting the ribbon for suna’s team. Gaara was off and hot on Naruto’s trail. Sakura chuckled. She had a feeling this change in order was not a coincidence. She looked down the track to where Naruto continued his break neck speed despite the fact he was running a full lap. She hoped his endurance would last. Gaara was perhaps pushing himself harder than usual because he seemed to be sprinting fairly fast for such a long distance, but seeing Naruto ahead of him, she realized he was struggling to catch up. Naruto’s head whipped around to see Gaara on his heels before kicking his knees up a little higher and pumping his arms forward a bit more vigorously. Gaara followed suit, pushing himself to keep pace. Like this, the two of them seemed to battle on their own, regardless of the other teams on the field. A constant game of tag when Gaara eventually caught up to Naruto and the two struggled to get ahead of each other. Sakura began to worry for their first place points, as the two entered the straightaway at practically a tie. Naruto ran like one being pursued and Gaara, cheeks red and sweat dripping down his forehead, had him nearly captured. Sakura was relieved there was still one runner and as soon as Naruto passed off the ribbon, Lee was off and no one could touch him.

The last lap was fairly anticlimactic compared to the laps before it. Lee dashed ahead like he was jogging in the morning- face smiling and even a thumbs-up for his cheering team. He was yards ahead of everyone and not even the struggling third years could keep up; as expected of the national track champ. Sakura laughed at her own worry. Of course Lee would pulverize them all. He crossed that finish line in a blaze of glory, eyes sparkling and still hyper enough to jump around. Sakura rejoiced for their victory and, glancing at the large scoreboard in the distance, hoped that it would be enough.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Okay, the conclusion should most definitely be in the next chapter x_X Please read and review.