Replay

lokivsanubis: hello again! And yes, Naruto gets around a lot, and I'll get to the therapy sessions eventually :D thanks for reading AND reviewing again, made me smile :) enjoy!


(thoughts)

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Gaara growled.

Kakashi growled back, leaning closer, returning the glare with full force.

The blond slowed down when he was reaching them, again, and eventually stopped right next to them. ”Kakashi-sensei, Gaara doesn't really do sports, or any kind of exercise, actually, so don't take it too personally-”

”Fine, if you run one lap, I will let you sit the rest of the lesson.”

Naruto swallowed, ready to cut in and offer to run the extra lap himself, but Gaara was feeling stubborn and something about their teacher really annoyed him. He dropped his bag, and slowly walked over to the track.

”You should take some some of your clothes off, really.” Kakashi shouted after the boy, scratching his chin absently.

The redhead glared at him over his shoulder, pulling on the left long sleeve of his sweater to hide more of his hand. Gaara then took a deep breath and started jogging.

The blond looked after him nervously, glancing at Kakashi and the other students before sprinting after his friend.

It didn't take long for him to catch up, but it wasn't like Gaara was slow, Naruto just was sickenly fast, as he had already been forced to join multiple sport teams, which he gladly did.

”You okay?” There was obvious worry in the blond's voice, making Gaara frown. ”Yes, it's just one lap, I can do it.”

Naruto nodded, still doubtful but keeping the comments to himself. It wasn't long before they reached the others, stretching on the sidelines.

Their teacher hmm'ed, following as the redhead walked over to his bag, picking it up and turning to give him an angry glare. ”Happy?” Without waiting for an answer, Gaara calmly trudged out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Naruto sighed, joining his other classmates, but unable to stop worrying about his friend. He knew that Gaara had been good enough with sports and all, but he had also been starving himself for a long time, so there really was no energy to use to running and such.

The blond bit his lip while doing push ups, wondering if Gaara was okay and if he should go check on him, cursing quietly as he messed up the counts, again.

”Uzumaki!”

Naruto jumped up to his feet, looking at their teacher. ”Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi sighed, it would be no use if his new student's mind was wondering somewhere else. ”Go check on your friend, so you can actually concentrate.”

The blond blushed a little, giving his classmates an apolotical grin and bowing to Kakashi, turning and running out of the gym.

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Sasuke sighed, getting mixed emotions when the medicine his father's assistant had brought him, after an angry call from Asuma-sensei, started working.

Sure, he was feeling more like he usually did, but on the other hand, he was also suppressing a lot of things that were running through his mind just few minutes ago.

The raven sighed again, closing the box and putting it in his bag, closing the zipper using a little more force than necessary. He stood up, heaving the bag over his shoulder and heading out of the room, opening the door just to get it smacked right back to his face.

”Oh, sorry! Didn't see you-” Naruto blinked, a grin spreading to his lips. ”It's you! From- ...that class I was on earlier!”

Sasuke rubbed his forehead, glaring at the blond idiot. ”Moron, watch where you're going.” He straightened back up, trying to gather the pieces that were left of his dignity.

The blond blinked again, raising his brow. ”Wow, what crawled up your ass?” He then leaned closer, forcing Sasuke to lean back so that there was some space between their faces, and squinted. ”Do you even remember me? You seem kinda differ- OH!” He snapped his fingers, grinning once again. ”You took your medication, didn't you!”

Okay, the smacking-the-door-at-your-face was one thing, but making dubious comments about his mental health was something completely different.

Although, he couldn't really deny it, as he had been staring at the wall blankly just ten minutes ago, wondering if there was life on earth or if it was just a long dream he was having.

”Shut. Up.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, putting hands on his hips. ”Well aren't we testy, considering how joyful you were last time we met.”

A vein on the pale forehead was visible as Sasuke gritted his teeth, curling his hands into fists. ”I was not joyful.” He then huffed, pushing past the blond, as an effort to get away from him, but there was one big flaw in his plans.

Uzumaki Naruto doesn't give up.

”Oi! Wait!” The raven rolled his eyes in turn, running a hand through his hair and grimacing as it met resistance. ”No.”

The blond jogged to his side, changing his pace to match Sasuke's. ”Can you at least tell me your name? I think I deserve that much.”

Sasuke snapped his head to the side, staring at the blond incredulously. ”For what? Hitting me with a door?”

Naruto chuckled, turning and walking backwards. ”No, for humoring you this morning in- ...okay, seriously, what subject was it, my dad's gonna ask about it anyway.”

The raven shook his head, stopping to pinch the bridge of his nose. ”Math, you idiot. And what do you mean, humoring-”

”I mean the 'you're-so-pretty-you-can't-be-real' part.”

Naruto snickered when a faint blush made it's appearance on the pale skin, Sasuke looking away, trying to come up with something even remotely smart, failing at it miserably. ”Shut up, I didn't say that.”

”Not with the exact words,” the blond admitted, still grinning. ”but the message was clear. Anyway, if you tell me your name, I might let it slide and not start telling everyone you're gay for me or something along those lines.”

The raven swallowed, seeing no way out and submitting to his fate, glaring at the blond. ”Uchiha Sasuke.”

Naruto smiled, taking one pale hand and shaking it vigorously. ”Nice to meet you!” He then turned and started jogging away, remembering his original mission of finding his brooding friend.

”Hey, wait!” Sasuke blinked, not sure why he had just shouted that, this was so out of character, he just wanted to turn around and run, not mention this to anyone, ever.

The blond turned, slowing down, arching an eyebrow. ”Yeah?”

”Uh...” (Great, now I have no idea why I stopped him in the first place, way to make a first impression, Uchiha- No wait, his name!) ”Your name!”

Naruto stopped, blinking slowly, making Sasuke stutter, and curse silently for stuttering. ”I, uh, mean, you didn't tell me your name.” The raven then went on to mentally beat himself up for acting like an idiot, ending up blaming his meds, there was no other possible explanation.

The blond smirked, winking at Sasuke. ”Wouldn't you like to know.” He then waved a goodbye, jogging away, leaving Sasuke standing in the middle of the corridor, feeling deceived by his coolness.

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Naruto sighed, opening the door to the boys restroom, figuring this would be where Gaara would go. He grinned and waved a hand to the boy staring at him through the mirror, getting an eye rollage for a response.

He made a face at the boy, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out before unceremoniously dumping himself on to the floor on his fours.

The boy slowly turned, following closely, with a slightly disgusted expression, as the blond started crawling on the floor beside the stalls, checking under them, looking for something.

He seemed to find it at the last stall, jumping up and turning back to him, holding out his hand. ”The comb, please.”

Neji blinked, wondering what the heck the new student was talking about, making Naruto roll his eyes and snatch the comb from his fingers, using it to open the lock on the stall door, returning it then to its rightful owner, grinning. ”Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Neji scruntched up his nose in disgust as he realized what had just happened, dropping the comb to his backbag and picking the bag up, storming out of the room.

Naruto exhaled, looking down at the redhead, who was sitting on the floor, leaning to the wall, still breathing heavily. ”Found ya!”

Gaara nodded weakly, trying to lift his hand to wave, but giving up as there was just simply no more strenght in him. The blond sighed, taking hold of the boy and pulling him up to his feet, frowning as he realized how light and frail Gaara really was.

”You shouldn't push yourself before you get better, you know that, you almost gave me a heart attack-”

”What if I don't get better?”

The blue eyes widened, raising to meet the tired gaze of the green ones. ”You know, not all anorectic people get better.” Gaara leaned back on the wall, staying on his feet though. ”Some die.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, he hated when the redhead got all emo. ”Sure they do, but you won't.” He leaned on the opposite wall, pressing a hand on Gaara's shoulder, as an effort to keep him up. ”Wanna know why?”

Gaara snorted, trying to swat the hand away, groaning when he failed. ”Do tell me.”

”Because,” Naruto started, turning around and motioning for Gaara to get on his back. ”you have me.” He adjusted the redhead, grinning when Gaara murmured something about piggybag rides being so 90's.

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Shikamaru let out an annoyed sigh, snapping his phone shut and shoving it back to his pocket. ”Kiba's going to be late for practice, his car broke down.”

Sasuke hn'ed, wondering why the idiot didn't get an alarm clock so he would actually make it to the first lessons, and not just wander in during lunch.

He was about to ask the brunet how many courses Kiba could fail before being kicked out of the band, but the words died in his mouth when the same blond from earlier was closing in.

The moron was chatting away happily, most likely with the boy on his back, laughing just when he raised his gaze from the floor, staring right back at the dark eyes and smirking.

Sasuke intensified his glare as they got closer, really wanting to see the blond flinch, but instead Naruto stuck his tongue out, grinning when Sasuke's eyes widened.

”Hello Uchiha Sasuke.” Naruto greeted cheerily when they passed, not sparing another glance at the two.

Sasuke spun around, gritting his teeth together, death glaring at the back of blond head. ”Dammit, tell me your-” He stopped, realizing how stupid it sounded, blinking his eyes with a confused expression.

Naruto looked at him over his shoulder, winking and turning back, taking the hallway to their left, heading to the nurse's office.

The raven turned back too, marching away as fast as he could without it seeming like he was in a hurry. Difficult task, yes, but doable for an Uchiha.

Shikamaru stared at the space the blond had been in and scratched his head, shifting his gaze to the disappering back of his bandmate. ”Too troublesome...”

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”Just lay him there.” Kurenai instructed, walking over to the bed where Naruto carefully put the redhead. ”So, care to tell me what happened?”

Naruto scratched his neck nervously. ”Well, he kinda overdid it at gym class, that's all.”

The school nurse nodded, grabbing one pale wrist to check the pulse but lifting it up instead, staring at it. ”You should go see a real doctor-”

”I know I have a disease.” Gaara cut in, his voice strained. ”And I've already seen a doctor and on my way to healthier way of life.”

Naruto blinked, leaning in and pressing a hand over his friend's forehead. ”You have a fever or something?”

Gaara weakly shook his head, rolling his eyes. ”No, the book said it would be easier just to admit it, so I wouldn't need to hide.” With the peculiar smile Naruto gave him, a mix between sorrow and happines, he quickly added. ”Or something like that.”

Kurenai nodded, walking over to her desk and picking up the phone. ”Okay, what's your guardian's number?”

Naruto shifted his gaze from the redhead to the nurse. ”Umm, I don't know but our dad's name is Umino Iruka, you should have his number in the records-”

”Iruka?”

The blond nodded slowly, watching as the woman put the phone down, walking over to the intercom and pressing few button before speakin straight to the machine, her voice booming around the hallways outside.

”Umino Iruka, would you be so kind as to report to the nurse's office, now.”

Kurenai finished with pressing the red button, making the green light stop blinking. ”Okay, he'll be here in a minute, you two just sit there and wait.”

”Eh, I need to get back to class!” Naruto suddenly burst out, glancing at the clock on the wall. ”Kakashi-sensei is going to kill me if I stay here yapping!”

Kurenai waved her hand nonchalantly. ”Just tell him I wouldn't let you leave earlier, he won't ask anything more about it.”

The blond chuckled, rubbing a hand over Gaara's hair one more time before sprinting out of the office, leaving the redhead and Kurenai sit in silence, waiting for the brunet.

After about two minutes there was a knock on the door and it opened, Iruka's head peeking from behind it. ”What did you need, Kurenai-chan-” His eyes landed on his new foster son, who was looking back at him tiredly. ”Gaara!”

Gaara blinked when his foster father almost ran over to him, pressing a hand over his forehead, much like Naruto, and biting his lip in concentration. ”No fever.” He then cupped his other cheek with his hand and raised his chin to make him meet his gaze, stroking his hair on the other hand in a comforting manner.

”You okay?” Gaara nodded, staring at Iruka, perplexed, he had no idea what the brunet was doing but it did make him feel better.

”He pushed himself too hard during P.E., or that's what your other son said, and since when have you had kids?”

Iruka shrugged the question off, he would explain all later, there was more important things to deal right now. ”Gym, darn it, I should've remembered, I'm so sorry Gaara.” Gaara arched a nonexistent eyebrow, not quite following.

Iruka stood up straight and picked up his son's bag, turning back to the woman. ”Would you call Jiraya-sama and tell him to get me a substitude? I've got more important things to take care off, my class can survive without me for a day.”

Kurenai nodded, picking up the phone again and starting to dial, while Iruka helped Gaara off the bed. ”You can walk, right?” The redhead nodded, gazing at the man warily, still not sure what he was after, but still followed him out of the room.

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Naruto was biting his nails while coming out of the locker rooms, wondering how Gaara was doing and planning on checking the nurse's office before the next lesson, but was stopped by a pink haired girl.

”Hey, you're Naruto, right?” The blond nodded, mirroring the girl's bright smile. ”I sure am!”

Sakura clapped her hands together, happy that she had found him so quickly. ”Goody! I'm Sakura, and I was supposed to find you-”

”Wow, what a pretty name!” Sakura blinked her eyes, staring back at the blue ones right in front of her. ”Uh, thanks! That was so... random...” Naruto nodded, grinning. ”Well, it is.”

Sakura giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand before getting back to what she was saying earlier. ”As I was saying, your dad called Tsunade-sama, who in turn called my mom who called me to tell me that I have to take you home cos your dad is already there with your brother.”

Naruto chuckled, it was always funny to hear people calling Gaara his brother, but let it slide, nodding enthusiasticly. ”That's great! And so nice of you!” Sakura giggled again, curtseying. ”I know I know.” They laughed together, ending up chatting through the whole break.

When the bell rang, interrupting them, Naruto frowned, he didn't want to leave yet, he was having fun! Sakura seemed to agree, as she scowled at the ceiling. ”What class do you have?”

Naruto pulled out his schedule, checking it. ”History.” Sakura smiled once again, hooking their arms and pulling the blond towards the stairs. ”Great! You're sitting next to me.”

Naruto just chuckled, exited that he had already made one friend, and had a strong feeling he and Sakura would be getting along just fine.

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A/N: done! Sorry it's kinda short but I need to go! But I'll update soon, so no worries. Thanks for reading and review if you feel like it :) byyyyyeee!