Sasuke's back was pressed flat against something solid and uncomfortable, yet he was upright. Gravity probably hadn't shifted, so he couldn't be laying on the floor like was usually how he ended up with this sort of neck pain. Also, it felt like his arms were tied to the solid thing. A bad sign, to say the least.

It took a throb of pain in his forehead to remind Sasuke that he'd knocked himself unconscious trying to use his chakra in the middle of his genin exam.

Not for the first time, Sasuke wistfully considered that so many of his problems could be avoided if he just went to sleep and never woke up.

Sasuke opened his eyes to the tall figure of Kakashi-sensei standing a few meters away with his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking at Sasuke, but he also continuously glanced away to glare at two somethings to Sasuke's left and right. Sasuke followed his gaze and saw Naruto to his right, glowering down at the ground with a more devastated look than Sasuke had seen on him since they'd both been barely more than toddlers. Haruno-san, to his left, was biting her lip and hugging herself around the stomach. She and Naruto each had an untouched bento lunch in front of them.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke jerked his head back forwards. Kakashi-sensei was barely an arms-length away. "YES!" he shouted, and his right arm jerked as he instinctively tried to salute his superior officer but got caught by the roped around his torso. He was tied to the failure pole, then. Kakashi-sensei was probably about to tell him he was going back to the academy. Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek and kept his chin up, even if he felt like he was going to cry.

"Maa," said Kakashi-sensei, drooping into a hunchbacked pout. "So formal…You and your teammates are getting a second chance at the exam. I've given them one piece of advice, but I don't feel like repeating it. They aren't allowed to feed you or untie you, so don't get any funny ideas. I'll be back after lunch." With that, Kakashi-sensei vanished in a puff of smoke and left a log in his place.

Sasuke's legs were splayed out in front of him, and he awkwardly shuffled against the ropes binding him to draw them up at the knee. It wasn't much protection, but it made him feel a little less exposed. The clearing he and his team were in was blindingly bright in the noon-time sun. Fresh green grasses and clovers grew all the way up to the edge of the treeline, and no sign showed of the damage done by their battles less than an hour ago. Sasuke sighed and looked away from the strange sanctuary around him. Naruto and Haruno-san were blatantly turned away from him and picking despondently at their bentos. He'd thought, before the massacre, that no one could really be sad on such a beautiful, sunny day. Of course, the Uchiha compound was often like this, honey-drenched with light and little plants. None of it ever stopped him from feeling sad in the moment. Over time, however, he liked to think that sunlight and greenery did help a little. If nothing else, nature and blue-skies were nicer than darkness and smoke for everyone, not just the sad.

The side of Naruto's face caught Sasuke's searching scans and held them. The sunlight made Naruto's blonde hair and blue eyes glow, and the grass drifting around his blue sandals looked like it had grown around him, cushioned him into a place he was meant to be sat. Naruto belonged in this world, reflected it in a way that was entrancing. Sasuke couldn't make himself look away. If Naruto caught him staring like this, it would be a disaster, but Sasuke had never been able to ignore Naruto Uzumaki, no matter what either of them was doing or feeling. So now he needed an excuse.

"What was Kakashi-sensei's advice?"

Naruto jumped in his seat and dropped his chopsticks into his bento with a clatter. "Ah!" he yelped. "Teme! Don't startle me dattebayo!" Sasuke frowned slightly and nodded impatiently. He wanted Naruto to get on with it! "Anyways, it wasn't anything you need to know, or whatever. So just leave it."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "No. Tell me." Sasuke heard Haruno-san shuffling, but oddly she did not interject.

"It doesn't hasn't got anything to do with you!" Naruto's fists were clenched, and he seemed to have given up on his lunch altogether.

"Let me decide that for myself, Naruto!" he demanded. He didn't understand why Naruto was being so annoying about this, but it was making something in his chest ache. Did Naruto not trust him, or something? He knew he hadn't talked much to Naruto but he'd never done anything, he thought, to deserve his hatred and disgust. If this was what their team was made of, two shinobi who hated the third, then Sasuke was doomed. His brother wouldn't even have to kill him. These two would finish the job. Sasuke noticed a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, his breathing ominously speeding up as Naruto's silence went on.

"Fine!" Naruto finally yelled. "He said that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash! And you don't need to know that because you already tried to die to save my life. And I don't get why! I'm not part of any goal of yours or whatever, and we're rivals so what you did was stupid! I don't care if it makes you worse than trash, I don't ever want you to do something like that again, you get it?" Naruto was standing, now, directly in front of Sasuke and screaming in his face. His eyes looked purplish around the edges, and Sasuke was certain they hadn't looked like that yesterday. During the kiss. Between Naruto's words, his proximity, and Sasuke's thoughts about their kiss, he could feel the heat of a raging blush erupt over his cheeks. Even worse, he could feel his eyes watering.

"Oh," he whispered. To his horror a tear slipped out and rolled down his cheek. Naruto's anger vanished to be replaced by absolute terror. "I will." Sasuke cleared his throat. "I mean, I will risk myself to protect you if I have to. Again." Then, Sasuke frowned and tilted his head. "What do you mean we're rivals?"

Naruto's eyes were wide and his breathing was wild. Sasuke couldn't look away from his eyes, and Naruto didn't seem in any rush to look away either. "Wha'd'ya mean we're not rivals?" the blonde screeched. He threw both hands in the air and gesticulated violently as he went on. "I'm always trying to beat you and prove I'm a better shinobi, and you're always rubbing in my face how perfect you are! It's what we do-ttebayo! We hate each other!"

"I don't hate you!" Sasuke blurted. This entire conversation was so surreal it was difficult to keep up with. Honestly, this whole situation made him want to go home and crawl into his nest with Pazu. "Hate is a sickness," he whispered, hoping the wind would carry his words away so no one would have to hear them. "My goal is to resist hatred. To end hatred in our world. That's why I'm here." Sasuke's eyes had drifted down to his curled-up toes as he spoke. His tense feet had crushed some of the clovers and buttercups under his sandals. When he looked up, Naruto's fists had unclenched, and he was staring at Sasuke like they'd never met before. After a long moment of stillness, he sank down onto his knees before Sasuke, putting them at the same height.

"You…don't hate me." Even though it wasn't a question, Sasuke nodded anyway. "Okay." Naruto clenched one fist and stared down at it with an uncharacteristically serious face, a face Sasuke had never seen before on anyone. A face of pure determination. When Naruto took that fist and punched it forward, Sasuke didn't even twitch. "I'm not gonna be worse than trash! If you're going to protect me with your life, and never abandon a teammate or whatever, then so will I! I won't let you die, Sasuke! I'm gonna stay by your side and protect you just as good as you protect me. Then we can be great shinobi together and neither of us has to die! That's my new ninja way!"

An electric focus snapped into place in Sasuke's brain with an almost physical sensation. He'd always been fixated on Naruto, always watched him out of the corner of his eye, and now he was here. Eye to eye with him. Sasuke wanted to rip these bindings apart and reach for Naruto, grab his hands between his own and not let go. There was fear, bursting through Sasuke's thoughts in the form of visions of Naruto dying, Naruto under his brother's blade, Naruto bleeding out in front of him. But there was also warmth. Just like the kiss yesterday, Sasuke could feel that Naruto was close to him, feel it down to his bones. Sasuke wasn't alone. His fears slowly began to evaporate away, like raindrops in sunlight.

Sasuke realized he really was crying now. It was a light cry, more sniffling and a few dropped tears, but Naruto reacted like Sasuke was dying.

"Aah! Sasuke! I'm sorry! What's wrong? What do I do?" Naruto had leaned forward and was fluttering his hands around Sasuke like he was batting away invisible bugs. Even as he cried, Sasuke started to giggle. He couldn't believe this day! Everything was absurd about this, including him!

"Naruto!" snarled Haruno-san. "How dare you upset Sasuke-kun, you moron! I'm not going to be worse than trash twice in the same day! This is me protecting my lo- my comrade! Shannaro!" And then, Naruto was knocked away from him by a pink and red blur.

Sasuke watched incredulously as Naruto and Haruno-san tumbled over each other on the ground, punching each other and biting and – ouch – yanking on each other's hair. They were also screaming, mostly incoherently, but Sasuke did hear his name mentioned in both voices.

Sasuke wanted to go home now.

"This is not what I expected."

Kakashi-sensei reappeared in yet another puff of smoke, looming above Naruto and Haruno-san. With one hand each he hoisted them up by the backs of their shirts and held them apart from each other like they weighed as much as kittens. Naruto and Haruno-san only continued to swipe at each other for a few moments before going limp and glaring as one up at Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke had never seen them get along so well, before.

Kakashi-sensei sighed and walked back over to Sasuke with his baggage, then dumped Naruto and Haruno-san onto the ground in a tangle onto Sasuke's legs. Sasuke winced when Naruto shoved himself upright by planting his knee against Sasuke's thigh.

"You guys sure are great at making bold declarations you haven't even begun to live up to."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted and pointed dramatically at Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke incredulously noted that Naruto had shifted to be between him and Kakashi-sensei. "I don't ever go back on a promise dattebayo! I will never abandon Sasuke! We're teammates, now, and I'll protect him with my life, just like he'd do for me! If you try to hurt Sasuke again then I'll totally prove it!" Sasuke had a split second for his eyes to widen before Kakashi-sensei had thrown Naruto and Haruno-san away from him and had a kunai to his neck.

Sasuke was drowning. He was doomed, Kakashi-sensei was going to kill him, and there was nothing he could do. He could feel the air pressing in on him, just like that night, just like his brother…He couldn't even bring himself to scream against the cold steel cutting into his neck.

The pressure, both physical and chakra-based vanished as an orange blur collided with Kakashi-sensei. Naruto was howling like an animal, and Sasuke would have sworn that his eyes had gone red.

"You pass!"

Naruto stopped dead, crouched before Kakashi-sensei in a stance Sasuke hadn't seen him use before. Haruno-san also froze where she was readying a handful of shuriken aimed at Kakashi-sensei's head.

"What?" said Haruno-san in a squeak of a voice. Sasuke was sure his eyes were as bugged out as his teammates' were. Everything about Kakashi-sensei had shifted, all traces of a threat melting away into a reedy doof of a man.

"This exam, today, was all about teamwork. It's…not exactly how I expected this to go, but you've obviously got some sort of teamwork. Sort of. So, you pass. Report back here tomorrow at 8am, Team Seven." Kakashi-sensei's demeanor was one of forceful cheer. This was honestly creepier than when Sasuke thought he was going to murder him.

"Yay!" Haruno-san screamed. Naruto quickly joined in, and soon the two were cheering and waving their hands up in the air in triumph. Sasuke smiled, watching them leap about the clearing with joy.

"Oh, Sasuke, lemme untie you." Naruto skipped over and cut into his ropes with a kunai. Sasuke's binds fell away around him, leaving him free to stand and face Naruto. Without the ropes trapping him, he suddenly felt much more nervous to be standing so close to Naruto.

"Hn. Thanks," he said softly, lacing his hands together over his sternum. Naruto chuckled and rubbed the blonde hair at the back of his head. His smile was so wide his eyes were scrunched shut.

"Nah, nah, it's no problem, yanno. Like, I promised, dattebayo. So count on me, Sasuke!" Naruto's eyes opened and when he looked at Sasuke, the blonde blushed for reasons Sasuke could not begin to guess.

"Yeah. You too." Sasuke's smile wasn't fading, and the rush of victory flowing through him was the only explanation for what he said next. "Hn. Come to my home and I'll cook us dinner."

"Wah?!"