Like Ninja Fighters

Like Ninja Fighters

Chapter 6: Mental Warfare

Sophomore Year

It was getting toward the end of the school year and spirits were flying high.

Sasuke and Naruto's spirits were soaring even higher as they were both planning on their final fight for the year. The new Ninja Chronicles Game Six was due out, and they had planned on getting into a fight so they would have time to finish the game without the interruption of school.

"So what is the problem between you and that Naruto dude?" Suigetsu asked. As Haku had graduated the year before, freshman Suigetsu had been invited to their "exclusive" table, filling Haku’s vacant spot. He was by far the loudest and weirdest of the group, but he had a well-known name. Sasuke wondered if next year he should switch tables; it would depend on who would replace Kimimaro and Juugo's vacant seats when they graduated. He didn’t know if he would be able to tolerate Suigetsu his junior and senior years of high school if there were two more loud and obnoxious students to add to his annoying presence.

"He rubs me the wrong way," Sasuke said. He almost added, “But not as much as you do.” Suigetsu waved his hand in the air as though to physically dismiss Sasuke's words.

"Yeah, yeah, so you've said. But, what I want to know is how does he rub you the wrong way? It's like you two are okay, and then BAM! It's like you just have to fight the guy. It's just kinda weird. You both are skilled fighters. No one can deny that. It’s like you both had to find the other best fighter in the school and try and out do him. Was that the deal? You don’t like him because he’s the only one that can kick your ass? Do you both go to the same karate school or something? Don’t they let you guys fight it out there?"

"Leave him alone," Juugo said.

However, it was surprising when Neji and Gaara actually turned to look at Sasuke curiously, also intent on pressing the subject.

"Naruto's not such a bad guy," Gaara said thoughtfully. Neji nodded. Sasuke hid his surprise, as well as the strange feeling of jealousy. For Neji and Gaara to back Naruto up like they were Naruto’s friend hurt. Not because they were betraying Sasuke in anyway but because Sasuke hated the fact that they were paying attention to Naruto.

It was hard enough coming to terms with the fact that he was slowly falling for his best friend. He didn’t know how he would deal with it if he had to compete with others falling for Naruto as well. And it didn’t help that he was fairly certain that Gaara and Neji both liked guys.

This past year Sasuke had begun reading fan-fiction about Jun and Nori that had made Sasuke question the way he viewed his relationship with Naruto. Sasuke had always wondered if there was something more than friendship between Gaara and Neji. The idea of either one of them paying attention to Naruto made Sasuke wonder if they were interested in Naruto – and not in a friendly kind of way either.

"Gaara and I have shared gym class with him this past year," Sasuke did his best to hide his jealousy at realizing they had the opportunity to watch Naruto undress. "Initially we avoided him because we thought due to your constant disagreements that hanging around him would be unwise. Yet he doesn't seem bothered that we’re your friends. It also doesn’t seem to faze him when we speak about you in conjunction with our lunch discussions. In fact, he once said something strange when Gaara’s sister went on a health food ran and insisted on packing a fresh salad for him every day. He said, 'Sasuke loves fresh veggies, especially tomatoes. They're his favorite food. Give them to him if you don't want them.' He said it so chipper," Neji recalled.

"It was as though it wasn't at all odd that he would know your favorite food," Gaara added sharing a look with Neji. Sasuke felt the tension leave him slightly as they seemed interested in Naruto’s strange reaction rather than Naruto himself.

They all looked over to where Naruto sat with a group of his friends. An ache pulled in Sasuke's chest as he saw how happy Naruto was with everyone else at his table. He felt strangely excluded. It didn't matter that Naruto would later make sure to blab about his lunch time activities as well as what had happened to him the rest of the day, nor the fact that Sasuke would probably find it more amusing from Naruto's mouth than if he had had to sit with Naruto's friends. Sasuke still felt left out.

It didn’t help that he’d started over-analyzing his feelings for Naruto. Like the fact that he was jealous in a manner he shouldn’t be, as though Naruto belonged to him.

An intimate fan art of Nori and Jun where Nori held the front of Jun’s clothing in a possessive manner, their lips almost touching crossed Sasuke’s mind. Nori and Jun’s faces were quickly replaced by his and Naruto’s.

He really needed to stay away from the Nori/Jun slash community; it was starting to make him fantasize about Naruto every time he looked at his best friend.

Not to mention he didn’t like thinking too deeply into why he had been so jealous of that one girl at Naruto’s table, Hinata, when Naruto had said they’d kissed a week or so ago. All Sasuke could do to keep from yelling at the unsuspecting girl was to think that at least she had good taste.

But Sasuke pushed that thought into the back recessive of his mind, the place that didn’t deal well with the emotions and loneliness linked to the murder of his family. Most recently, it had also been the place where he stored the strange feelings he’d been having for Naruto.

Sasuke knew that Naruto was his friend and cared for him.

This year hadn't been like last year; he and Naruto had gotten to spend more time together than the previous year in school while not spoiling the “façade” that Naruto still wanted to upkeep.

Sasuke did admit that pretending to get into fights did have its uses as they had had a fair amount of time home alone practicing their karate moves and playing videogames together when they did get suspended.

Yet the nicest change had been when they'd ended up getting put into the same computer class. They usually spent the entire class period sitting next to each other, typing up comments on their computers before quickly deleting it when the teacher walked passed. The best part was the teacher had sat them alphabetically by their surnames, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary that they sat next to each other.

Also seeing Naruto at lunch seemed to help Sasuke. The previous year they had gotten in fights so they could spend more time together. This year they didn't need to as often. However, one would be needed soon so they could play the new Ninja Chronicle’s game.

Naruto had also confessed he was afraid Sasuke would start liking his quiet group more than him, and it appeased Naruto to see them as uptight as Sasuke. While it was a backhanded comment, Sasuke liked that Naruto seemed jealous of his friends. Petty, but true.

"Well, he is my brother," Sasuke finally said through his musings, figuring he might as well drop that bombshell and wait for their incredulous stares. "Adopted, naturally."

In fact, their surprise to his confession was pretty funny. He'd never seen such strong reactions from the people at his table. Shikamaru actually looked up from where he'd had his head propped on his arms. There was a large red spot on his head from leaning on it too long. Chouji nearly choked on his handful of chips. Suigetsu gaped openly at Sasuke, while Gaara and Neji looked at him wide-eyed. Kimimaro looked thoughtful. Juugo nodded his head.

"I wondered about something like that. I saw this white-haired guy pick you both up from school after your fight last month. I thought it was weird, but didn't want to ask," Juugo noted.

"I'm glad I'm so interesting," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Dude, your brother? Adopted brother?" Suigetsu asked. "Brothers can totally suck."

"I think it's a shame that you two do not have a better relationship," Juugo said, and he placed a hand on Kimimaro's shoulder. The two of them often did act like brothers.

Or how brothers should act. Sasuke closed his eyes shut tight as the mental image of his biological brother, of Itachi standing over him with the knife flashed in front of his eyes.

Naruto was nothing like that. He was truly an amazing person.

"It is what it is," Sasuke said, wanting the subject dropped.

"That does suck. Having a brother you don’t even want," Suigetsu said thoughtfully. The blood-shot, fanatical look in Itachi’s eyes flashed before Sasuke, reminding him of a brother he truly didn’t want. "So, uh, are you adopted or is he?"

The glare Sasuke gave Suigetsu made his slightly younger classman actually move a little further away. Still, he didn't stop pestering Sasuke.

"Come on, though, which is it?" Suigetsu said, grinning widely. "You or him?"

"Both of us," Sasuke quipped as his hand reached up unconsciously and began to rub the long since healed knife wound his biological brother had inflicted upon him.

Sasuke closed his eyes, as he remembered the ringing shots from the police as the dark figure of his brother fell on top of him, his body landing on him as the blade pierced his skin.

Memories of that night surfaced.

‘No…no, no, no.’ Sasuke chanted in his mind, trying to quell the images he had never learned to properly deal with.

The scent of blood rose out of no where, and Sasuke’s eyes widened. There was no one bleeding around him, but the stench became stronger, the same vile reek that had accompanied the scene of finding his parents bloody bodies, warmed due to the heat of the summer evening.

Someone had said something to him but there was a ringing in his ears, his body feeling heavy. Bile rose in his throat and got stuck there as everything suddenly seemed too warm.

Across the lunch room, Naruto looked over to where Sasuke's elite table was.

Naruto tried his best not to look over there too often. He was grateful that Sasuke had made some friends. Really, he was. His best friend was too anti-social, even though a part of Naruto had always cherished that Sasuke wanted him to be his only friend.

The people in the group that Sasuke hung out with were all much more mature than he was. Often he wondered if Sasuke would one day wake up and think he was too childish…and dumb.

It was nice to see Sasuke interact with others, yet not seem as happy as he usually did with him. Selfish, but true.

Even as he told himself he shouldn’t keep looking over, Naruto's eyes froze.

Sasuke was rubbing the back of his neck. His head was downcast and his eyes were closed, his features taught.

It was a look that Naruto instantly recognized, making his chest tighten and his eyes to go wide in fear.

Sasuke was mentally flashing back to the night his brother had killed his family.

It didn't happen often, but when Sasuke flash backed, Sasuke completely broke down. Naruto didn't want to see that happen and not in front of all these people. It always, always scared Naruto to watch Sasuke flashback.

One time Sasuke had started calling out for his parents which had made Naruto start to flash back to the way he'd woken up after the fatal car crash that had killed his parents. It made Naruto remember when he had called out desperately for his mom and dad. He could feel the crushing weight of the front of the car pressing close to his legs, his legs that were in the back of the car, as Naruto tried to call out for his already dead parents, his throat dry, almost unable to talk due to the pain, only to not get a response when he finally managed to –

He couldn't start doing this either.

"Shit," Naruto cursed. "Shit, fucking shit," he hissed, looking around as his friends looked at him a little strange.

Hinata, a girl that had kissed him the previous week but who he’d had to tell that he didn't feel the same way about her, spoke to him for the first time since that incident.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned. Naruto's mind reeled.

"Didn't you see the gesture that asshole made at me?!" Naruto demanded. His heart beat sped up. He stood up and marched over to Sasuke's table.

The people at the table were looking at Sasuke in concern, but Naruto didn't have time to register that.

"Don't think I didn't see that, bastard!" Naruto said, wrenching Sasuke's arm away from his neck.

Sasuke's eyes flashed open.

His friends had been calling his name, but he didn't react until Naruto had come over.

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured, concerned. Sasuke felt his face flush as he could feel the eyes of his table members on him.

Instinctively, two cafeteria monitors came over to Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke and Naruto together meant a fight was likely to follow.

"Walk away, Uzumaki," one of them said.

Naruto ignored him. His eyes were locked on Sasuke's. Sasuke's fear began to drain away as he took a deep breath. All of Naruto's nerves went on tense at the slight tilt of Sasuke's body. The others around them expected it, and Sasuke needed a reason to get out of there. Naruto was prepared as Sasuke took a swipe at him, blocking the attack easily.

The two monitors grabbed them both before they started any heavy fighting and began marching them to the principal's office.

They both sat with a plunk into their seats.

Naruto had his face turned toward Principal Sarutobi who looked unsurprised to see them there.

A half hour later while they were waiting for Kakashi to pick them up, finally alone in the main office, Sasuke was able to turn to look at Naruto.

"Thanks," he murmured. Naruto nodded, rubbing his legs.

"It's so weird. My legs are feeling numb. Sometimes I still have dreams where I can't feel them at all," Naruto said.

"I didn't mean to make you start to flash back too," Sasuke said. His voice was dark and bitter. Naruto shrugged and yawned widely.

"Nah, all good. Nothing good at the end of the day anyway," Naruto said as he lazily slumped down in the chair, his arms crossing behind his head. Sasuke smirked, knowing Naruto was trying to make him feel better. Naruto had wood shop. He was really good at making things in it; he'd actually made an ornamental shelf to stash some of his ramen on.

They sat in silence for half a moment. "What made you think of…it?" Naruto asked tentatively, clearly not wanting to set Sasuke off again. Sasuke clamped his mind shut on the unwanted images.

"Suigetsu asked me what my issue with you was. Finally told him and the rest at the table that you’re my adopted brother, and he wanted details on who was adopted. Started talking about how awful brothers were, and it made me think of my psycho of a brother. That kind of stuff."

Naruto clenched and unclenched his fist.

"That asshole. I'll skin him if he asks you anything like that again," Naruto snarled. Sasuke chuckled.

"He's not a fish to flay," Sasuke mused.

"Though you two are in deep fry," Kakashi quipped as he opened the door to the office, smiling at them in a "you two are in deep shit" kind of way.

He always had this way of arriving at the best time to come up with the smoothest entry line. Probably why he was late so often; he waited for the right moment to make a grand entrance.

"My fault," Sasuke spoke up.

"It wasn't his fault! It was Suigetsu's fault. Started asking Sasuke all these personal questions and Sasuke started flashing."

It took half a second for Kakashi to realize that they had come up with "flashing" as a term for their traumatic flash back experiences and not for flashing naked around the school. And while flashing naked around the school wasn't a welcome reason for them to get in trouble, he'd rather them be in trouble for doing something that was humorous rather than reliving their tragic pasts.

"Did you lash out at Naruto...?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I knew it was Naruto who I was hitting. He helped me get out of there without breaking down in front of everyone," Sasuke said as he followed behind Kakashi who seemed a little mellower now that he knew the reason behind them getting into trouble.

"Why didn't you tell Principal Sarutobi this? Save you from getting into trouble?" Kakashi asked. He scratched his head in thought.

"We did. He sent us home because Naruto started flashing back as well. He thought we needed a 'mental health day' to recover," Sasuke explained.

"Well, actually he wanted us to talk to a guidance counselor but we both refused, and we’re getting one day of suspension for insubordination," Naruto said, nodding his head. Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at Naruto as though to say “you shouldn’t have told him that part.”

They had both refused talking to anyone other than each other about their problems. It seriously worried Kakashi, but at the same time, it truly did seem to make both of them worse when they were forced to talk to a therapist.

Both were so amazingly stubborn.

Upon arriving home, Kakashi's worry for them deepened when instead of going to play videogames like they usually did when having their normal teenage "issues" both went up to their rooms. Sasuke said he wanted to lie down. Naruto seemed to be following suit.

He'd give them both a couple hours before making sure they were okay. Usually they could bounce back on their own. If not, he would get out the candles and mini marshmallows. Nothing said good parenting like letting your child roast a little marshmallow over a candle: fire and sweets, what could be better for children?

At least, the kids seemed to think so, and always seemed to get them out of a funk. Smiling to himself, Kakashi thought he might do that anyway. After all, he had faith that they would be able to work through whatever was bothering them on their own.

Half an hour later, Naruto lay staring up at his ceiling. He too was worried, but more so about Sasuke than about himself. Unable to sleep (having hoped to play some Ninja Chronicles Four with Sasuke as that was his favorite videogame to play when he needed a distraction), he got up to see if maybe Sasuke was awake.

When Sasuke didn't answer the light knock to his door, Naruto opened it slightly before walking in.

Sasuke was curled up on his bed in a tight ball, but the blankets were all on the floor.

He was shivering despite how warm it felt in the room.

Naruto could feel a painful tug in his chest as he watched Sasuke move restlessly in his sleep.

Picking up the blanket, Naruto lightly put it on Sasuke before sitting on the edge of the bed. A memory of his mom once tucking him in brushed to the surface, and Naruto began to lightly stroke Sasuke's hair.

Slowly Naruto watched as the tension left Sasuke's body, and he seemed to be sleeping more peacefully.

Sighing, Naruto still lightly brushed his fingers through Sasuke's hair, thinking Sasuke looked kind of pretty when he was asleep.

A few moments passed, and Naruto began to get antsy.

He really, really wanted to play videogames with Sasuke. And Sasuke seemed relaxed now.

A wicked thought spread through Naruto's head as he leaned down, looking at Sasuke's slumbering face.

Sluuuuuuuuuuuurp.

"Ick," Sasuke grunted groggily, wiping at his cheek. Looking around disoriented, he looked at Naruto's grinning face. "Did you just lick me?" Sasuke demanded.

In response, Naruto just grinned wider before turning tail and running as Sasuke threw his pillow at him.

Naruto's cackles rang through the house as the bounding thump, thump, thump of them running and jumping around resounded in the house.

Kakashi smiled to himself as he dug out the mini marshmallows.

"When you're done running in circles, we're roasting mini marshmallows," Kakashi called as Naruto and then Sasuke ran by him.

A few seconds later he heard the front door open and then slam shut. Wisely, he went to the kitchen sliding door and made sure to unlock it so Naruto could enter it without getting slammed face first into it like he had the last time.

Kakashi sat down at the kitchen table and lit three candles, opening the bag before putting one of the little white puffs onto a fondue skewer.

"Oo! Marshmallows!" Naruto said upon sliding to a halt behind Kakashi. The kitchen sliding door slammed shut, followed by a loud oof! as Sasuke slammed into Naruto's stilled form.

"Roasting marshmallows?" Sasuke asked. They both sat down, took up a skewer and several marshmallows.

At times like these Kakashi was grateful for Naruto's short attention span and Sasuke's sometimes pyromaniac-tendencies.

Next Chapter: End Battle


Hope you liked this chapter! And just fyi I have a completed story called Masked. It's Halloweenish and NaruSasu, in case you're interested. :D ~ Jelp