the only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage

summary: He's had a few worse experiences of his own. But he didn't expect that he'd be getting involved in a roller coaster of a relationship between his best friend, a high school comic book nerd, and a violent Nursing student. AU

rating: m for language

warnings: none

disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

author's note below

Interlude

Uchiha, S.

University life sucks ass. Literally.

Everything about it is stressful, and professors are toxic. No one gives a single damn about you, not even the person sitting beside you. Sometimes, you end up not caring about yourself too. The homework stacks up on your desk like business paperwork, so much until you say to yourself, "Oh, screw it." and give yourself a good night's sleep, and suddenly waking up in the middle of the night and decide to finish your homework anyway.

So much work that you actually go to first period starving and completely brain-drained and exhausted and looking like you came from hell and back.

That's what Sasuke Uchiha exactly feels right about now as a third year college student studying Business. Although it's only the first day of school. That's why he's having his weekly alone-time (which has been going on since last year) by the river near his University.

(Hopefully, this habit doesn't get worse. Self-control, Uchiha.)

This is probably the only thing Sasuke likes about the University—or what's around the University. This specific area itself. Sitting by the river, under the bridge, relaxing under the glare of the warm noontime sun, a burning cigarette between his lips, the sound of flowing water soothing his ears, and nothing else; that's what he'd like to call an ideal way to spend his 3-hour lunch break.

But one particular day, which is today, everything went bat-shit crazy. From the moment he woke up and probably until the end of the day (who knows, since it's just 11:30 in the morning). And that day was when everything changed too. He learned too much about the things around him, and he discovered too much information about the people closest to him.

And the same day (today) is also when he is sitting by the riverbank beside a soaked-to-the-bone girl with pale skin and nice-smelling dark hair.

And right now was probably the best time to say how the hell it all happened.

Interlude, end.

Chapter One
Good Morning? Good Morning, Indeed.

Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in
Nothing to say but what a day how's your boy been
Nothing to do it's up to you
I've got nothing to say but it's OK
Good morning, goo—

A pale hand shot out from the thick blanket of the lower bunk bed and immediately swipes the screen of the iPhone resting by the end table, the cheery voices of The Beatles cut off. A groan emerged from under the blanket and a whine came from the upper bunk.

"Teme... why so early..?" A rough, drowsy voice came from the upper bunk. The entire bunk bed shook lightly and gave out a slight squeak. A black tuft of hair sticks out of the bed sheets and another groan came out from it.

"You dumbass, it's already 7:40 AM." A clearer voice says indifferently from the lower bunk. "And first period starts in 8 sharp."

"It's even the—" Yawn. "—first day... of the school year..."

The bunk bed shook and squeaked again. Then a tanned arm shot out of the bed above. "Why didn't'cha—" A longer yawn. "—wake up earlier?"

Sasuke Uchiha gets out from under his blanket and ruffles his hair. "Had too much to drink last night, probably..." He rubs his forehead with his hand, as if trying to soothe it. "And I probably snoozed the alarm five times half-asleep."

Well, he did have too much shots last night. He and Naruto. And it was probably Kiba's fault why the both of them got a bad hangover and why they're about to run late for their first class, because who the hell hosts a party before the first day of the first semester of your third year in college? Didn't the mutt learn anything from experience over the years?

"Who's the dumbass between us now, teme?"

"Still you." Sasuke stands up from the bed and tiredly walks towards the bathroom. "If there's anyone to blame, it's dog-boy, alright?" And he enters the bathroom, leaving a grumbling blonde struggling to climb down his bed.

Sasuke Uchiha rubs his eyes and he stares at his reflection on the mirror in front of him. Mussed-up hair, bags under his eyes, a trail of dried saliva ran down from the corner of his lip to his chin, and was that a fucking hickey by the juncture of his neck and shoulder? It looked like it was bitten on two times...

Jesus.

The young man runs a hand through his messy hair, and quickly strips down and steps in the shower. He's late anyway, and he reeks of alcohol and sweat. Not really a good impression to give everyone when you're going to your first class on the first day of the first semester of your third year in university.

And so, he takes a nice, long shower with a peace of mind. (Other than the fact of hearing a loud thud from outside the bathroom and hearing Naruto's scream of agony afterwards.)

Good morning to him. Aside from the painful pounding against his head, it's a good morning, indeed.

oOo

"I'll go ahead, dobe." He says as he squeezes a softmelon pan with tomato filling in between his teeth. He quickly puts on his sneakers and steps outside, closing the door shut before hearing his roommate say something (probably another insult thrown at him).

He wasn't in the mood to hear Naruto's constant bullshit this morning. And he sure as hell isn't in the mood to go to class.

But he has to.

His sadist of a mother is watching him somewhere around the campus. Her eyes are everywhere. She knows when he skips class, she knows when he goes to parties, she knows when he goes back to his dorm that he shares with Naruto, and she even knows where the hell he is eating.

Apparently, he's used to it. It's been going on for five years already.

Because it all started when he was a second year in high school, and he happened to have been kidnapped by a bunch of goons who work under a gang that's against his family's company. And he was used as hostage.

It wasn't exactly a good memory. But thanks to that experience, his mother almost had a heart attack and almost murdered the entire gang if it weren't for his collected and calm father.

They really were perfect for each other. If his mother is batshit crazy, then his father's there to calm her down.

Other than that, his mother hasn't called him yet about the party last night, and that he's running late at the moment, so he's probably not in trouble. Yet. Probably. Hopefully not. He wasn't in the mood to explain himself to his mother either. He can't just tell her, "It's Kiba's fault," because he knows that she's a complete smartass and she'll retort with a, "You're mature enough to refuse his offer."

And a never-ending lecture.

All he wants to do today is to have some peace and quiet for himself. He's not in any mood to make any contact with people. He really can't wait for lunch break.

He takes another bite on his melon pan and suppresses a satisfied groan. God, these things taste so good. Especially when the tomato filling

Sasuke continues walking leisurely (and as slowly as possible) towards the Business building, which is three more blocks away. He had walked four blocks already. And he has no idea why his building is so far from the boys' dormitory. And the girls' dormitory is in the middle of the entire campus, so they have it easier. Talk about reverse sexism.

Joking.

He's just one lazy-ass.

oOo

It's 8:57 already, he ponders as he reads his watch. By now, he's probably supposed to be in Finance class (he checked his schedule earlier), but he made sure he left the dorm on the right time and walking slow enough to exactly arrive early for Economics.

Since, of course, he wouldn't like Headmistress Tsunade to lash out on him for being late. And he hears rumors that she even castrates the people who dare try to rebel against her. And he wouldn't want to get the space behind Kankuronara¹ when everything else is occupied. He never did, but people say it's mysterious bad luck to sit behind him, and every year, the bad luck gets worse, so he never bothers to try it for himself.

Also, Economics takes 2 hours in the morning, then his lunch break starts. Then he can have a good smoke and alone-time.

Basically, on his first day, he's got everything planned out already.

He really is a genius.

He smiles to himself as he finishes his melon bread.

oOo

"Morning." Comes Hyuuga Neji's monotonous greeting as they both enter the lecture hall at the same time. He and the Hyuuga aren't in very good terms—and it doesn't look like they'll ever be—and it surprised the Uchiha that Neji even bothered to greet him. Disregarding the friendly gesture, Sasuke gives him a sideways glance and responds with a lazy grunt before checking the best seat in the room.

The room's pretty empty, so the only people in the room are him, Hyuuga, Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Temari, Kumo Samui, and where the hell is Naruto?

Knowing him, he probably stopped by Ichiraku's for breakfast.

Idiot. Sasuke sighs. He checks his watch again and it shows a red 9:10. Ten more minutes before the class actually begins.

He shrugs and completely removes Naruto from his worries. Naruto's a big boy (man?) and he could take care of himself anyway. Sasuke's not responsible for the shit Naruto does, and he can't babysit him 24/7. Naruto's smart enough to survive a day on his own without talking or asking for help from Sasuke.

Or not.

Whatever.

Sasuke chooses a spot at the back and buries his head in his crossed arms. The least he could do is take back the sleep he desperately lost because of his stupid alarm and the intense hangover. And when his eyes were about to drop, the double doors of the lecture hall slammed open. His eyes shot open.

Fucking hell.

"Good morning, little shitheads." The voice of his instructor, a.k.a. the university headmistress, a.k.a. Tsunade Senju, a.k.a. (or how they say she likes to be called) Lady Tsunade, echoes throughout the almost-empty room.

Well, that's abrupt.

Sasuke groans inwardly and begrudgingly stands up straight, his eyes threatening to drop any moment. Shit, I need to sleep. I should have drank some to-go coffee from the convenience store... He notes to himself that he'll take a strong one later.

The rest—or whoever bothered to attend—of the class mumbles something in return and Sasuke can see the annoyed scowl of Tsunade, but she sighs and tells them to sit down.

"Okay, before we begin the lecture, let me tell you kids some of the rules I'll need to set out for my class. And for my campus. Because I don't want any of you doing anything that could cause any trouble around here. Got that?" She narrows her eyes at each individual in the room and crosses her arms under her over-sized chest.

Are those even real? Sasuke mindlessly stares at her buxom.

"First among everything, I don't want any of you getting pregnant or getting anyone pregnant." Tsunade then looks at Temari and Samui, then at the males in the room. "I'm pretty sure you lot were given a bunch of rubbers on Gym class during high school and your first two years in college."

The room stays quiet.

Tsunade then continues, "I want all of you to be responsible and intelligent professionals. Because in the future, if any of you want to become successful businessmen and businesswomen, a baby or a child can keep you from focusing on your work. Having a child and a hectic job such as having a business can keep you from having any sleep and it will be difficult to prioritize your tasks." She looks at the students once more and her arms drop to her sides.

No one reacts.

"Second rule." She says firmly, "I will not allow anyone to enter my class once I have stepped in this room. But since today is your first day, I will give consideration. As your instructor and your headmistress, I can assure you that I can teach all of you to be proper students. You need to learn how to be punctual and how to respect others and yourself." Tsunade places her hand on her hip.

And she begins to drone on and on about the penalty, Uniform day, and events of the school. Sasuke doesn't bother to listen anymore since he knew all of it even before he began college; and he's got his brother to thank for that. And he could tell on Tsunade's face that she's getting tired of doing this, saying the same thing every single year. But, of course, she's just doing her job. And she does it well.

Sasuke glances at his wristwatch again and it's already fucking 9:29. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.

Despite of what he said earlier, he still worries about Naruto. He can't help it. Naruto's like another brother to him, and he can't really count on the idiot to actually do things the right way when Naruto can't exactly think of the consequences of certain situations properly. Especially when he's highly enthusiastic about something.

Naruto doesn't think. He just does. And that's also one of the reasons why they both ended up in a hangover. (Also including his carelessness.)

But before he could even add another comment about Naruto in his head, the doors of the lecture hall burst open for the second time that morning, revealing a disheveled Naruto Uzumaki with a steaming hot cup of ramen in his hand, and a pair of chopsticks in the other.

Naruto grins sheepishly, "Am I late? Did I miss anything?"

Tsunade seemed to immediately glower and her glare intensified as she faces Naruto, who's still breathing heavily by the door. "Mr. Uzumaki," she says lowly. Naruto jumps and (thankfully) sees the danger in the situation.

"Y-Yes, baa-san?" He stutters.

Sasuke slaps his head in frustration and mutters "Idiot!" under his breath.

The aura of Tsunade had fueled up like wildfire and everything else was too explicit.

oOo

11:00. Just in time for lunch break.

Sasuke relaxes by the riverbank as he lies down and rests his head under his arms, facing the sky. The almost-midday sun touches his skin violently, but the warmth spread throughout his body, making him sigh in satisfaction.

This is what he'd been waiting for.

He closes his eyes in attempt to get a short nap. He deserved the rest. The entire class with Tsunade ever since Naruto came in, she just started bitching about everything. Especially concerning Naruto. Sasuke has no idea why, but Naruto's been doing random crap the moment he sat down in front of the Uchiha.

Sasuke could have used the whole time Tsunade was lashing out at Naruto for a good nap, but the dumbass had to sit directly in front of him. So he ended up struggling to stay awake while other later students quietly file in the lecture hall without Tsunade spotting them.

Despite of that, Sasuke managed to get out of the end of the class unscathed. And he immediately headed over here, without anyone questioning him about it.

Naruto didn't, at least, since he already knew about it the day Sasuke started visiting the river when they were second years. And besides, during lunch, all Naruto does is hanging out with Sakura or causing some trouble alongside Kiba. He'd only pester Sasuke when he tags along with them.

Sasuke sighs and rolls on his side. By 12 PM later, he'll get the cancer stick and have a smoke. Right now, he'll just sleep it off for awhile. The sun's not that bad by this time anyway.

The soft grass tickled Sasuke's cheek, and the vibrating purrs of the engines of cars passing the bridge soothed Sasuke. Just perfect. His breathing evened out, and his mind was about to shut off, when all of a sudden, a loud honk reaches his ears.

Sasuke's bloodshot eyes opened wide once again.

God-fucking-dammit!

Sasuke slowly sits up and looks around. What the hell happened?

He hears an alarmed shout from the bridge and he looks up from his area. And there, he sees a fucking girl standing at the edge of the bridge, outside the railings. Her hands were gripping the railings behind her and she was looking down at the river.

"Miss! You need to get back on the bridge!" Sasuke hears a citizen shout. And there was more honking and car doors closing and more shouts from passersby were practically begging her to get her shit together and stop whatever the hell she's about to do.

Fucking listen to them, idiot!

What the hell is she doing!?

He squints at her figure. He can't properly see her face since her long, dark hair was covering it, and looking at her skinny legs, it was like she was shaking in fear. Sasuke stands up and observes her movements. (He's got really sharp eyes. Don't ask.)

She's not budging yet.

Fuck.

Her foot moved slightly forward.

Don't do it.

She's about to kill herself.

In front of Sasuke.

By the river where he hangs out every day every lunch break.

Oh, dear God.

And out of nowhere (it was to be expected but she just suddenly—), she fucking jumped off the edge, not making a single sound. Not a yelp or a squeak. The people on the bridge gasped and one of them tried to grab for her, but it was too late. She's too far from arm's reach and already in mid-air.

What's he going to do?!

What is he supposed to do, anyway?!

Splash!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—

"Hey, dude! GET HER!" He hears from afar, and he didn't even know if they were calling for him, but alarms were going off in his head loudly like sirens and something just snapped in him. And before he knew it, he's underwater. He's swimming towards a flailing figure that's dropping to the deep ground of the river, his vision slightly blurred from the water.

He swims faster and he's quickly losing his breath and his arms stretch to reach out for her body—

Something pushed him back and slim arms wrapped around his torso tightly, all of the air in his body left him as he breathed them all out in the water, bubbles floating up to the surface of the water.

He gazes at the girl hugging him underwater, running out of oxygen. And she looks up at him. And her eyes took his breath away. Literally. And his lungs suddenly constricted painfully.

He winced and his mouth opened, the water quickly entering and travelling towards his lungs. Sasuke begins coughing in water and he feels the arms around him going tighter and tighter and it felt like they were moving up, the water pressure decreasing. His legs are trying to kick harder, but he's feeling too weak to put too much effort.

And his chest starts to burn. Burning a lot. Lots of heat.

He grits his teeth.

Almost there.

And then everything goes black.

Chapter One, end.

Author's Note: Hey! Here's a new story. It's inspired by a few manga I read, and I needed to get it out of my system. I am planning for this story to be multi-chaptered, but as usual, updates are inconsistent and I can't promise anything. But I hope you enjoyed reading! Tell me what you think. :)

¹ Kankuronara – Kankuro + おなら (onara – meaning "fart" in Japanese). A nickname for Kankuro, proudly constructed by Naruto and Sasuke uses it for fun.