Year of the Fox

Author's Note:

Delayed again. Omg, I'm so sorry. But this chapter is TWICE as long as the others, so I hope that helps a little....
Sorry for the evil cliffhanger you guys!
This is my personal fave among all the chapters this far, and I think it clears up a lot of things. So hopefully you'll all enjoy it and forgive me my slowness...

About the clay; my ceramics teacher just called the newbie-clay Blue clay. So I'm not quite sure what the English name is. After checking a bit online though, I'm starting to believe that Quickclay is the correct term, so I'm gonna use that.
If anyone knows better than me, please let me know! ^-^

The math teacher thing, is a slight pun on my behalf since I suddenly realized that I hadn't thought out who was gonna be their math teacher yet.
Gawd, the whole school thing is killing me; I spent almost three hours making Naruto's schedule last week, and then I had to assign teachers to all of the classes, except math obviously.... x_x
I kinda wanted to throw Hidan in the mix, as the teacher for religious studies...xD But I decided against it, and chose Kurenai instead.
For maths...I kinda wanted Kabuto, since he looks so smart ^3^ But then I figured there were too many young teachers, so I went for the closet perv.

As far as chaos and no teachers goes, I've pretty much drawn a lot of inspiration from my school; half the time our teachers didn't show, and during springtime before the exams, we basically just sat around all day.

Oh, and SneakyFox said in her review that I need to make you guys draw me fanarts ;p
I'd LOVE for someone to illustrate their fave scene or whatever from YotF. (Especially the picture taken in the photobooth)
If you do draw something, please link me in a review! ^___^

Edit: This chapter has now been beta'd. Nic, you are a LIFESAVER! *3*
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Rokugatsu


There, under the rows of blossoming cherry trees, Sasuke said it; "I'm not your fucking friend Naruto!" and then he left.

In a matter of seconds, everything that had happened since Sasuke was first standing in front of the class that day in January, flashed before Naruto's inner eye.
And he just couldn't believe that the Uchiha had just shouted those words in his face, not after these past weeks.
Not since they had steadily gotten friendlier.... especially after last week.
****


Monday morning, Naruto slammed his books down on his desk.
Mizuki glowered at him, "Bad mood this morning Uzumaki?"
Naruto scowled back, but straightened his back, and opened his book.
"Watch that attitude, or I'm throwing you out," the man warned, but was distracted by the door opening again. "Uchiha!" he sneered, "You are late!"
Sasuke mumbled something and took his seat.

He hadn't even been five minutes late. Clearly the teacher was also having a bad morning.

"Alright, settle down morons," Mizuki pulled down the map in front of the blackboard. "War-"
"What is it good for!" a few students echoed quietly.
"Shut up!" Mizuki whirled around.
"Wow," Naruto thought, "Seven minutes into the class and he already wants to kill us. That's gotta be some sort of record..."
"As I said!" the young teacher bellowed. "War. The middle-east. That's all you need to know. Now, I want to see hands in the air; Name at least three countries that have been affected in some way by these many wars."

During the next thirty minutes, Mizuki presented them all with an intense crash course in the War in the Middle-East, it resulted in a short summary - so full of info it was bursting at the seams.
And then, after having sent the students out on a five minutes break, he'd prepared for them a popquiz on said summary.

It was a gloomy class who made their way down the stairs, towards their Art class in fifth period, where Deidara was waiting, under the strict, supervision of Jiraiya.
The man lost interest about ten minutes into the lesson however, and retreating to his books, he let the young teacher do as he pleased.

Deidara was mad.
Naruto, and the others were of course already aware of this after their first meeting with him.
But by the time this lesson was over, he was pretty sure; this gender-bending thing was positively raving mad! And what was with the 'Yeah's after every sentence?!
The blonde was pretty sure he'd go insane himself if he was going to have to put up with this for two months.
He glanced over at Sasuke, who sat at the end of their table as usual. This way he didn't have to sit next to anyone.

Naruto wondered what he thought of their art teacher.
He stared a bit harder, and smiled: Judging from the look on Sasuke's face, he was all but impressed.
Without showing much emotion, he managed to bring forth a look of utter disbelief, and something close to revulsion when Deidara pulled out two huge sacks of clay.

"Ceramics," the teacher said, "is what we'll be learning today. Just basics, you'll get to make figurines, yeah. Or..Plates and bowls if you'd like that, mm. And then in two lessons time we'll hopefully move onto the potter's wheel!"
"Weren't we learning how to do sketches?"
"Yeah! What happened to still-life portraits?!"
"It's boring, yeah. You don't think so kids?"

Kids.
Kiba and Naruto exchanged glances and scoffed.
Deidara wasn't that much older than they were. 20 at the oldest. Maybe 21.

"Anyway, as I told you last time, art is something that needs to be nurtured." he picked up a lump of clay, "And I'll teach you how..."
He looked out at the students.
Most of them were looking back at him, but that didn't mean they were paying attention to what he was saying.
Most likely, more than a few of them were staring at him until their eyes hurt, not quite believing that he indeed was a guy - ogling intensely, trying to find some tell-tale sign that they weren't being tricked.
"This here, is quick clay, or blue clay, it's the one that's the easiest to work with, so it's a good choice for beginners. Mm," he nodded to himself, "But! That doesn't mean it doesn't have feelings-"

The teenagers around him exchanged glances.
Eyebrows rose, and people tried to contain their laughter.

"I'm not kidding, yeah. Think of... clay as you would think of your partner...your lover.." the blonde teacher's cheeks were tainted slightly pink, his blue eyes glowing.
"What?!"
"He is mad!"
Deidara ignored them. "You wouldn't be too rough with someone you cared for...." his expression changed slightly, as if he had to rethink. His lip quirked. "Of course...some like it rough, but that's beside the point, yeah."
The students laughed.
Ok, so maybe he was insane, but at least he was entertaining, and not acting like a terrorist.
"My point, is that you need to handle the clay with care! At first you might have to pound it against the table to make it soften up and obey, but after that... handle it with care."
He began kneading the lump in his hands. Gradually it's shape started to change, and it glided easily between his fingers.
He placed it back on the table beside him, where Jiraiya was scribbling notes on a piece of paper. - Deidara's lecture must've given him some ideas.
"Ok, so now, come up here, one table at the time, and get your clay."

They did as they were told. Naruto's group was the last table to receive theirs.
Deidara smiled at them, enthusiastically nodding when they picked up the cold, brownish-grey lumps. His blue gaze lingered a bit longer upon Sasuke, who in no fashion returned the gesture.

"Alright," Deidara proceeded once they had all sat back down, and softened up their pieces of clay by banging them against the tables. He held up his hands in front of him, palms reflecting the students. "Now, I want you to knead it, yeah. Not hard, not soft, but firm."
Jiraiya stared.
The teens giggled.
Deidara frowned, but continued. "Once it's easy to manipulate; when it's not feeling cold anymore, and you can feel it's slightly moist, you start kneading more like this;"
He showed them by clenching his hands rapidly.
"Imagine there are little mouths inside your palms, yeah, and that they're chewing on the clay."

"Mouths?" Naruto hissed to Kiba.
Kiba pointed to his head, swirling the finger around. "Nutcase..." he whispered.
Naruto laughed quietly.
Then he winced, as something cold and moist hit him in the neck.
He turned, scowling at Sai.
"What the hell is your problem?!" he snarled.
He didn't get to say much more.
Deidara's calm, steady voice suddenly shrilled over their heads; "HEY! Pay attention!"
Naruto waited for him to strike, but nothing happened. No one yelled his name. Instead the shrill went on; "You, Da Vinci over there!! Out!"
Sai looked like he'd fallen from the moon. "What?"
"I said OUT!" Deidara's slender finger pointed at the door. "I will not have you disrespecting my art!"
Sai stood, still confused.
"What are you waiting for?" Deidara wondered. "An invitation? Go outside, and stand in the hallway until class is over!"
Sai lurked past him.
The young teacher shook his head. "Such a disappointment..." he mumbled.
He'd probably expected Sai to treasure art as much as he did, after having seen his skills.
Clearly, he didn't know Sai.

"Tough luck..." Sasuke said calmly, when the other raven passed him. He glared.
The Uchiha smirked.
Naruto grinned at him, noticing how Sai's eyes grew even darker.

"Where were we?" Deidara turned to the rest of them again, "Ah, yes. Try it. And then you can start sculpting afterwards, yeah!" he grinned, "Isn't this exciting?!"
There wasn't much of an answer. He looked slightly annoyed at the lack of enthusiasm in the class.
"What is wrong with you kids today?" he demanded. "Weren't you a lively bunch in our last lesson!?"
He turned to Jiraiya, "What's wrong with them? I can't teach like this, yeah."
The man didn't reply, just looked at the demanding youth in front of him, shaking his head. "You're doing fine," he finally said, "They're supposed to be low spirited."
The blonde frowned.
He leaned down to a student on the first row, "What's with the depression?"
He caught the words 'pop quiz' and 'modern history'.
"Modern history? That's that...Mizuki's class isn't it?" for a moment Deidara seemed to be forgetting all about his clay, "What a jerk yeah!"
The class looked up.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, "You know...Talking about a fellow staff member like that is-"
"I don't care! This morning he nearly ripped my head off, because I accidentally scraped the paintjob on that heap of junk of his, when I got out of the car. I wasn't even the one driving! But of course, Sasori was in a hurry, yeah, and couldn't deal with him, so he attacks me! And then he leaves the parking lot in a fury, talking about insurance and lawyers!" fuming, he went on about this Sasori that none of them knew, and how he'd probably kill him when he heard. "I am the one who should be depressed!"
"At least it explains why Mizuki-sensei was so pissed..." Ino whispered to Sakura.
The pink haired girl nodded, as did the rest of the table.
Sasuke too, but Naruto doubted the others saw it.

"Deidara, can you please get back to teaching?" the biology teacher interrupted his ranting.
"Oh, yes...Sorry yeah. But the salary they pay us, especially us students, isn't enough to cover a lawsuit you know?"
"Just...focus on the ceramics. And I can get back to my papers."
"Isn't that porn, yeah?"
The class burst into a fit of laughter.
"That's better!!" Deidara beamed, "Now, I want you to choose one of the tasks; sculpture; for instance an animal, or you can do a bowl or a plate. Get to work, yeah!"
About an hour later, the class left their lopsided, disastrous sculptures in the backroom, where they would be fired.
Deidara said something about burning them for real, not to prepare them for the glazing, but no one took him seriously. Or maybe they just didn't care.
Their spirits were slightly lighter though.

Sai was still dawdling in the hallway when the others came out. It was surprising that he hadn't ran off when he had the chance. But maybe he'd expected to be let in again.
"So much for being the teacher's pet," Naruto remarked when he walked past him.
Sai scowled, pushing him hard into the crowd with his shoulder.
Kiba pushed Sai back, the raven crashing into the wall.
He glared, but didn't try to counter it in any way. Instead he turned to Naruto again. "Well, maybe you should apply for the position then? Birds of a feather flock together, isn't that so? Even among you freaks?"

The blonde ignored him, and walked on.
Once they'd rounded the corner and headed for the stairs, he said; "That Deidara might be a maniac, but he has some good points!"
"And nerve!" Kiba laughed.
"I don't think he's that mad!" Sakura pointed out.
"You just think he's hot."
"If he really is a he...." Shikamaru frowned.
"Oh stop it you guys!" the pink haired girl shook her head, "At least he's got a sense of humor!"
"Probably comes with the madness...."
"Chouji!"
"Oh come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, "HAND MOUTHS?!"
"I have to agree with blondie; he's a freak."
"What do you think Sasuke?"
"I think," the raven said, continuing up the stairs, "We're late for Lit."
"Like it matters," Naruto said, chasing after him, "Kakashi-sensei is always late anyway."
Sasuke didn't listen to him, he just continued up to the third floor, with the others - Naruto up front, chasing after him.

Kakashi was more than half an hour late, and when he finally showed up, he realized he'd forgotten to bring copies of the text they were supposed to be studying.
"Hey, you guys wanna go catch a bite after class with Shino and me?" Kiba turned to Naruto and Shikamaru.
"Sure," Naruto shrugged.
Shikamaru's lack of response was taken as an agreement.
"Sasuke!" Naruto hollered, winning the raven's attention, "Are you coming?"
The Uchiha gave some sort of nod and a grunt.
"We're coming too!" Ino shrilled.
"It's settled then!" Kiba decided, not waiting for Chouji's response. But that was pretty obvious already. The boy never turned down a meal.

Sitting at Burger King later that day the conversation mostly revolved around the hopeless teachers.
They talked about Mizuki, and how his bad mood must've been caused by Deidara. Which brought them to the conclusion that although the blonde art teacher was unconventional and perhaps stark raving mad, they liked him.
And then finally they went on to discuss Kakashi's utter hopelessness.
Sasuke remained quiet most of the time, especially when they talked about the literature teacher.

Then he asked; "Hey, what about tomorrow? What kind of teachers do we have?"
The group didn't get him at first.
Ever since Sasuke transferred to their school, he'd never attended on a Tuesday, at least not the whole day: He'd show up for the last period; study hour, and then go home with the others. But he'd missed more than half of the day. Every Tuesday.
"Oh right! Boy are you in for an....experience..." Kiba snickered.
Sasuke stared at him, trying to read his expression.
Naruto grinned. "He's right. The majority of the day is ok. Kurenai is a bit strict and Religious Studies sucks, Math is a bitch as always, and Asuma-sensei...well, he's cool, unless you're allergic to smoke...."
The raven sipped at his milkshake, "So...what about gym class?"
"That," Naruto smirked, "is hard to explain. I doubt you'd even believe us if we told you."
"Gai-sensei is definitely something you have to see to believe," Shino said behind the neckband of his jacket.

Naruto was right, Sasuke realized the next day when the doors to the gym were pretty much kicked open by... The Uchiha almost didn't believe his own eyes, but regardless of whether the bizarre sight in front of him was real or not, he felt a strong urge to avert his eyes from the beaming man dressed in green spandex, with a bowl cut and eyebrows that could only be described as atomic, standing before him.
He swallowed.

The teacher reached out his hand, "Maito Gai, nice to meet you!"
"Yeah...Uchiha Sasuke...Hi..."
"Oh I know!" the man beamed. "Everyone knows who you are you know!"
"Yes I-"
"I must say, you're a bit...punier than I had imagined, but you're still YOUNG! We'll have you in great shape in no time!"
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Sasuke's physique or stamina. But as he came to understand during the class, Gai's standards were far beyond high.
The man had the class run a hundred laps around the gym, while he ordered loudly; "Touch the ground! Left hand! Right hand! Run backwards! Forwards! Faster! Get your blood pumping!"

Most of the students were gasping for breath when they sank back down on the benches afterwards.
If nothing else, at least they were all warmed up, but they already ached all over, their bodies feeling like they couldn't move another inch.
The teacher was standing before them, grinning, "Alright! We'll proceed with some light exercises!"
The class groaned.
There was no such thing as 'light exercises' in this class.
Sasuke leaned over to Naruto, whispering under his strained breath; "Is he always like this...?"
Naruto swallowed, wiping sweat from his forehead, "Yeah...Always..."

"I want you to team up! Two and two!"
The blonde looked over at Sasuke, his look was determined, but wondering.
Sasuke smirked slightly, nodding.

Gai's light exercises turned out to be less terrible than Naruto had expected, but it was hard enough.
"You want us to do what?!"
"As I said," the man beamed, "I want you to pair up and then enjoy some light exercise. In the form of carrying each other on your backs while you're doing various crouches and push-ups and then finally a relay race where you'll have six people on one team and you'll race each other whilst still carrying a team mate on your backs!"
Gai had a broad grin on his face all the time while explaining.
"Now, get to it!" he clapped his hands, "Oh!" he suddenly cried out. "If you're a boy-girl pair, obviously switching might not be the best idea, so all the best to you guys!"
The boys who were teamed up with a girl all frowned.
"How are we supposed to get a proper work-out then?" a girl inquired.
"You'll just have to make sure you cling on to your partner with every muscle!"
The girl merely rolled her eyes and turned to her partner.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Get on," Sasuke ordered.
"No way."
It was an instant battle for domination. Neither wanted to be the passive, and thus less manly. It was ridiculous, but also the usual way for a teenage boy to be thinking.
"Would you just get on my back already, dobe?"
Naruto looked Sasuke up and down, eyes searching his slender frame. "No way, you'd never be able to handle it!"
"What? You're that fat?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna pretend that was a joke on your behalf, and let the thought of you having humor baffle me."
The Uchiha cocked an eyebrow.
"Even Gai-sensei said it," Naruto continued, "You're far too puny."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No. Which is why I'm gonna carry you."
"No."
"Sasuke!"
"You could never carry me and keep your balance."
"Oh, so I can't handle it, is that it?!"
"Yeah. You could never do two things at once!"
"That's it!" the blonde crouched down. "Get on."
"Forget it."
"God!" Naruto snarled, "You're so stubborn!! Ok, fine. We have to switch again anyways. Get down."
"Hn," there was a distinct tone of self-satisfaction in Sasuke's voice as he crouched down, allowing Naruto to get on his back.
Mimicking Gai's demonstration, and the others around them, he rose to a standing position and then crouched down again.
"As many as you can!" Gai announced from the other side of the gym, "Nothing below one hundred crouches is acceptable!"
Again the class groaned in unison.
"Are all teachers at this school mad?" Sasuke muttered.
"Save your breath," came Naruto's reply. "You're gonna need it, trust me."

His arms rested around Sasuke's neck, his legs firmly wrapped around his waist.
The raven crouched down and stood up, crouched and stood.
Underneath Sasuke's shirt, Naruto could feel muscles flexing.
A few stray strands of midnight brushed against his face with each time Sasuke stood.
It tickled.
The blonde wrinkled his nose, in attempt to relieve himself from the tickling sensation. As he inhaled he caught the scent of Sasuke's hair.
And for a brief moment he was flung years back in time.
To a time when that scent had surrounded him and provided comfort.
He closed his eyes. And it felt like Sasuke's scent was surrounding him.
"God damn it Naruto!"
Sasuke's voice made Naruto snap out of his daze.
"Are you listening?!"
"Sorry, what?"
"I said, get off!"
Naruto let himself sink to the floor, still slightly dazed and confused from suddenly remembering something like that.
"That was a hundred and sixteen...." Sasuke took a sip from his water bottle, "Let's see you do better."
The blonde pursed his lips, "You'll regret saying that, Uchiha," he crouched down, and took Sasuke on his back.
The raven was not too comfortable with the current situation. He probably found it humiliating, Naruto could tell by how tense his body seemed.

In the end, Naruto managed to do a hundred and seventeen crouches, thus beating Sasuke by one. But after having completed the push-ups, Sasuke had beaten Naruto with one hundred and twenty-four to one hundred and fifteen. So their little dispute was all but settled.
The exercises had rendered them too tired to argue over it though.
In any case, they were probably pretty even, both in physique and stamina, but there were a few key differences; Naruto was smaller than Sasuke, but due to their difference in bone structure, Sasuke was the lighter one, still, that didn't make him any weaker than Naruto. So it was difficult for one of them to beat the other, as they both had the advantage at different things.
It was an annoyance, as well as a comfort.

"Now then," Gai bellowed, "Let's form teams!"
For the relay race, Sasuke and Naruto were teamed up with Sakura and Ino and Kiba and Sai. The last pair was a dreadful combination. The two of them showed just as little interest in this kind of activity. Kiba usually enjoyed a good work out, it was just that he hated to do things when he was told to, and so he wasn't a big fan of gymclass.
Sai, on the other hand, loathed this class. If he could have it his way, he wouldn't participate at all, but he had to show up, not to end up with too much absence, and once you set foot inside of the gym, Gai wouldn't let you off the hook unless you were seriously injured or ill.
He was, however pretty good in most sports, without excelling, but he managed. So he wasn't a bad person to have on your team, if it hadn't been for the fact that he hated Naruto, and most likely would rather sabotage the whole team than to let him have the satisfaction of winning.
So together, Kiba and Sai were not exactly the kind of people you'd rely on to win a competition. Especially not when they had to work together.

"Sensei!" Ino called out, "What are the rules? Do we have to run in the pairings we had from earlier, or can we team up freely within the team?"
"Do as you wish, as long as you give your ALL!"
"Then, it's ok for one person to run twice?"
"I'd prefer it if you all ran at least one round, but let's say that you're allowed to participate in two races; both as a runner and as the extra weight!"
Naruto noticed a vein popping on the blonde girl's forehead. 'Extra weight' was not a flattering nick name for a seventeen year old girl.
"Alright, take five minutes to decide who runs with who and all that, and then give your all!"

The group huddled together over by the wall.
Sai stood slightly away from the others, clearly demonstrating what kind of participation they could expect from him.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine, you don't have to run. We'll be better off without your 'help'."
"Right, so...Who runs with who?"
Instantly the two girls started bickering about which one would get to ride on Sasuke's back. But the raven interrupted them; "Look, if we want to win this thing we're gonna have to think logical. We should pick the fastest runners for the race. And the lightest of us for the passengers... "
As expected they moved on to bitch about which one of them was the fatter one...
Sasuke shot them a sharp glare.
It was weird to see him like this; he almost seemed worked up.
"I suggest," Sai mumbled from his corner. "That you just scratch Naruto from the race altogether, or we'll definitely lose."
"I'd rather have a loser than a saboteur on my team thank you." Kiba spat. He grinned sheepishly as he turned to Naruto; "No offense..."
Naruto just laughed.
"Ok, so who's least tired?" he asked.
All eyes turned to Ino, Sakura and Kiba.
"If....Sakura and Ino pair up, we have a good chance to win the first round..."
"And we should save Kiba for last... since he's most definitely the most energetic."
"Not to mention that he's hardly used any strength today..." the girls giggled.
"Ok, so....Sakura, you're the stronger one, so you'll carry Ino..."
The pink-haired girl nodded. Ino smiled, obviously taking it as being assumed the lighter of the two of them.
"Kiba, you'll carry....me!" Naruto pointed to himself, "Wait... I run second, carrying Sakura-chan," he winked at the girl, who blatantly ignored him, "When we get to the finish line, I jump onto your back and you start running. We can't lose!"
"I'm not so sure about that..."
"Have some faith!" Naruto bellowed enthusiastically.
Sasuke shook his head, but had to agree. They could win some time, if the partner-switch went fast enough.
Then again, as much as his adolescent self wanted to win, he didn't care much as long as he didn't have to be in the race, and make an utter fool of himself.

"ARE YOU ALL READY?!" the spandex-clad teacher cried out.
The teams were lined up in one end of the gym. "Yes!"
"THEN....." Gai held his breath for a while, "Ready....set....GO!"
Off they went; Sakura with Ino on her back, with two brown-haired boys on one side, Chouji and a girl on the other. Chouji lagged a bit behind the rest of the field, but his team still cheered them on. Their second racer was fast, and would easily make up for lost time.
Still, none of the other teams had anything on Sakura and Ino; because Sakura was smaller than any of the other racers, who were all guys, she was faster. And since she was strong, and Ino was light, it was no deal for them to race from one end of the gym to the other and back.
They had a few seconds on their fellow contestants when they rushed over the finish line as the first team. But as Sakura let Ino down on her feet, and leaped onto Naruto's back, they lost a bit of time as she fumbled and he had to hoist her back up.
"Run Naruto!" Ino cheered.
The blonde left the line just as the others rushed back in and gained a small head start.
He was fast.
Really fast, Sasuke noticed. He heard Sakura laughing; they were already almost at the wall while the others were barely halfway across.
Looking over at Kiba, he saw the brunette getting ready. He was already crouching, ready to run as Naruto crossed the finish line, cheered on by the girls. Almost in one motion he let Sakura down to her feet, and jumped onto Kiba's back.

Already at that point it was settled. They were seconds before the other teams. Shino, with Hinata on his back was the only one who put up a fair fight, but even they had to kiss victory goodbye; the two boys were just too fast for them all.
There! Kiba slammed his palm into the wall and turned on his heel.
"YES! GO!" Ino was jumping up and down now.
Sakura too, "You've got them! Go Kiba!"
Even Sasuke found himself to be balling up his fists in excitement. He didn't care anymore that it was just a stupid game. He felt like he was a part of something. And it felt good.

Kiba was really giving his all now; his feet were like drumsticks against the floor.
He crossed the finish line, nearly a meter before Shino, and as he did, Naruto flung his arms in the air, crying out his victory; "YES! Take that losers!"
He didn't get the time to notice the annoyed, angry glances that some shot him, as Kiba tripped over his own feet.
The brunette stumbled, and wavered, but managed to stay on his feet; Naruto on the other hand, was pretty much flung from his back.
Sakura, Ino and Kiba all reached for his shirt, to slow his fall...Just enough for Naruto's course to change slightly, sending him straight into Sasuke's arms.
Catching the raven off guard, they both tumbled to the floor.
The rest of the team looked at them, wide eyed.
Naruto looked at Sasuke, offering an apologetic grin.
Sasuke glared at him, only to let his scowl resolve into a smirk. He bit his lip, but failed to hold back a slight croak.
Naruto winced.
Was that...Sasuke laughing?
He looked at the raven again, and failed to contain a snicker, "Sorry..." he said, laughing harder.
Sasuke's smile grew wider. He laughed.
Rising to his feet, he pulled Naruto up, both of them still laughing.
Soon their whole team, apart from Sai, who'd made his exit long ago, were cracking up, with the others just staring in disbelief.
Whether it was the sight of Uchiha Sasuke showing emotion, or of five people laughing at nothing in particular, was unclear.
"God, Kiba!" Naruto laughed, "You're such a klutz!"
"Me?!"
"Yeah you!"
"Hey," Sasuke said, nudging Naruto in the ribs, "I've had you on my back, you're not exactly light as a feather you know!"
Something dissolved inside of the blonde at that moment.
Sasuke was really opening up to him. Even here, in public.
It was strange, and yet familiar. It felt safe, but confusing.
He was still being a cocky bastard... but Sasuke was laughing. And what's more, he was laughing at Naruto...or...with him.
It was such a relief.
"Shut up bastard!" he retorted, with the same grin plastered on his face.

Gai came over to him. "It's so nice to see such SPIRIT!" he started, "Congratulations! You really gave your all...." he stopped, "Where's Sai?"
Naruto shrugged, "Gone."
"Jeez... He's so unenthusiastic! It's such a shame! He should really learn how to enjoy his youth more!"
No one really listened anymore from that point. But they followed the teacher's ramblings enough to catch that they were to play basket ball for the remaining twenty minutes of class, and that their prize as winners was to play the first match and choose their own opponent.
They wound up choosing Shikamaru's team.
But as it turned out, the lazy-bum was teamed up with two of the players on their school basket team. They were pretty much doomed from the beginning; being one player short, and Naruto constantly trying to fling the ball at Sasuke.
He got one good hit once, accompanied by a; "That's for the fat jokes, Sasuke-teme!"
"Would you lay off Uzumaki!?" an annoyed player on the other team shouted, "This isn't dodge-ball!"
Naruto ignored him.
Sasuke passed the ball to Kiba.
In the end though, they lost the game, and prized themselves in getting fifteen minutes of rest as the others played.

"GOOD GAME EVERYONE!" Gai blew his whistle, "Alright, it's time to hit the showers!"
Sighing with relief, the class got up from the benches and headed to their respective lockerrooms.
Naruto sank down on the floor, after refilling his water bottle.
He started untying his shoe. He did it slowly.
By the time he got them both off, most of the others were already in the showers.
He looked over to the opposite wall.
Sasuke was already zipping up his sweatshirt.
"Not showering?" Naruto asked him.
Sasuke shook his head.
"Me neither." the blonde announced. He never showered.
He just couldn't bear them all seeing...asking questions....
"I'll probably go home and shower during lunch," Sasuke said thoughtfully, stepping over to the sink, looking himself in the dirty mirror. He ran his pale fingers through ebony hair, then turned to Naruto again.
Their eyes met.
There was an understanding in the way they looked at each other. Knowing glances were exchanged. And yet, neither of them could be sure that the other knew.
Naruto was the first to speak. "Cool."
Sasuke nodded. He picked up his bag, and made for the door. "See you in class."
"Yeah."

Tuesdays were always weird. Gym class kind of threw the whole class off balance, and rendered them exhausted for the rest of the day.
After that R.S was a total bore, even when Kurenai's quick lines and sharp tongue attacked some poor guy who'd fallen asleep. And just when they started to get into things, forty minutes had passed, and Azuma came in, telling them to get their English books out.
The madness was rounded off with a study hour that made no sense; half the time there wasn't even a teacher present, and mostly everyone just hung around, staring intensely at the clock.

This particular Tuesday, however, Naruto was less concentrated than usual.
He looked over at Sasuke; the Uchiha's hair was still moist. Wet strands kept falling into his eyes. He caught himself wondering if the scent was still there, or if it had been washed away.
And so, he nearly fell from his chair in surprise when Sasuke suddenly looked back at him.
"What?" the raven inquired.
"What?" Naruto replied.
Sasuke's lip quirked. A warm calm spread inside of Naruto.
"I don't have the book yet," Sasuke mouthed, "Can I look at yours?"
Naruto nodded, moving his desk closer to the Uchiha's.
"I never thought I'd see the day when the great Uchiha Sasuke had to ask me for help!" he teased.
"Shut up dobe."
Just then Kurenai entered the classroom.
"Alright, everyone, turn to page sixty-three; and start reading about Hinduism. If there is time, start doing the control questions on page seventy."

****
The sun was setting, disappearing behind the pine trees in the horizon.
It's dying rays assembled in the drops of water that lingered from the rain, as well as in the tears on Naruto's cheeks.
He'd stopped crying long ago, but the tears were still sitting on his skin, sparkling in the light like pearls. A pale hand was holding his own.
They were leaning against a white wall, without uttering a word.
Neither of the two children wanted to go inside, and even less now, that they knew it was already past bedtime.
Although it was more than an hour since his arm had been twisted, it still hurt.
And he was getting sleepy. The evening sun made him feel drowsy. His eyelids were heavy.
When Naruto finally gave in to the drowsiness, his head tilted to the side, resting on the other's shoulder.
This time, stronger than any other, he felt it was real. He smelled the scent that was Sasuke's, and Sasuke's alone.
It made him feel safe.

Even when the shrill of a woman's voice forced him awake, he still felt safe.
The voice continued to yell at them; hands grabbing them by the collars, shaking them violently.
A palm struck Naruto's left cheek.
Soon after Sasuke got a taste of the same treatment.
"Insolent children!"
"This ought to teach you to respect adults!"

His eyes were watering again; they brimmed over with tears, that made their way down his reddening cheek.
But with the other boy at his side, with his hand clutching his own, he felt safe.
****

Naruto sat up abruptly, his breathing quick and erratic.
The dream had been way too real.
Because it was real. It had happened before. Years ago.
He had remembered the incident earlier, during gym class.
The blonde swallowed.
He wiped sweaty strands of hair from his forehead.

"Bad dream?" Gaara's voice came from the other bed.
So he hadn't fallen asleep yet. The numbers on their alarm clock showed 03:45.
"Try bad memory...." Naruto mumbled. "Bad night?"
"Like usual," the red's voice was indifferent.
Naruto crawled out of bed, and fumbled in the dark on his way towards the door, "I'm gonna get a glass of water, you want something?"
"A good night's sleep..." Gaara replied in a humorless tone.
"Alright then," Naruto slunk out the door, and down the stairs.
He made his way into the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it to the brim with water.
He emptied it in one gulp.
Afterwards he remained there, resting his arms on each side of the sink.
It had all been so real...he'd remembered the incident so vividly, he could feel the pain.
He still felt Sasuke's hand in his own, but instead of giving him courage, it made him feel terrible; because the safety he'd felt belonged to a time that was over long ago.
And that wasn't even the start of it.... he had been rescued. Iruka had taken him from that place and brought him here. Sasuke had been left there. Alone.
Naruto hadn't been able to do anything about it...all he could do was stand by and watch as his own life changed, while Sasuke was stuck in that hell....
It felt like it was all his fault.
In his mind he was certain that Sasuke's cold attitude towards him was because of what had happened back then.
The other probably hated him for it.
But if he could just talk to Sasuke....
And tell him.... tell him what?
That he had been too scared to make them rescue him as well?
Remind him of who was to blame for the suffering the Uchiha had endured by himself?
Naruto felt sick.
A part of him felt like he was five years old again, only this time he was five years old and alone.
Like Sasuke had been.
He wanted to throw up.
Cold sweat trickled down his back, he leaned over the sink. Taking a deep breath he filled his lungs with fresh air, and exhaled slowly.
Did Sasuke ever feel like this, he wondered. Did he ever feel like he was back at that place, without any other comfort than a warm hand to hold on to? And did he suffer? Probably....Since he had spent more time there, without a hand to hold.....

"Are you ok?"
Naruto spun around at the sound of Gaara's voice.
"You scared me!"
"You scared me! I thought you were just going for some water?"
"I was... I mean...."
"You look terrible."
"Ugh... I feel terrible.."
Gaara hesitantly touched his hand to Naruto's back, in a supporting gesture.
"You've got school in the morning, go back to bed. You'll feel better."
Naruto nodded, "I hope so."

They found their way back to their room in the dark.
"Wanna talk about it?"
Naruto shook his head. It was too dark for Gaara to see, but the red understood.

Despite the surreal turn the night had taken, and how awful he felt, Naruto managed to get back to sleep merely minutes after crawling in under the covers.

When the alarm clock rang, he dragged himself out of bed. He noticed Gaara's bed was already empty. Then he made his way to the bathroom, and then finally down stairs to the kitchen.
He could hear their old TV rattling in the living room, where the younger of the children were watching some cartoon. Chiyo and Yumi were preparing Bentos.
Gaara sat at the table, glaring down into a bowl of cereal. The rings under his eyes were darker than usual, "Morning."
"You didn't sleep at all?" Naruto asked, taking out a bowl, joining him at the table.
"A little...twenty minutes or so... What about you? Still bothered by that dream?"
"What dream?" Yumi turned around.
"It's nothing," Naruto said, pouring milk over his cereal. "Don't worry about it."
"You look a little pale....Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," he lied, "Just a little tired."
Gaara's aquamarine eyes followed him as he shoveled cereal into his mouth. He swallowed, and grimaced. His appetite wasn't the best this morning.

"You're a bad liar," Gaara stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Give me a break, ok Gaara? I'm just having a bad day," Naruto bent down to tie his shoes.
"If you say so," the red sighed.
Naruto stood back up, and placed his hands on Gaara's shoulders, "Don't worry about me. That dream just....shook me up a little..."
"What was it about?"
The blonde forced a smile, "You know...I don't even remember anymore..."
"You said something about a memory."
"I did?"
They started at each other. Naruto shrugged, "I can't remember that either." he bit his lip, knowing that Gaara saw right through him.
"If you don't want to talk about it..."
"Later, ok? Just... give me some time," Naruto sighed. "I have to go, I'm already running late...And...ugh, I really don't want to go."
"Why?" Gaara asked worriedly.
Naruto looked out the window. "Well, firstly there's the weather," he frowned, staring at the masses of water pouring from the sky, "And... I don't know. I just feel like sleeping today."
"I know the feeling."
Naruto's lip quirked slightly, "Ah well, it's too late to say I'm sick now... See you later."
Gaara nodded, watching him as the blonde went through the door, out into the rain.


Naruto's feet shuffled against the ground.
Thoughts were swimming around in his head.
Mostly they revolved around Gaara. He felt terrible for not letting him know what was on his mind. He hated lying to the red, especially since Gaara always knew.
Naruto didn't want to hurt his best friend, and he didn't want to go around dealing with this on his own anymore. But he felt he had to talk to Sasuke first.
And that....was alot harder than he had imagined.
Every time he had tried so far, something had interrupted him, and the chance hadn't come up again. Secondly, it wasn't an easy subject to go into. He couldn't just strike up a conversation starting with; "Hey Sasuke, do you remember when we were at that orphanage where they abused us?!"
And...He was scared, he realized. Scared that Sasuke really held a grudge against him.
The Uchiha was cold, that was true. So maybe Naruto's imagination hadn't ran wild last night... Maybe Sasuke really did hold that grudge. It sure would explain alot.

The rain hit hard against his face.
He was drenched, his hair hanging in wet tousles, flattened by the downpour.
Maybe he should just skip school today?
He didn't have to go back. He could just hang around the mall all day, or go to Iruka's house. After all, he had a spare key...
He stopped.
It was very tempting, considering how he was already soaked. And besides, he didn't want to deal with anyone today; Iruka was teaching first period, and he'd definitely start asking questions. Like Gaara, he always noticed it when something was bothering Naruto. He didn't want to meet his friends, and plaster a fake grin on his face for eight hours... and he most definitely didn't want to see Sasuke. Not now.
Not when he was so confused.

"Yeah," he said to himself, "I'll just give myself a day off."
He started to turn on his heel, when someone called out his name.
He ignored the voice, it was probably just someone out to insult him anyway.
"Usuratonkachi! Are you deaf?!"
He turned his head, "Sasuke?"
He spotted the black car, on the other side of the road.
A part of him wanted to disappear; just run away.
He did not want to deal with Sasuke right now. But his feet weren't listening to his thoughts, and so he found himself walking over to the car.
"What?" he asked sourly.
"What, you're in a bad mood?" Sasuke replied, rising an eyebrow.
Naruto chewed on his lip, "It's just the weather and stuff...you know?"
Sasuke nodded, and smiled.
He smiled.
Then he opened the car door, "Come on, get in. I'll give you a ride."
Wide eyed, Naruto got in the passenger seat, and as he felt himself warming up again, he realized that he had forgotten one thing; Sasuke wasn't cold and distant anymore.
Sasuke was here.
And he was smiling.
Yesterday they'd been laughing together.
They were friends.
Just as he had aimed. Friends.
He exhaled and relaxed. There was nothing to worry about. He'd been freaking out over nothing.
"Just a slight case of paranoia..." he said to himself.
"Did you say something?" Sasuke turned to him.
"Nevermind," Naruto assured, "So, what are you doing around here so early?"
"I had to go by the pharmacy..."
"This early?"
"Yeah."
Obviously Sasuke didn't want to elaborate why he'd been at the pharmacy at seven thirty in the morning, so Naruto didn't ask any more about it.
"But since it was raining so hard I decided to wait around and see if you showed up."
"You...were waiting for me?"
"Is that so hard to believe?"
"Coming from you...." Naruto said, "well...Yeah."
Sasuke turned the steering wheel to the left, "Excuse me for trying to be nice."
"No, I appreciate it. It's just a little....un-Sasuke..."
The raven smiled again. "Would you rather walk in the rain?"
"Of course not!"
"Then stop complaining."
"I wasn't..."
"Naruto, I'm kidding."
"I know that, bastard."
"If you're gonna act like that, I will drop you off."
Naruto laughed, "No, you wouldn't."
"Wanna bet?"
Naruto paused, "...No..."
Sasuke chuckled, "Nice choice."


"Gaara!" Naruto stumbled through the door, kicking his shoes off.
"Don't make such a fuss! And line your shoes up properly!" Chiyo's voice came from the kitchen.
"Sorry," Naruto snagged an apple from the bowl on the counter. "Where's Gaara?"
"He's upstairs, studying for his history test."
"Ok!" Naruto rushed up the stairs.
"Gaara!" the blonde flung the door open and threw himself on his friend's bed.
"You're in high spirit?" Gaara looked up from his history book.
"Today was so awesome!"
"Oh? I thought it was the day from hell?" Gaara's lips curved upwards.
"Turns out it wasn't."
"Alright," Gaara closed the book, "Let's hear it."
"Well...You've probably noticed how early it is, so no need to tell you how awesome it is when selective studies are cancelled and we get out four hours early." the blonde grinned.
"May I remind you that since your selected class for those four hours is the infamous 'practical project' class, where you just sit around anyway?"
"Who cares about that?" Naruto broke him off, "The point is, I got out of that hell hole four hours early!"
Gaara gave a soft laugh, "And that's enough to put you in this kind of mood?"
"No, it's not," Naruto grabbed his backpack and unzipped it, pulling out a plastic folder.
"What's that?"
"Our project."
"What project?"
"The Social Studies thing.... we got it back today."
"And?"
"We aced it!"
"Seriously!?" it was almost amusing to hear the surprise in Gaara's voice.
"YES!" Naruto flipped the pages, and showed Gaara the red 'A', "I mean, I know we had Shika....but I've never aced anything in my life!"
"I know."
"Gee, thanks," the Uzumaki hit him playfully in the arm.
"This is great though!" Gaara flipped through the pages, "Even Sai's drawings."
"Yeah, he put a lot into it, for a selfish jerk..."
Gaara gave him back the folder, "Did you show it to Chiyo baa-san yet?"
Naruto shook his head, "No, I wanted to tell you first. But I'm gonna show it to her now, and then you and I are gonna go out to celebrate!"
"Celebrate?"
"Yup!" Naruto sprung from the bed. "This is without doubt a once in a lifetime thing, so we need to celebrate it!"
"Not to burst your bubble blondie, but we're not exactly well off, so the celebration you're talking about will be anything but grand... And I have to study."
"Then bring your book! You can still read while buying me ramen!"
"Excuse me?" Gaara's light eyes locked to Naruto's.
"Well obviously a part of the celebration is you treating me to some ramen!"
"I thought the triumphant one was always the one buying?"
"Do I look like I have any money?"
Gaara sighed, "Fine, I'll go. You don't have to make the puppy dog eyes. But I can only treat you to one bowl. I'm not rich you know."
"That's more than enough! Start getting ready then!" he said, rushing back down the stairs, folder in hand.
Gaara smiled to himself, "I guess you're ok after all..."

"You're coming to the Hanami on Saturday right?"
"Nah," Gaara pulled his shirt over his head.
"But, we're all going!"
"I'm not."
Naruto threw his rolled up socks into the heap of laundry that was flooding the corner over by the door.
After eating at Ichiraku's, Naruto had helped Gaara study, if you could call it help, the blonde was easily distracted... And in the end, Gaara'd only gotten through half of the chapter by the time Chiyo called upstairs that it was time for bed.
"Yeah but...why not?" Naruto whined.
"It's Kankurou's birthday this weekend remember?"
"Yeah, but that's not until Sunday, right?"
"Exactly; one public gathering is enough for one weekend."
"But....I was really looking forward to it! We're gonna have a picnic and take lots of pictures and..."
"Good night, Naruto," Gaara said, flipping the light switch.
"Fine, have it your way. But I'll be calling you every fifteen minutes to try and make you come join us. And I've still got tomorrow and Friday to convince you before that."
Gaara threw a pillow at him in the darkness.
"Good. Night!"

"Naruto!" the pink haired girl chased after him down the hall.
It was Friday afternoon, Social Studies was just over, and the class was preparing to go home.
That was the great thing about Fridays; Getting out at one-thirty.
"Yeah?" Naruto stopped by the door, waiting for Sakura to catch up.
"Do you have time to come with me today? My mom's been nagging me to get a part time job...So I have to go job hunting."
"Why do you need me to go job hunting?" Naruto tilted his head.
"For company! I don't want to trawl the entire city by myself!"
"Sorry, I have to get home early. And Sasuke's waiting."
"Sasuke?" Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, he's offered me a ride."
"Again?" she seemed surprised, "You two seem to be getting along well lately."
There was a sort of longing in her voice.
"Yeah..." Naruto rubbed his neck, "I guess..."
"Well," Sakura sighed, "I'm going in the opposite direction, so as much as I'd like to join you, I can't."
"Join us? It's not like we're doing anything. I'm just hitching a ride."
"Still...." she trailed off, and changed the subject. "I guess I'll ask someone else then."
"Okay, good luck."
"Thanks Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Naruto's eyes followed the girl as she made her way down the hall, noticed Hinata and called out the girl's name.

Walking through the door, Naruto saw that Sasuke had already started the car, and was waiting for him at the far end of the parking lot.
"What took you so long?" Sasuke asked, seemingly annoyed as soon as Naruto opened the door.
"I was talking to Sakura..."
"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice sounded apprehensive all of a sudden, "She's not coming, is she?"
Naruto laughed, "Relax, she just wanted to ask me something. But she's not that bad you know."
"Easy for you to say," Sasuke said, "It's not like she's all over you all the time."
"Sadly," Naruto smirked.
"What?" Sasuke turned to look at him. "You...like her?"
Naruto shrugged, "A little...I dunno..."
Sasuke stared at him, without saying anything. Something seemed to change in his eyes for a split second, but it went away just as quickly, "But...she's so annoying!"
Naruto laughed harder, "You really aren't good with women, are you?"
Sasuke didn't reply.
"That's kinda weird... since they flock to you the way they do," Naruto rambled on. "Or...maybe that's why... they always travel in packs, so you never get to talk properly to just one...that's it, right?"
Sasuke set the car in reverse and backed out of the parking lot, refusing to reply.

When he dropped Naruto off in the drive way outside the orphanage, the blonde told him to wait, "I have to run inside and get something."
Minutes later he was back, carrying a plastic bag.
"I was meaning to give it to you earlier, but it slipped my mind..." he handed the bag to Sasuke.
"What's..?"
"Your sweater. You know, the one I borrowed that night? It's been a while, but it's been washed and everything...."
"Thanks."
"So, where are you going anyway?"
"My old school..." Sasuke said, "They wanted me to come in and do some paperwork or something...."
"That must be some school," Naruto said, scratching his head. "It's been almost six months since you transferred, and they're not done with the paperwork yet?"
"Yeah....It's something alright..." Sasuke said, sounding very distant.
"I guess you have to go?"
"Yeah. Guess so."
"Thanks for giving me a ride."
"Don't mention it."
"Then I won't," Naruto smiled. "See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"The Hanami! Sasuke-teme! You promised!"
"Yeah yeah, I know. When are you guys leaving?"
"Around sevenish..."
"Ok, I'll meet you at the park then."
"Okay." Naruto slammed the door shut, smiling, "See you!"
Sasuke nodded, and drove off.
***

Sasuke made his way down the sterile, white hall. He shuddered.
There were far too many things in this building he didn't want to be reminded of.
And still, he had to keep coming back here.
A man came out of a room further up the hall, "Ah, Sasuke."
"Hi."
"We're ready for you, just come on in."
The teen followed the man into the room, where Anko, his former teacher, and some young woman with glasses sat around a table waiting for him.
"Sit down, please."
He did as told.
"How are you today? Anko tells us you've been making progress."
Sasuke shrugged, "If that was the case, you wouldn't call me back here constantly, right?"
Anko shot him a sharp glance.
"Fine....I guess I'm fine..."
"And you're thriving at Konoha High?"
He shrugged again, "I'm not missing this place, if that's what you're implying."
He looked over at the woman with glasses; she was making notes on a clipboard. "So what is this?"
"We just want to make sure that you're doing ok. Letting you live on your own wasn't an easy decision to make, and we still aren't sure it's good for you. Especially in that house."
"I'm used to the house thank you," he replied coolly.
"And you're taking your medications?"
Sasuke stared down at the table, "Yes."
"Good." the man turned to Anko, "You told him to lower the dosage, right? How is that working out for him?"
"He's doing fine," she replied.
"I'm right here," Sasuke thought, annoyed. What was wrong with asking him the question? He was the one it concerned after all.
If they were just gonna talk over his head, they could've refrained from calling him in.
"What about friends?"
"He seems to have gotten over his anti-social stage..." Anko started. "And he's made a few good friends."
"Don't put words in my mouth," Sasuke muttered.
"Don't be silly Sasuke, you've been hanging out with Naruto's group a lot, haven't you?"

Naruto.
Sasuke closed his eyes, and wished himself far away from this room.
Everything seemed to revolve around Naruto lately.
They'd been hanging out a lot, that was true.
He had been offering Naruto a ride home several times lately. And he was starting to...open up to the blonde. Why?
He didn't get it.
He wanted to stay away from them all, and most of all Naruto. But the other boy was so easy to talk to, like he always had been. It was hard to keep him at a distance.
Why was it so hard?

Sasuke continued to wonder throughout the meeting, replying to their questions on instinct. The thoughts filled his head on the drive home, and throughout the day.
He thought of how nice it was to talk to someone who didn't seem to expect something from him, and of how strange it had felt to laugh with someone again. How liberating.
And Naruto was the cause of this.

But at the same time...Sasuke was uncertain of himself.
"What am I doing?" he asked himself aloud. Why had he accepted the invitation to go to the Hanami? And why had he asked Naruto if he wanted a ride home, again?
It only brought them closer.
And it scared him.
Which was ridiculous, because Uchiha's didn't get scared.
"Hn," he said to himself. If Anko and those other morons could read his mind and all the complications in it, they would have a field day, he was sure of it.

He wanted to get along with the others.
He wanted to be able to talk with Naruto. But what the other wanted to talk about....He was fairly sure he knew. And he didn't want to think about it.
He'd wanted to ask himself, more than a couple of times; if he remembered? If he had been diagnosed with some stupid trauma because of it? And if he was ok. But that would be at the risk of sounding like the people he hated so much.
And he didn't want that. He didn't want to think of it at all.
It hurt.
That was the truth. When he was close to Naruto, it hurt.
He kinda wished that it could all be some misunderstanding, and that the recurring dreams he had showed a different blonde. If it turned out that he was wrong, and that Naruto wasn't who he knew he was, then he would be able to be around him all the time, without feeling this way.
Because he knew that if this continued for much longer, he wouldn't be able to hide it. They would find out, and he would have to go back.
That was what he wanted least of all.
So he had to do something. Something that would make the pain stop.
Something that could take his mind off of what was gnawing at his insides.
He knew...
He knew how it could be done, and he knew he had to go through with it. But that meant he had to do it soon....

When he fell asleep he dreamt again; the same dream.
Of voices that yelled and screamed.
Of hands that seemed so gentle, and then turned traitorous, like the voices that came with them.
He dreamt of rain and setting suns, and a smile that had faded over the years, but now was crystal clear in his mind.
It spun inside of his mind; a web of distant memories that seemed to want to consume all of him, until there was nothing left but an emotionless shell. And it repeated itself, like so many times before.

He awoke, as the first rays of sun shone through the foliage of the trees outside.
And he knew.
"I've got to do it today."
***

"There he is!" Sakura chirped, "Sasuke-kun! We're over here!"
The raven haired teen started walking towards them. Like the other boys in their group he was dressed fairly casually, in contrast to the girls, who were all dressed up in their yukatas.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" Ino said, smiling as sweet as she could, while competing with Sakura over who could look shyer and more ladylike or whatever.
They were no match for Hinata though, who was blushing scarlet, and seemed to just want to sink into the earth. Though Sasuke hardly noticed the girls, there were others who did.
And with each group of boys that passed them, and stared a little too long at the three girls, the more uncomfortable the Hyuuga seemed to feel.
"Come on Sasuke-kun, sit down," Sakura took his hand.
Ino quickly grabbed the other.
Sasuke frowned.
"You know, most guys would be thrilled to have girls like these pamper them," Kiba pointed out when Sasuke sat down, squeezed in between the two girls.
Akamaru 'arf'ed, as if he was agreeing with his owner.
Sasuke just glared at him.
"If I didn't know better I'd think you weren't into girls at all..." the brunette continued suggestively.
"Tch," Shikamaru reached for his soda can, "It's more likely that he's asexual than anything else."
Sasuke ignored them both, "Why are we here?" he asked instead, "To watch flowers? I have sakura trees in my backyard. If I wanted to look at pink flowers I'd just look out the window."
"You're not romantic at all!" Sakura nudged him, "It's all about the atmosphere!"
Sasuke did not look impressed.
"And about spending time with people that matter to you!"
"And about good food and fun!"
"And drunks, trash floating everywhere and a complete waste of time."
"Sasuke! Don't be such a killjoy!"
"I am a killjoy."

Someone sitting a few feet away had brought a radio; soft, light summer songs filled the air.
Now and then a cool breeze would blow, and pink petals rained down on them.
Although having experienced it at least once every year, it was always just as breathtaking and magical as the first time they noticed this phenomenon as kids.
Around them gasps and excited cheers joined in with the tunes on the radio.

Now and then Naruto picked up his phone and called Gaara.
Usually he just said "Forget it." and hung up. But after the tenth call, Gaara had turned off his phone completely.
"He's not coming?"
"Nah, I didn't count on it anyway," Naruto said, sighing, "Things like this aren't for him anyway..."
"Things like this aren't for me either," Sasuke reminded them, "But no one seems to care."
He was ignored.

A new song streamed from the radio.
"That band," Shino said, "They're holding a free concert at the square after the Hanami, we should go."
"Yeah! We should!"
"I'm in! What about you Sasuke?"
"I've come here, that's enough. I'm gonna head home soon."
"Already?! But it's only nine thirty!"
"Yeah, stay a little longer!"
"Sorry," Sasuke stood, "I'm tired. And I've spent enough hours watching flowers."
"But, we were having fun!"
"Everything comes to an end," Sasuke said, turning to leave.
He was held back by a tug to his sweater. When he turned, he looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "Sasuke, stay."
"Sorry." he started walking again.
"What's wrong with you?!" Naruto asked. "I thought... why are you acting like this? Are you in a bad mood or something?"
Sasuke sighed, jerking his arm loose from Naruto's grip. "Fine, since you're so persistent. I've got something I want to talk to you about anyway."
Naruto gave him a quizzical look.
"Can we go somewhere?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah...how about the bridge?"
Sasuke nodded. "Alright."
Naruto turned to the others. "We'll be back soon."
Sasuke scowled at him.
"I think...."


They reached the bridge. It was in a secluded part of the park. Initially it would have been ideal for sakura viewing, but no one had ever bothered to put up any kind of lighting, so it was too dark for anyone to sit there. Other than perhaps kids that were too young to drink, and were trying to avoid being spotted.
But right now, the area around the bridge was completely abandoned.
"What's wrong with you today Sasuke?!" Naruto asked again, "You've been in a terrible mood since you arrived! I thought you were looking forward to this?!"
"Well, I wasn't," Sasuke snapped.
"It seemed like it yesterday."
"That was yesterday."
"So what's different today?"
"Everything, ok?"
"Sasuke..." Naruto's voice faded.
The raven glared at him.
"Look, I just want to talk to you."
"Ok," the blonde nodded, "I want to talk to you too."
"No. I need to say this," Sasuke leaned on the wooden railing, "Just...let me talk, okay Naruto?"
"Fine, then talk," Naruto replied. He waited. Tried to prepare himself.
He had a feeling he knew what was coming.
But Sasuke didn't say a word.
"Sasuke?"
The Uchiha still didn't reply. He was leaning on the railing, staring down into the river. Something was wrong.
"Sasuke? What's wrong?"
"I...you wouldn't get it," Sasuke's voice was stern and cold.
"Wouldn't get what?"
"Everything!" the raven snapped. "Just like you couldn't get it into your head that I didn't want to be here! Like you and the others don't understand anything!"
Naruto was taken aback by Sasuke's sudden outburst.
"I..."
"No. You don't get it. God! Why is this so hard to do?!" Sasuke balled up his fists.
Naruto had no idea what was going on with the other teen, but he wanted to understand. He wanted Sasuke to let him in.
"I can try...." he started, "I can try to understand. What's wrong Sasuke?"
"Nothing! Nothing is wrong!"
"Sasuke," Naruto said softly, placing his hand on Sasuke's back, "I can see that something is-"
"Don't touch me." Sasuke hissed.
Perplexed Naruto withdrew his hand, "What's wrong Sasuke? Even if I don't understand you can talk to me...We're friends, right?"
Sasuke turned around abruptly, "No," he said. His voice was ice cold.
"What?" Naruto was confused.
"Get this into your head, Naruto; we are not friends."
The blonde stared at the raven.
A gust of wind swept through the air, and sent pink flowers raining down over them.
And then, Sasuke said it. His voice was harsh.
Harsh and cold.
"I am not your fucking friend, Naruto!" and then he turned on his heel and left.

Naruto was left standing on the bridge. He was confused.
A thousand thoughts clouded his mind. He kept seeing everything that had happened during the last week; and how he and Sasuke had been talking to each other. Like old friends. He could hear both of their voices when they insulted and teased each other. And he heard Sasuke's laugh. That had all been real. So why would Sasuke pull him aside to tell him something like that?
For a brief moment he remembered his little panic attack earlier this week, and went cold.
Had he been right?
He didn't want to think about it.

For a long time he just stood there. He had no idea what he was going to do.
There had been pain in Sasuke's eyes. He saw it clearer now that Sasuke was gone.
A pain that somehow had been transferred to Naruto, and had planted itself in his chest.
He couldn't go back to the others, he knew that much.
He didn't want to. It just felt....wrong.
He didn't want to do anything. Apart from finding Sasuke.
He wanted to find Sasuke and ask him what the hell was going on inside of that screwed up head of his.
But that's not what he did.
Instead he walked in the opposite direction, and started heading home.

When he was halfway there his phone rang. It was Sakura.
"Yeah?" Naruto flipped it open.
"Where are you?"
"Listen, Sakura, I'm not feeling well. I'm on my way home."
"Not feeling well? What about the concert?"
"I'm not up to it. Sorry."
"Naruto...You sound weird, are you ok?"
"Yeah. Don't worry."
"Did something happen with you and Sasuke-kun?" she asked.
"No. He left a while ago."
"Oh..." she sounded disappointed.
"Look, you guys have fun tonight, ok? Tell everyone I had a good time."
"I will, I hope you feel better."
"Thanks. I'll see you guys on Monday."
"Alright, take care of yourself. Good night."
"Bye."

He stuffed his phone in his pocket.
"God damn it Sasuke-teme!"
***

"Naruto? You're kinda quiet. Is something wrong?" Temari, Gaara's sister eyed him from the other end of the table.
"I'm just tired," he replied quietly.
"He's been like that since he came home from the Hanami last night," Gaara explained. "I think he was turned down by a girl or something."
"Spare me your theories," Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm tired, is that a crime?"
"No. Jeez. You're moodier than me!" Gaara said, shoving a spoonful of cream coated cake into his mouth.

Naruto knew this had been a mistake. Why on earth did he have to go and promise Gaara he'd come with him to his brother's birthday dinner?
Apart from having promised weeks ago, obviously.
He should've lied and said he was sick or something, although Gaara would never have fallen for it.
And now he was sitting here, staring at the cake, bringing down everyone's moods. Rather than serving up quick lines and jokes, he was quiet and withdrawn.
It was bad, he realized, when Gaara was more talkative than he was.
"Leave the kid alone," Kankurou said, "He had a bad day. It happens to all of us."
"Heh, listen to the guy who grew up overnight," Gaara snickered.
"Very funny squirt." the brunette glared at his brother.

Naruto remained fairly quiet throughout the afternoon, whilst Temari and Kankurou asked the mandatory questions, such as "How's your studying going?", "Are you behaving?" and "What about therapy? Are you making progress?"
To which Gaara would reply in single syllables, up until the therapy question where he would go into an endless rant about how lame it was that he still had to see a shrink when he was doing perfectly fine.
"You can't make any progress when there is nothing wrong with you!" he announced. "I wish people would just realize that already!"
The conversation went on, Naruto barely following.

When it was finally over, and they could go home, Naruto was relieved.
Up until Gaara started questioning him that was:
"Ok, what did he do this time?"
"Who?" Naruto wasn't following.
"Who? Sasuke of course!"
"Why do you think it has anything to do with Sasuke!?"
"Because," Gaara slid his hands into his pockets, "Every time you've been in a bad mood these past months, Sasuke has somehow been involved."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do. As I've said before, you have a loud mouth, and you talk in your sleep."
Naruto's face flushed. "He's just...being a bastard."
"He's being Sasuke." Gaara corrected, "Honestly Naruto, I don't understand why you bother so much with this guy."
"Neither do I...." Naruto sighed. "I was just trying to be including you know...But he's so....so hopeless!"
"So you say."
Naruto frowned.
"Give it time," Gaara offered his advice, "It's one thing I've learned from watching you rant over Sasuke lately; there's no need to get all worked up, 'cos he's bound to change one eighty again tomorrow."
"I don't know about that..." Naruto sighed again.
"Jeez," Gaara shook his head, "I don't even know the guy and he's giving me a headache."
Naruto smiled a little.

Quietly he hoped that Sasuke would have gotten over his little tantrum by the next day, and that they could resume where they'd left off last Friday.
That, turned out to be a bit far fetched.
***
"Some of you have to make new sculptures, yeah," Deidara announced as soon as the class was seated, "A few of them exploded during the firing."
"Exploded?!"
"Exploded, cracked, broke...whatever. That's ceramics, mm." Deidara smiled. "I prefer the term exploded. Art's a bang, yeah."
"What a professional and technical explanation..." Jiraiya coughed.
"Did you say something, old man?" Deidara snarled.
The elder teacher didn't bother to reprimand him. When it came to art, it was impossible for Deidara to have a normal conversation.
"Well then, your sculptures are in the room over there, be careful; lots of things in there are breakable, yeah," Deidara pointed to a door, "If you don't find yours, it's probably broken, and you'll have to make a new one. But that's just fun yeah?" he said cheerfully, "The rest of you will be glazing your sculptures, mm."

Naruto was blocking out Deidara's voice, while surveying the classroom for the sixtieth time yet. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, and it was already fifth period.
"Naruto. Are you listening?"
He jerked his head up, staring into Deidara's azure eyes, "Explosion, art is a bang, ceramics, glazing. Get it," he repeated.
"Alright, good," Deidara clapped his hands. "Get to work everyone."

"I wonder where Sasuke-kun is..." Naruto overheard the conversation between Ino and Sakura.
"At home obviously," he replied sourly.
"Naruto...Are you ok?"
God, how sick he was of hearing people asking him that lately!
He didn't reply.

It was almost a relief to find out that his sculpture hadn't survived the firing, and that he had to start over. At least that meant he got to take his aggression out on something.
When Deidara passed him as he was slapping the lump of clay against the table, he heard him saying something along the lines of "Such enthusiasm!", but he didn't even bother to roll his eyes at the nutcase.
"You'd better show up tomorrow, Sasuke-teme!" he growled inwardly, "I want to talk to you!"


Alas, Sasuke didn't show up the next day.
Or the next.
In fact, Sasuke didn't show up until Friday, during last period.
He handed Iruka a note, to which the teacher nodded, before Sasuke left the classroom again.
Naruto felt like chasing him down the hall, but when he stood, Iruka promptly told him to get back in his seat. He muttered something, but sat back down.

It was to become Monday before Naruto finally had a chance to talk to Sasuke.
When final period; Japanese Literature was over, Kakashi asked Sasuke to stay behind.
And so, Naruto decided to do the same.
For twenty minutes he waited for Sasuke outside the classroom door.

Finally, the raven came out into the hall.
He walked straight past Naruto, as if he was air.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called after him down the hall.
Sasuke didn't as much as turn to look at him.
"God damn it Sasuke! I want to talk to you!"
No response of any kind.
Naruto balled up his fists and chased after him.
He reached him right before they came to the staircase, and pushed him against the wall.
"Don't ignore me!" he ground out.
"I don't have anything to say to you," Sasuke said calmly, freeing himself from Naruto's grip.
"But I have something to say to you!"
"Yeah?" Sasuke arched an elegant eyebrow.
"What the hell was all that crap you said on Saturday?!"
Sasuke stared defiantly at him.
"What is wrong with you!?"
"What's wrong with me? I'm not the one screaming in the hallway..." Sasuke was so calm it was sickening. He was so unlike himself, and yet so alike himself.
"You don't just decide that you're not someone's friend anymore!" Naruto shouted angrily.
Actually, he had no idea why he was so angry.
Sasuke was Sasuke, and Sasuke was weird. He was the kind of guy who said completely obscene things and meant them, for no particular reason. The kind of guy who could make up his mind in one instant, and change it in another.
And Naruto knew all of this.
It was just as present in the Uchiha now as it had been before, but now there was something else in the mix; indifference, spite and maybe even hate?
Or perhaps it was fear?

And maybe Naruto was so upset because of what he'd thought Sasuke was going to say that day? Because he had thought that once they had talked about their fellow past, then he would be able to sleep well, and instead Sasuke had dropped this bomb on him, and he'd lost even more sleep as a result of it.
That had to be it; he was angry because Sasuke was so confusing and so harsh.
Because he knew that the things Sasuke said on the bridge were things that were a part of a much larger picture. A picture that Sasuke was didn't want to show to Naruto, but that he could, if they just talked. And Sasuke refused to do that as well.

"You don't do that Sasuke." Naruto hissed. "Because it takes two to be friends."
Sasuke pushed him away, and started heading down the stairs, "Then I guess we were never friends."
It was like a dagger through Naruto's chest. Even though he had expected it.
It hurt so much because...
"I know that you know!" he called down the staircase after Sasuke.
The door slammed in the floor beneath them.

"Heartbreaking..."
Naruto spun around to see Sai, sitting in the stairs, one flight above him.
"I don't have time for you now," Naruto snarled.
"Too bad," Sai smiled poisonously, "I saw it all. So, what's the story? What kind of relationship is it that the two of you have?"
Naruto turned his back on him.
"Could it be that you're cheating on Red?" Sai smirked.
Naruto turned around, staring daggers at him, "Shut the fuck up Sai!!"
The other boy laughed. The sound echoed in the staircase. And Naruto knew that he had to get out of there, before he went insane.

When he came out into the parking lot, Sasuke's car was gone.
No surprise there.
Uchiha Sasuke, master of running away....
Naruto mentally smacked himself. It wasn't as if this was something that happened on a regular basis. But somehow he was certain that it was a very typical Sasuke thing to do.

The door opened behind him. In the corner of his eye he saw Kakashi exiting the building.
Not wanting to get caught in a tirade of questions and "what was all that ruckus about"s, Naruto swiftly made his exit though the school gates.
***

The rest of their group was beginning to notice that something was weird.
Ever since the night of the Hanami, Naruto had been acing weird, and Sasuke had hardly been around.
The whole time during the first four periods, Naruto and Sasuke had been seated as far away from each other as they could. The blonde had kept glaring at the Uchiha, who in turn seemed to be going out of his way to ignore Naruto.

When lunch hour came, and Sasuke took his tray outside rather than sitting with the rest of them, the questions came.
"Why isn't Sasuke-kun sitting with us?"
"He's been weird all day, don't you think?"
"Come to think of it, so has Naruto...."
"Naruto, do you know anything?"
Naruto scoffed, "Sasuke is having a bad...life," he stood, picking up his tray, "Either that, or it's his time of the month. I dunno."
"Did something happen...?"
"Ask him, he's the one being an asshole." and with that Naruto exited the cafeteria.
He wondered for a moment if he should go look for Sasuke, and strike up another attempted conversation, but decided against it. He wasn't in the mood for a screaming match.

Naruto spent all of art class glazing his lopsided attempt on a vase. Meanwhile the others, meaning those who hadn't had their sculptures go to hell, were making either simplistic aquarelle paintings, or trying their skills on the pottery wheel.
Sasuke had seemed to disappear from the face of the earth.
Maybe it was for the best, Naruto figured. He was so tired of being pissed, it was a relief not to have to look at his indifferent face all day.
And yet, he wondered, without wanting to, what was hiding behind that stone mask.

Kakashi's class went on as usual; the teacher was late, presented a lame excuse, and then set them to do an essay on some famous dead guy and how his work had affected the evolution of Literature in Japan.
In other words a complete yawn.
Days passed.
Another week passed.
Sasuke ignored Naruto.
Naruto ignored him back, but the occasional fit of anger made him seek out the other boy, trying to make him talk. But it seemed to be useless; Sasuke, who hated crowds and socializing, began hanging around places where there always were a lot of people, and since Naruto didn't know how a conversation between the two of them could turn out, he never dared go over to him in those places. There was one thing he didn't need right now, and that was some lame rumor about the two of them having a love spat or whatever.
If Naruto in fact caught Sasuke off guard for a moment, and there was only the two of them, things usually had two outcomes; him trying to talk, eventually starting to yell in frustration. Or Sasuke telling him to get lost and leave him alone, only to flee the scene himself and leave Naruto cursing him out loud.

June was coming to an end.
July was starting. In three weeks summer vacation would start, and that meant that they had to sort things out now, or they wouldn't get a chance to talk until the end of August. Not that there were many of those chances now either....

By now, the general weirdness in Naruto and Sasuke's behaviors was starting to affect everyone else; Naruto was in a constant bad, or at best, irritated mood, which resulted in him and Gaara rubbing each other the wrong way pretty much all the time. Gaara tried to drag out of Naruto what was bothering him, which in turn pissed off the blonde who just wanted to be left alone, and that resulted in Gaara starting to brood and sulk as well.
Ino and Sakura pretty much did nothing but whine about how anti-social Sasuke was acting. If not they were also a part of the 'what's wrong Naruto' committee.
Shikamaru was sick and tired of the whole thing, as was Kiba.
Chouji had stopped trying to understand what was going on altogether, as no one ever presented a real answer. Shino was quiet as always, but perhaps the one who understood the most. Hinata....was Hinata, quiet and meek, occasionally proposing something that she hoped could help somehow.
And in the end, Naruto was so sick of it all he almost forgot why he was so angry in the first place.
It felt like it was ages since he and Sasuke had been in his car, talking and laughing.
It felt like it was ages since they stood on the bridge and Sasuke suddenly changed.

And as if things weren't bad enough already.... they were about to take a turn for the worse, or, at least more confusing.

With summer vacation, and the end of the term drawing close, all the teachers were pretty much hysterical, trying to get through the curriculum syllabus and at the same time preparations for the exams in their respective classes.

Most of the time they didn't even have anyone to supervise them.
The class would come to an empty classroom with a blackboard that read "Study for the exam."
Or, the teacher would stop by to give them something to do and then disappear again.

"Alright," Kotetsu said, standing before the class, "Kakashi-sensei isn't here,"
"Big surprise..." Izumo mumbled.
"So, he has asked us to look after you for these two periods."
"Don't you have classes?" someone asked.
"Yes, and no. We're in the student council, we get away with lots of things, and we didn't have a teacher either."
"Anway," Izumo began, "I know that you would all prefer to spend these two periods studying for the exam..."
"Yeah right!"
"Shut up," Kotetsu growled.
"But," Izumo continued. "Since we're here, and we have something to discuss with you all, we've decided to turn this into a study hour, and a class meeting. Stop groaning! You'll like this!"
"The thing is, the student council are planning the annual End of Semester Dance, and we just wanted to inform you of location, date and so on."
The students seemed to cheer up a bit.
A dance was exactly what they needed when the exams were done, "When will it be?"
"July sixteenth, at the Youth Center."
Loud cheers broke out in the classrooms.
"The event will be alcohol free of course." Kotetsu mimicked Tsunande's voice, "Jeez, you'd think that old sake-addict would loosen up a l-"
"That's enough," Izumo elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow!"
"Let me do the talking alright?" the more composed of the two said. Those sitting nearest to them could see his hand gently brushing over Kotetsu's, a slight pink shade tinting his cheeks.
"Fine," Kotetsu plopped down on the teacher's chair.
"Basically, we're talking to every class, to find out what kind food you guys want to be served, and if you'd like a theme party and so on.... Any suggestions?"

Hands flew into the air.
Naruto looked around. A dance. Great. More cheeriness.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so strongly against something. But he knew that he'd had enough social events lately.
The only person who was less enthusiastic than him it seemed, was Sasuke. Oh, how surprising.
Once the others started making suggestions and the class burst into discussion with the two older students making frantic notes of what was being said, he stood, grabbed his bag and disappeared through the door.
Naruto glared at him, but the look was not returned.

When Kotetsu and Izumo decided they were happy with the result of the brainstorming, they took their leave, and sent the class home as well. It was only fifteen minutes earlier than usual, but Naruto was glad to be out of there quickly.
He rushed down the hall, without waiting for any of his friends.
All he wanted was to get home and busy himself with chores, or maybe play some games with the kids. Anything to rid him of his foul mood, or at least to stop him from thinking about the current situation all the time.

He got as far as the gate.
And then he ran into Sai.
"What do you want?" he sighed.
"Bad mood today Uzumaki?"
"God, just say whatever it is you want to say, and get out of my face."
"Fine." Sai smiled, "You're still on bad terms with Uchiha?"
"No," Naruto said sarcastically, "We're best friends."
He rolled his eyes, and tried to get past the raven.
"I take it he's not taking you to the dance then."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Naruto glared at him.
"Just that it's sad that the two of you were to break up right before such an event," Sai teased.
"I know what you're trying to do," Naruto growled, "And it's not working. I couldn't care less what kind of twisted idea you've got, because it's wrong. Now please, leave me alone."
"I don't think so. I think that there's more to it..."
"Whatever. Save it for someone who cares."
"Maybe I will..."
Naruto wanted to punch Sai's lights out, but instead he said: "What? You're gonna start spreading rumors about me and Sasuke-bastard? Good luck, 'cos no one will listen."
"I don't know about that... They've grown far too accepting when it comes to you Uzumaki, and I think we need a little something to bring your reputation back on track."
The blonde stared daggers at his classmate.
He turned to leave, Sai held him back.
Naruto responded by grabbing his arms, and pushing him hard back against the gate, knocking the air out of him.
"Screw you Sai!"

"What was that about?"
"What do you care?" Sai stared at Sasuke, who'd appeared out of nowhere.
Naruto was already halfway up the street, and he wasn't looking back. Sai secretly wished him to be run over by a truck.
"I care." the Uchiha replied, in an ice cold tone.

***

"Iruka-sensei!? Aren't you in the wrong classroom?"
It was Tuesday. And for some reason their Social studies teacher was standing before them, when their schedule clearly read 'Math'.
Iruka tried to explain. "Due to the upcoming exams, A.Math and Math will be the same class from now on, so everyone gets a walkthrough of the stuff you should know for the exam. Things are a bit hectic right now, so I'm filling in for....." he scratched his head frantically, "Uh...For....Who is your math teacher again?!"
"Ebisu-sensei," Naruto mumbled.
"That would be A.Math, right?"
"Ibiki teaches regular math," Sakura said.
Iruka swallowed, "Oh....my...And you're still alive....? Anyway, I'm filling in for the two of them...."

Sai turned up during recess.
His left eye was swollen and purple. When he brushed past Naruto on his way into the locker room, he glared hatefully at the blonde.
The two of them were both a little late for gymclass, and so there was no one else in the locker room.
"What-"
"The hell happened to my face?" Sai finished his sentence sternly, "Oh, I'll tell you."
His dark eyes dug into Naruto's.
"Your little boyfriend happened."
"Huh?"
"I guess he's not very good with words, and this is his way of telling me to leave you alone." he paused. "Come to think of it, I think he did say that..."

Naruto was left speechless in the empty locker room, staring at the door to the gym, where Sai had walked out.

Five minutes later, he'd changed, and joined the others in the gym. He sat down next to Sakura on the bench.
"You're late, Naruto!" Gai bellowed.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Normally I'd punish you with a hundred push ups or so...But since we're waiting for one more person...I'll let it slip."
"But...The whole class is here..." Ino said, looking around.
"Ah yes, but as you probably know, the seniors have to do 'work experience', and a few of the students have been placed as teacher's assistants this year."
"Oh God...." Sakura hid her face in her hands.
"What?" Naruto turned to her.
"Just wait...."
Moments later the door was kicked in, and a young boy with bowl cut hair, dressed in a green spandex suit, identical to the one Gai was wearing entered the gym.
"Lee!" the teacher beamed.
"Oh God..." Sakura said again.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee beamed back. "You haven't started without me?!"
"Of course not!" Gai turned to the others. "This is Lee, he'll be working with sports of various kinds this year, so I thought he could help out during gym class as well."
"It's an honor!" Lee cried.
"Lee and I have decided on some exercises together. Haven't we?"
"Yes!" Lee returned the teacher's sparkling smile.
"Well, tell them!"
The boy cleared his throat. "Since the summer time is such an important time in our young lives, and one usually spends it with ones friends, we have decided on an exercise that has to do with trust."
"Very good Lee!" Gai slapped the boy on his back. "Well then, let's demonstrate! Any volunteers?"
Naruto noticed how Sakura pressed closer to the wall, as if trying to make herself invisible.
But it was too late; Lee's eyes surveyed his lower-classmates, and his eyes came to rest upon the pink haired girl.
"Sakura-san!" he exclaimed, "Would you do me the honor and allow me to use you for the demonstration?!"
"Lee-san..." she stuttered, "I don't think...."
"Great!" the elder grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, dragging her out on the floor.
"Alright Sakura," Gai started, "I want you to stand in front of Lee, and then let yourself fall back. Just close your eyes. And fall."
"I...." she stuttered.
"Don't worry, Lee will catch you!"
"Of course I will! I would never let you get hurt!"
Naruto failed to hold back the smile; now he saw why Sakura was so bothered by the situation. Lee seemed to be crazy over her, and she seemed very uncomfortable. Not so much because he obviously liked her, but probably because he had no problem showing it in front of her entire class. He couldn't help but laugh with the others.
"Fine..." the girl finally agreed, and let herself fall back into Lee's arms.
The boy couldn't stop grinning.
"GREAT!" Gai boomed.
And then it came, the inevitable.
"I want you to pair up as you did during the crouch exercises, and do this. Afterwards we'll go outside. I thought we'd do a little marathon running!" he seemed awfully pleased.
Gai's voice was just a muffled sound after that. As was Lee's "But, I wanna team up with Sakura!"
"Lee, you're in charge now. You're not supposed to pair up with anyone."
"Yeah but...." he whined.
Sakura blushed ten shades of scarlet. She didn't need this attention in front of everyone!
And Naruto... he didn't catch any of it.
He looked over at Sasuke and groaned.
"Why?!"

"Let's just do this," Sasuke muttered as the two of them stood facing each other, defiant gazes burning into one another.
Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Sasuke cut him off before he got started; "Talking has nothing to do with the exercise."
The Uchiha held out his arms, gesturing for Naruto to fall.
Naruto fell, Sasuke caught him, and they repeated the exercise.
They were supposed to fall twenty times each. But after the seventh fall, Naruto had enough; just as he was leaning backwards he snarled. "Well you know what?! That doesn't matter, because we need to talk!"
In a fit of annoyance, Sasuke withdrew his hands. "I have nothing to talk to you about." he muttered.
Naruto wasn't aware of Sasuke's sudden change in position, and let himself fall the eight time, only to crash to the floor.
"You're supposed to catch me, bastard!"
"You're supposed to pay attention." Sasuke retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
Naruto was sure that had this happened a few weeks ago, they would've laughed.
Laugh and joke about it.
Now, that was so unthinkable that it was more likely that a pig would fly in through Naruto's window the next morning and ask him if he wanted bacon for breakfast.

After that incident, things between them were even more strained.
Naruto would fall back into Sasuke's arms. And they would catch him. Over and over, until they switched.
Naruto was the one to catch now, never fumbling. But he pushed Sasuke harder than necessary when was supposed to help him back on his feet.
The tension in the air around them seemed to create a barrier.
And when Gai and Lee announced it was time to go outside, the two of them dawdled, staying behind.

The door to the gym slammed as the last student exited. Sasuke and Naruto were left alone.
And that, was the chance Naruto had been waiting for.
When Sasuke aimed for the door, the blonde grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back. "No!" he said firmly, "Not this time!"
Sasuke spun around. Naruto's grip on his wrist tightened. "What the hell is it you want from me Uzumaki?!"
"What do I want?!" Naruto echoed, "You're the one who goes from cold and distant to suddenly wanting to be friends, only to turn back into an antisocial bastard!"
Sasuke didn't reply. He stared at Naruto, cobalt eyes burning him.
"I just want to know what the hell happened at the Hanami!"
"Isn't that pretty clear already?"
"No! It's not! I want to know why you said those things!"
"Because I meant them, obviously!"
"Well if you did...How do you explain Sai, huh?!"
"What?" Sasuke wasn't following.
"I don't get you!" Naruto shrilled, "You push me away, and yet you go around acting all hero-like!?"
"Who said it had anything to do with you?"
"Sai did!"
"And since when do you listen to him?"
Naruto scoffed, "Why can't you just answer a simple question?!"
"Fine," Sasuke jerked his hand loose. "I punched him because of what he said about you."
He said it so casually. As if it was perfectly normal for him to do such a thing.
"Why the hell would you do that?!"
"Because you don't do it!"
"Huh?" it was Naruto's turn to fall out.
"Everywhere you go, they talk about you! I don't understand how you just let them!?"
"I don't. But it doesn't matter what I do, and it doesn't matter, because I don't care."
"You should care!"
"Why?"
"Because I can't stand to see the way they treat you!" Sasuke yelled.
"See?! There you go again!" Naruto yelled back, "You act like you want to defend and protect me! But you know what? The person who's the worst....that's you Sasuke."
He spat the words at the raven.
"You act like my friend, and then you push me away, but you want to play the hero. You have your own set of rules, so you think you can step all over everyone else. What did I do, huh?!" he shrilled, "What the hell did I ever do?!"

It came as a shock when Sasuke pushed him back against the wall.
"You want to know what you did?" the raven hissed, grabbing his wrists, holding him in place.
Naruto stared into Sasuke's face. He tried to read his expression, but it was impossible.
The grip around his wrists tightened. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Naruto grit his teeth.
"Yes," he uttered quietly, "I want to know what I did."
"Very well," Sasuke's lips curved slightly. But he wasn't amused, that much was for certain. Something flashed in his eyes. A brief glint of something that looked like remorse, or suffering.
"Well?" Naruto growled impatiently. "Say it already!"
"You made me remember," Sasuke's voice was so low, it was almost just a whisper, "And you made me hate you."
"You...remember?" Naruto croaked.
He'd known.
But to hear him say it...

Sasuke gave a barely there nod.
And before he'd had time to realize what went through his mind, he had pressed the blonde harder against the wall, and moved even closer to him.

"Sasuke, I..." he was cut off.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock, as Sasuke's lips suddenly pressed against his own.
His first reaction was to push the raven away, but he couldn't make himself do it.
He remained like this; with the cold wall pressing against his back, and his nails digging into Sasuke's hands, which were still holding him firmly in place.
Sasuke's lips were on his, and he didn't resist them. Nor did he return the gesture.
He stood frozen, trying to take in what was going on, trying to understand.
And he wondered why Sasuke's lips were so soft, when the kiss was so hard.

When Sasuke finally pulled back, Naruto realized that it couldn't possibly have lasted longer than a few seconds. Still, it had felt like so much longer.
He stared at Sasuke.
He couldn't read him now either. And whatever sympathy or worry or understanding that had welled up in him moments before was now gone.
"What the hell was that?!" he demanded, his voice so desperate it was almost breaking.
Sasuke opened his mouth, but failed to speak, as the door to the gym was flung open.

"What are you two still doing here?!" Lee wondered. "Gai-sensei is looking for you!"
Neither of the two answered.
The three of them stood there, looking at each other.
"Did I....interrupt something?" Lee finally asked awkwardly.
"Forget about it," Naruto threw one last glance at Sasuke and stomped out of the gym.
Lee and Sasuke were left behind, staring after him.
"What was that all about?" Lee asked.
Sasuke said nothing.

***TBC****
[Long chapter is looooong x_x I thought about cutting it, and use the last half in chapter 9, but that would basically leave you guys at the same place as last time, and I couldn't do that...So yeah...Some action at least! Please tell me what you think!]

Replies:

SneakyFox: I AM SO SORRY! Especially since it nearly DID take 8 months! 8D Ok...maybe not that bad.. But I hope this chapter made up for the evil cliffhanger!
And as you already saw, I am totally with you on the fanart thing! I'd been thinking about it acutally, but I felt bad asking for it. Now it's ok though, cos you kinda did it for me! xD I've tried to draw that pic myself actually...But I failed! I'm no artist!

Nusku: Really? XD Haha! Here's an update! Sorry it's late!D:

blue_genjutsu: Sorry! Hope I made up for it! Cliffhangers are evil, but I love them! As long as I am the writer that is Xp
Soo...what did you think of Sasuke's announcement? ;p He's not just complicated...he's pretty much hopeless x_X

Damp: SORRY! I know it was evil! Did I make up for it though? Thanks for reviewing xD

Zee_Kay: Aaah! I am SO sorry for the cliff! xD I hope you managed to hang in there! And that you're pleased with the outcome (although Sasuke is still bastardious! Oh, and I see you added me to msn. Feel free to nudge me! ^-^

Reyn: Uwaah....Sorry! Hopefully I made up for it! Please review again though! ^3^ And tell me if this chapter was evil too! I'm dying to know what you guys think!
Oh! And YAY for unlurking!