Like Ninja Fighters

Beta’d by Master of the Rebels. And as per usual, dedicated to Fallenkarma!


Like Ninja Fighters


Chapter 8: A New Beginning

"...and as graduates, we will all find ourselves with new responsibilities and new opportunities. However, we should never forget those that helped support us through our years here..."

Naruto sat, wrapped up in the words of the class Valedictorian, watching with intensity as the head of his senior class prepped them all for what would be in store for them after graduation. He sat with the rest of his class through his graduation ceremony, almost bouncing in his seat waiting for the end of the speech when he would be able to get up and walk across the stage and finally graduate.

"...because no matter where you go, or what you do, it's your family and friends who will help and support you through everything. No matter the endeavor, just remember that you are not alone."

Loud cheers erupted from Naruto's senior class as the Valedictorian stepped down from the podium, finishing off his speech. A classmate eyed Naruto up strangely when he pumped his fist and screamed at the top of his lungs in support of the Valedictorian.

As Sasuke walked back from the podium to his alphabetically situated seat next to Naruto, he saw the confused looks people gave at Naruto's obvious enthusiasm to his speech.

People still didn't know they were best friends.

"Awesome speech," Naruto murmured, grinning as Sasuke sat down next to him. Sasuke gave an amused snort.

"You just like it because I actually listened to your suggestion and put in all that mushy crap about family and friends," Sasuke said. Naruto just grinned, knowing Sasuke really meant what he said, despite calling it mushy crap.

The people around them looked at their friendly behavior and then toward the sky waiting for Armageddon.

They listened for their names to be called up, Naruto doing a back flip after he grabbed his diploma, Sasuke merely chuckling as Naruto whooped and hollered his way back to his seat.

Together, they threw their hats in the air as they officially graduated, ending with Naruto giving Sasuke a large bear hug, and thumping him on the back.

People around them wondered what was going on. But it didn't matter. Not now anyway. They didn't have to pretend to be badass anymore, so instead, Sasuke and Naruto threw an arm around the other's shoulders, walking side by side to go find Kakashi.

Normally Sasuke would have felt a little silly, especially at the slightly affectionate display between them, but it was graduation and having Naruto by his side was one of the things that was actually keeping him stable.

He was actually missing his family terribly.

It was something that happened very rarely anymore, but at big moments like this, sometimes it overwhelmed him. Sasuke had a feeling one of the reasons Naruto was so obnoxiously showing off that they were actually close was because Naruto knew that Sasuke needed him. And Sasuke also had a feeling Naruto was missing his own parents right then, too.

"Our parents should have been here to see this…" Sasuke murmured. He was class Valedictorian, and he should have been able to show his father who had also been Valedictorian how he had followed in his footsteps.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, and he saw the way that tears were glistening in his eyes.

Naruto grinned at him but then turned his head to the side so that others couldn’t see the broken expression on his face.

"They should have been here. I keep telling myself they’re looking over me, but…" Naruto said, his voice hitching.

"I’m sure they’re proud of you. Who’s not proud of you?" Sasuke assured him.

Turning back to look at him, Naruto quickly wiped a few loose tears away before anyone else could see and smiled widely.

"Your family would be really proud of you, too. Mister Valedictorian!"

Even though Naruto had meant it as a compliment, the thought of how at least his brother wouldn’t have been proud flitted through his mind.

Sasuke's hand kept itching to rub the back of his neck, but Naruto's vice like grip on his shoulder prevented him from reaching around to do just that. Sasuke was doing his best to ignore the urge because Naruto's body was trembling next to him. They were both pretending, and Sasuke felt guilty. It was supposed to be one of the most memorable days of their lives, and Sasuke's talk of family had set him off, setting Naruto off as well.

Thankfully, they found Kakashi at the bottom of the bleachers, waiting for them. Naruto’s shoulders relaxed and his forced grin turned truly happy. Kakashi beamed back at them, pride written happily over his features.

"Yo! Nice speech," Kakashi said, grinning widely, making his eyes crinkle up.

"You read it five times to make sure it was perfect," Sasuke said, a smirk on his face as he too began to feel more light-hearted.

"And you still didn't put in that line I suggested," Kakashi said, feigning a sigh of disappointment.

"Just because you got away with that line at your graduation doesn't mean I wanted to say it," Sasuke said, though slightly amused nonetheless.

"What line?" Naruto asked, looking between the two of them.

"Remember: one night stands last till morning, but STDs last a lifetime," Kakashi quipped. "It's good advice you know."

"You really said that?" Naruto asked, looking awestruck.

"Excellent speech, Uchiha-san," a girl said, coming up to congratulate Sasuke, interrupting the little family's time together.

"Thanks," Sasuke said, nodding politely, but she didn't go away after that.

"Umm, not to be rude, but why are you celebrating with Uzumaki-san?"

Sasuke decided that it would be too hard to explain that they were brothers. It wouldn't be accurate (not to mention extremely awkward despite his new hopes for it) to call Naruto his "boyfriend" or his "lover." At least not yet.

"We're best friends," Sasuke and Naruto chimed. Sasuke looked at Naruto who grinned at him widely.

"You were taking too long to answer," Naruto said, as way of explanation. Sasuke shrugged, uncaring.

"Best friends?" she asked, as though unable to comprehend such an idea.

"Yep!" Naruto said and slung his arm over Sasuke's shoulder again. She merely blinked at them before heading away.

"Did anyone know you were friends?" Kakashi asked, rubbing his head slightly.

Sasuke uncharacteristically gave a little embarrassed cough.

"Yeah, a few people," Naruto said. "I finally had to tell the people at my lunch table because they were worried that I was getting into too many fights." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I finally had to tell them it was planned so we could play videogames. Otherwise they may have tried to stop me from fighting."

"The people at my lunch table finally figured it out too," Sasuke added. There was no way he would ever let anyone know that Neji had taken him aside at the end of last year and talked to him about Naruto. Being told by his friend that, "It's okay to be gay," was not what he had wanted to hear. Nor had, "it's obvious you fight him because you can't properly resolve your sexual tension."

"I see. So you're finally able to actually admit this to me because you've graduated?" Kakashi asked, as he folded his arms over his chest. Naruto grinned.

"I know you're proud of us," Naruto said. Kakashi sighed.

"You two are spoiled," Kakashi muttered, as he walked through the people heading back to their cars. Several stopped to congratulate Sasuke on his speech, and all of the students seemed surprised to see Naruto there with him. A few people took pictures of them together.

Naruto took a picture of Principal Sarutobi's face when he saw them together. It was a mix of shock and happiness at seeing them "getting along." Naruto bounded up to him and clapped him on the back. Kakashi put a hand over his eyes, pretending not to know him. Sasuke snorted.

"Took your advice. Sasuke and I won't get into fights, ever again. You're smart for an old man," Naruto grinned cheekily before leaving an extremely stunned principal in his wake.

"If you didn't amuse me so much, I think I'd be embarrassed," Kakashi said as Naruto and Sasuke both got into the car. "So where do you guys want to celebrate?"

Naruto took a look over at Sasuke, and eyed him up, before turning to Kakashi and grinned widely.

"Home! Lots more ramen to eat," Naruto said enthusiastically. Sasuke looked at him and let out a smirk. No one knew him like Naruto. There was no way that Sasuke wanted to be out in a crowd of people at some restaurant right now. He needed to be home and quiet. As Sasuke looked over at Naruto, the way his shoulders were tensed ever so slightly, Sasuke was sure that even Naruto needed some family time.

After celebrating by having marshmallow toothpick wars in the microwave, which consisted of putting a tooth pick on the marshmallows, and then cooking them till they puffed up and one of the toothpicks popped the other marshmallow to determine the loser, their spirits were much better.

Their spirits lifted even more after Kakashi surprised them both with an awesome graduation present.

Naruto had hoped for a new car. Sasuke had been more practical and hoped for cash.

Instead, Kakashi had gotten them both premiere tickets to see the movie "The Rising Sun: A New Empire" before it came out in theaters, along with a chance to meet the voice actors who played Nori, Jun, and several of the other main characters. He had booked them a hotel room so they could have the entire weekend to hang out.

"How'd you get these?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded. He clutched the premiere ticket as well as the reserved hotel document and the "meet the actors" as though afraid they'd disappear.

"Being high up in a computer gaming company gets you lots of perks. That's one of them," Kakashi said, as his eyes crinkled happily at their enjoyment.


- - - - - - - - - - - -

Naruto couldn't sleep that night. He kept thinking of the fact that he was going to meet the voice actors who played Nori and Jun. It would be awesome. Not to mention he would be spending an entire weekend alone with Sasuke in a hotel room. Naruto felt his face flush.

He rolled over onto his side, thinking of Sasuke and of their one kiss and then their almost kiss.

Why was this so hard?

Feel strangely hot all of a sudden, Naruto threw the covers off the side of the bed. Sighing, he rolled onto his other side toward his door and noticed a dim light coming from outside his door. Curious, Naruto got out of bed, his bare feet padding softly on the floor. He opened his door and saw light coming from underneath Sasuke's. Not bothering to knock, Naruto opened the door to find Sasuke sitting at his computer, reading.

He looked over Sasuke's shoulder, strangely disappointed to see that he wasn't reading any fanfiction. For some reason, Naruto had hoped that Sasuke would be reading a story about their favorite ninja fighters...

"Hey," Naruto said. Sasuke stiffened in clear surprise, but he didn't say anything else.

"I thought it sounded awfully quiet without your snores," Sasuke said. Naruto whacked him on the back of the head for the comment. Sasuke turned and glared.

"Jackass. What are you up to?" Naruto asked, as he yawned and stretched himself on Sasuke's bed. Sasuke watched Naruto's body stretch lazily before staring at the screen.

"Searching information about the event for the premiere of "The Rising Sun: A New Empire." It says even the author will be there, and he may be among the people we get to meet. We’ll get to have good seats to watch the movie, and afterward there is a themed gala with mingling, dancing, and food for the meet and greet," Sasuke noted.

"Sweet," Naruto said, before yawning and pulling Sasuke's covers over him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Did you break your bed? Why are you in here?" Sasuke asked, watching Naruto intently.

"I dunno. Wasn't tired. Saw your light was on. Came in. Laid down. Your bed is comfy. Now I'm tired," Naruto explained. Sasuke grunted a, "hn" before turning back to the computer. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed happily, feeling a strange sense of peace settle over him as he let the scent of Sasuke's bed wash over him.

He heard Sasuke get up and switch off the light. The weight of the bed dipped, and Naruto opened his eyes as Sasuke got on the bed – and on top of him.

Sasuke's hands were pressed on either side of Naruto's face, his legs on either side of Naruto's.

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured. His heartbeat felt like it increased tenfold as he opened his eyes, blinking as they adjusted back to the dark.

Sasuke didn't speak. He was tired of talking. He was tired of waiting for the right moment. He was tired of not having Naruto all to himself.

Moving slowly, Sasuke leaned his mouth down, pressing his lips to Naruto's. Slowly he moved his body so that almost his full weight was rested on Naruto while he continued to lightly caress Naruto's lips with his own.

Naruto felt his breath hardly coming at all as Sasuke's warm body pressed him into the bed. He slowly moved his arms up and wrapped them around Sasuke's back. He cursed himself as his hands shook while lightly trailing up and down Sasuke's back. The feeling caused Sasuke to arch his back off of Naruto slightly, a shudder running the length of his body.

After a moment Sasuke broke the kiss. His lifted himself up to look at Naruto.

"You're shaking," Sasuke said, slightly worried.

"I feel..." Naruto began, but the words got caught in his throat. He felt so very alive that his entire body was humming. He was aroused beyond belief, but mostly, he couldn't explain why his body seemed to vibrate. He laughed nervously. "I feel awesome."

Sasuke turned his head slightly away as he rocked his body to the side. He smirked into his shoulder before turning back to look at Naruto. Naruto grinned wolfishly back at him.

Sasuke moved his body off of Naruto's and rolled to the side. His arms didn't leave Naruto as he wrapped his arms around him. Naruto smiled as he snaked one arm around Sasuke's waist.

They shared a few more tender kisses before both just settling for warmth. Even though it was nice, it still felt a little strange. New and exciting. Something they both wanted and didn’t quite want to get used to.

"Night, Naruto."

"Night, Sasuke."

"..."

"What?"

"If you snore, you're going back to your own room."

"Asshole."

"I love you, too," Sasuke murmured. Naruto stiffened for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Love you."

"I know."

"Bastard."

Next Chapter: Bonus Level

Just fyi, my Valedictorian really did say what Kakashi “said” at his graduation. What did you think? Like it? ~ Jelp