Sucker Love

Chapter 1

Monday morning, and the sounds of the clock in the university's main tower which loomed high above the campus resounded nine heavy chimes. Sasuke, sitting on the stone wall that encircled the main fountain at the campus entrance, counted the chimes one by one. He blinked, shielding his eyes with one hand as he looked into the morning sun, letting the light fill his eyes and burn briefly, before he looked away. It was late summer, and already the sunlight had about it a certain coldness in the early mornings which seemed to herald the oncoming autumn. If you looked close enough, you could see how the leaves on the trees, still a lush vibrant green, were starting to curl slightly, their undersides beginning to swell with a touch of orange that was barely noticeable. Sitting on the fountain's edge, the water splashing down heavily behind him, Sasuke noticed the changing of the season.

He liked the summer. Living this far north in Japan, the summer seemed a blessing – especially when the winters here were felt so strongly. However much he and his friends might have complained about the itchy summer heat, the blinding sun, and the sweltering humidity – none of them could deny that it was more of a pleasure than it was an annoyance.

He watched the clock tower as the larger hand moved slowly past 9 o'clock, ticking away the minutes. He sighed, rubbing a hand through his dark hair as he looked around the university's entrance – keeping an eye out for his classmate who, as usual, was running late. New term, same Naruto, he found himself thinking bitterly. Students bustled around him, laughing and joking as they headed towards the various buildings that were dotted around the square where he was sitting. Some raced up the huge granite steps into the main building directly opposite him, bags banging against their legs as they took the stairs two at a time, heavy with books and pamphlets on the campus and its programs. Freshers, he thought, a faint smile crossing his lips. As a second year student, the initial first day of lessons and orientation seemed a distant memory. Soon enough they would learn that there was no real need to rush for the lessons; that the professors were usually ten minutes late to any classes in the morning due to their stop at the coffee machine on the way; that they wouldn't need to bring so many books to the class itself; that they wouldn't need their trusty campus maps after a few days, when they would have committed the main routes to their classrooms and the canteen hall to memory. He spotted some older students locking their bikes up under the bike shelters to the right of the main entrance, before they ambled up the steps and disappeared into the shadows of the entrance hall. The clock now read quarter past nine – and even if their professor was running late, as he usually was, they were starting to cut it close for time.

From behind him, Sasuke heard the low rumble of a car engine pull leisurely into the drop off bay. Car doors opened and closed loudly. He turned, blinking into the sunlight as he looked past the roaring water of the fountain. The water caught the light and sparkled, dazzling him. It was a black BMW cab, and the driver was lowering his window as the passenger leaned in to speak. Sasuke noticed, oddly, that the passenger had long black hair, tied loosely into a ponytail which swung forward over the person's shoulder as he leant forward, passing what looked like a wad of notes through the tinted window. Oddly, the cab's number plate had the registration for one of the southern islands of Japan. Whoever the man was, he obviously wasn't from around here.

'Sasuke!'

He looked back to the university entrance, spotting the blond man frantically waving in his direction and shouting his name. He ran up to Sasuke, tugging at the orange hoodie he had tied around his waist in a knot, and wiping at the sweat that had beaded on his forehead under his rough blond hair. He grinned, and punched Sasuke hard in the shoulder.

'Morning!' He puffed, grinning at the way Sasuke scowled at his arrival.

'Why are you always so late?' Sasuke muttered in reply, hopping down from the fountain wall and shouldering his black rucksack as he did so. He know it was a stupid question.

'Well,' Naruto began, stretching his arms up behind his head and leaning back leisurely, 'I was having the most amazing dream about you, you handsome bastard, and I simply couldn't bear to wake myself up!' He laughed, dodging out of the way as his friend aimed a hard punch at his ribs. His laughter was bright, and Sasuke found himself not for the first time wondering how his friend seemed to have such unlimited energy so early in the morning.

'Ahh, a new year, but the same old shit,' Naruto said with a smile as they began to head towards the university's entrance. 'I wonder if Kakashi-sensei will actually show up this morning,' he asked, rummaging in his pockets and pulling out a frog shaped money pouch, which clinked with the sound of loose change. 'D'ya reckon there's time to grab a soda?'

Sasuke didn't reply. For some reason, he found himself pausing half way up the granite steps, one hand poised on the metal stair rail which was starting to warm in the sunlight. He turned to look back behind him, watching as the remaining few students disappeared off to their morning classes and lectures. The green trees lining the avenue up to the staircase rustled in the breeze, and Sasuke watched as two black crows squabbled over an empty crisp packet which had gotten swept up in the wind. The black BMW was still in the drop off bay, its engine purring gently as it idly sat there, as if waiting. The passenger, with his strange long hair, had retrieved a large duffel bag from the back seat, and slung it effortlessly over one shoulder. He closed the car door and raised a hand to the driver in thanks, before heading towards the grand fountain in the centre of the square.

'Oi, Sasuke!' Naruto yelled from the top of the stairs, the bright green frog wallet still in his hand. 'You gonna stand out here all day or something?'

Jumping up the last few steps, he shrugged off the unusual visitor. He was probably a training teacher, he figured, as he followed his friend into the cool shade of the building, sidling past the reception desk and down one of the many corridors which splintered off from the main entrance hall. As thoughts of the first lecture of the day came into his mind, all thoughts about the odd man and his expensive looking ride vanished. In the emptying square, the two crows picked apart the last of the crisp packet, cawed angrily at one another, and took to the sky on their dark wings.

'Oh man, I can't believe Kakashi-sensei didn't turn up until almost ten!' Naruto muttered, as they lined up for their hot lunches in the bustling canteen. The noise of chattering students created a buzz which filled the entire canteen hall, and with the heat of the hot food cooking away and the smell of strong coffee filling the air, the place was a sensory overload. Sasuke caught the eye of his fellow classmates entering the canteen across the room and raised his hand to get their attention. They headed over, pushing their way through the crowd of hungry students, some of whom were already opening their books and reading through their lecture notes, slurping on ramen noodles with their divided attention.

'Hey guys,' Neji said as he joined the queue behind Sasuke. 'First day back treating you guys the same way huh?' He nodded towards Naruto whose bright and cheerful attitude had slumped in the traditional post-lecture way. The blond made a murmur of agreement as he reached into the chiller cabinet and grabbed two energy drinks, ignoring Sasuke's look of disgust as he chucked them both down onto his serving tray. As great a professor as Kakashi-sensei was, it was hard to keep up any sort of enthusiasm after his lectures – most of which consisted of them reading from textbooks and re-writing their notes. 'Rumour has it Kakashi-sensei has a stash of porn novels in his desk,' Naruto had told him once, gesturing towards the desk at the front of the class where their professor sat, legs crossed atop it. That fact had piqued everyone's curiosity, and along with the fact that their professor always wore either a surgical face mask or a heavy scarf around the lower half of his mouth, most of his students spent their time envisioning exactly how he looked beneath his disguises. He was an odd professor, and yet his long list of academic achievements could not be ignored. It was an honour to be one of his pupils, despite his apparent love for erotica and constant tardiness.

Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno pushed into the queue behind Neji, all grabbing their own serving trays and swiping at the colds cans of soda, exchanging hellos as they did so. Naruto popped the cap on his energy drink, cursing as it fizzled and spat as if in protest, before reaching for a hot dish of ramen noodles and a melon bread with his other hand. He stuffed the melon bread into his mouth as he grappled with his frog wallet, fishing out the correct change for the bemused cashier. Sasuke tutted, reaching for a plate of cold soba noodles and grilled fish as he pushed Naruto roughly ahead, smirking as his friend choked on the pastry still in his mouth. Behind him, everyone started choosing their lunches.

'How's our team looking for the tournament this year Sasuke?' Neji asked as he loaded up his tray with lunch, ignoring the bickering from behind them as Sakura and Ino squabbled over the last portion of potato salad, elbowing each other out of the way as they did so. He was asking about one of the most important events of the Konoha Daigaku calendar – the Kendo competition. Sasuke, even as a second year student and by no means one of the oldest students on the team, was the team captain, and had led the Konoha team to winning the tournament cup twice in the first year alone. Having trained in kendo from an early age, Sasuke knew he was good, but it was only on coming to Konoha Daigaku that his potential had been discovered as uniquely special by the instructors. It was almost unheard of for a fresher to lead the team, but as of yet, the group had been undefeated under his lead. The older members of the team, including the third and fourth years, initially voiced their displeasure at being led by such a young student – but over the year had grown to admire their stoic team captain.

'We should be good,' Sasuke said, as the motley group of friends moved over to a free table in the corner of the canteen, heavily thudding their trays down to secure their seats. Naruto, spying the empty seat opposite Sakura, hurriedly pushed past everybody and grinned as he sat himself down. Sasuke rolled his eyes, more than happy to avoid the girls' attention if he could help it. He gladly let Naruto take the seat. 'If we can keep everybody's training up to at least three sessions in the week, possibly adding in a few practice sessions over the weekend, we should be fine.' He picked up his chopsticks and began picking apart the bones from his grilled fish, popping a morsel into his mouth. Delicious. 'Our first match is against Sunagakure Daigaku,' he added. 'So we stand a good chance if we stick to our practice schedules.' Neji nodded in approval, chugging a mouthful of crisp lemon soda. Across the table, Naruto was laughing as he slurped up his ramen, the hot soup splashing across the table and making the girls grimace in disapproval.

'You guys heading to practice after lunch?' Shikamaru asked as he leant across the table opposite Sasuke, taking a bite of his bread roll. Shikamaru, a lanky guy whose dark hair was tied back in spiked top knot, wasn't a member of the Kendo team like Sasuke and Neji, but was a strong supporter of the team regardless. Sasuke would have been surprised to ever find Shikamaru at the practice – or anywhere near a sporting team for that matter. Often referring to himself as the 'lazy bastard' of the group, he was more likely to be found in the quiet, cool shadows of the library, or playing the latest video game back in his dorm room. Sasuke nodded, finishing his fish and quickly checking his watch. 'Yeah, and I'd better get going. Freshers are trying out for the team today so I might as well get started on setting up.' Shikamaru sighed heavily and ran a hand through his spiked hair. 'Freshers,' he muttered, 'why do they have to be such a drag?' Sasuke smirked at the sullen comment, tempted to remind him that they were only second years themselves, before he stood up and slung his back over one shoulder. The canteen was gradually starting to empty as students headed off for their next classes, and the loud buzz of noise was starting to lower. Naruto, spotting his friend getting ready to leave, frantically gestured towards to him. 'Hey Sasuke! Are you done with that melon pan?'

Sasuke shrugged and threw the wrapped bread to him, which Naruto snatched easily out of the air. He threw his friend a cheerful smile and a thumbs up, before tucking into the leftover treat.

'See you later guys,' Sasuke said as he raised a hand to his friends, who in turn waved him off. His friends were like family to him. Naruto, despite being a general pain, was one of his oldest friends, and having grown up together it didn't seem at all strange to find themselves attending the same university. For some reason he found himself thinking of his mother, back home in central Japan. It had always just been the two of them, ever since he could remember - and leaving her on her own to attend Konoha Daigaku had been a difficult decision to make. They still kept in contact with the occasional phone call and email, but he was happy to find that she seemed to be coping just fine without him during his first year away.

Chucking his soda can into the trash, he headed for the canteen exit along with the other crowds of students, taking the steps two at a time as he followed the corridor towards the sports hall – a large, proud building which stood adjacent to the main campus. Two large banners with the Konoha crest fluttered in the breeze on either side of the sports hall door, and Sasuke paused at the entrance to rummage in his pocket for the armoury key.

Behind him, the harsh cawing of crows resounded across the campus square. Two pigeons pecking the dirt nearby startled and flew up into the trees, their wings buffeting against the leaves as they settled on the flimsy branches.

Konoha campus was probably one of the greenest Universities in Japan, and with so many trees, outdoor facilities, ornamental campus squares and small parks, it wasn't difficult to see why. Even in the winter, the University boasted a huge range of winter sports programs and societies, ranging from the use of a private ice skating rink, to purpose built dry ski slopes over on the main sports campus. The university was proud of its sports societies and academic achievements in the sports – and of course their Kendo team, and Sasuke in particular, were starting to become the celebrities of the campus.

Sasuke fished the key from his pocket on its long lanyard and pushed open the heavy sports hall door, casting a glance at the notice board as he stepped into the building.

'Konoha Kendo team try outs! Sports hall centre at 1pm sharp – come and try out for the team!' Exclaimed one loud poster which somebody had tacked to the pinboard. Another was a hand written request for people to join the martial arts sessions held every Thursday evening, a club which Naruto was actually a member of. A small poster printed onto pink paper with clipart of a cherry blossom tree notified the reader of the new yoga society – 'perfect for reducing exam stress!' apparently. Sasuke knew that Sakura and Ino were members of the yoga team, and wondered if the classes had had any effect on their constant bickering and arguing. He highly doubted it.

The building was quiet and empty, and as he walked towards the armoury, Sasuke found himself wondering if any freshers would even turn up. Coaching the new students, some who would no doubt be painfully over-confident and would need putting firmly back in their place, would become boring very quickly – and even though it was only just gone lunchtime, Sasuke found himself longing for his quiet dorm room. He unlocked the door to the storage room and stepped in, breathing in the heavy smell of leather and bamboo. Dust motes floated in the air and were caught, as if suspended, in the beams of the light that spilled in through the high window. He checked over the hakama pants and the rack of bamboo shinai weapons, checking the leather ties which held the bamboo firmly in place for any looseness.

He found himself sighing as he heard the main door to the building shut loudly, followed the heavy footsteps of new students who chattered away eagerly and noisily as they made their way into the sports hall. He gathered up the hakama and selected a few of the best shinai swords in his arms, before making his way to the changing rooms where the students would be waiting.

Sasuke was grateful when, half way through the training session, Neji sauntered into the main hall, his helmet tucked securely under one arm. He pointed his shinai at one of the pairs of sparring students and brought it down hard on one shoulder. 'Keep your arm firm!' He yelled above the clattering of bamboo striking leather and metal, and the shouting cries of the students as they readied attacks. 'Backs straight! Feet forward, take up your stance before attacking!'

Sasuke smiled. Neji was one of the most experienced kendo players on the team. Despite only being a second year, Neji was in fact a few years older than Sasuke, and his extra years of experience showed. He had been trained by his father, he had told Sasuke once, and used to practice daily with his cousins when he was growing up. His decision to study at University was only approved by his father under the rule that he partake in the kendo team, and being true to his word, Neji was already a firm favourite, with numerous individual winnings under his belt. Sasuke respected him, and appreciated his help in choosing the new recruits for the team.

'Ok!' Neji shouted, clapping his hands loudly together to get the attention of the 20 or so students who, relieved, stopped their sparring and started to remove their helmets to wipe away the sweat from their hairline. Their chests heaved beneath their armour plates, and many of their faces were flushed red.

'Good job everyone, for a bunch of freshers you're actually all surprising me. Now, as you all know, there are only five spaces available for this year's team, and myself and our team captain,' he gestured a hand over to Sasuke who took a few steps forward and bowed slightly to the class, who in turn all ducked their heads, whispering amongst themselves with adoration at Sasuke's presence, 'will decide exactly who will bring the most to the team. We're looking for talent, determination and strength – fail to show us these three traits and you will not be considered.' The class hushed, and Sasuke swore that he could almost hear the nervous gulping amongst them. Neji glanced over at his team leader.

'You will be sparring with Sasuke,' he said loudly, and Sasuke took the cue to start adjusting his armour, placing his heavy helmet firmly onto his head as he did so, feeling a strange sense of delight as the class shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot. 'And let me say with upmost confidence that I do not expect any of you to win! This is not about winning, this is about showing us what you've got!'

From across the room, the sports hall door opened, and another student, already dressed in the sparring gear and helmet, entered. A late addition, Sasuke thought to himself, as he watched the pupil cross the floor and join the back of the group.

Neji turned a wicked smile to the group. 'So, who's first?'

The huddle of students seemed to suddenly balk, and they all shuffled noisily backwards in an attempt to avoid what was obviously to be the humiliation of going first against one of the best kendo players in the University league. They jostled with each other as Neji and Sasuke smirked at one another, Sasuke shaking his head lightly under his helmet.

The first victim, Sasuke found himself thinking, as one unlucky student failed to clamour his way to the back of the group fast enough. Neji swung his own shinai firmly down onto the right shoulder of the unlucky guy, and the bamboo hit his leather plating with a resounding thwack. 'Fuck,' the guy muttered.

'You're up,' Neji said firmly, turning the young man around to face Sasuke who stood, ready, shinai outstretched to welcome the unfortunate opponent. The young man let out a shaky breath before pulling on his helmet, and taking up the shinai that Neji offered out to him. The group of remaining students crowded around excitedly, and for a brief moment Sasuke felt pity for the guy who stood nervously across from him, ready to face him. The feeling was only brief.

Three hits, and the opponent was easily defeated. Sasuke barely had to move his feet to get in the heavy blows from the bamboo sword, hitting the vital points on the boy's armour with ease.

'Next!' Neji shouted.

Around eight more students tried their luck, and with the exception of one tall student who managed to just strike Sasuke's shoulder in a forward attack, Sasuke remained untouched. Some, when gestured forward to show their skills, refused, shaking their heads and holding their hands up – knowing full well that maybe the kendo team wasn't quite for them. When no more students seemed willing to try, Neji turned to the group.

'Very well,' he said loudly, holstering his shinai and rolling his sleeves up. 'That's it for today's session – to those of you who we deem worthy of joining us, we will be in touch – '

Neji paused as a student suddenly stepped forward. The guy seemed slight, almost skinny, and Sasuke smirked beneath his helmet. Might as well go out with a bang, he thought, envisioning defeating the brave student in less than three moves in front of the class. Hell, maybe he could get two strikes in quick enough and just call it a day. He respected this guy's bravery, but Sasuke had had enough for the day, and wanted to head back to his dorm. Kendo practice, even this late in the summer, was a hot business.

'I'll give it a shot,' the man said, voice muffled from beneath his helmet as he stepped forward confidently. Sasuke smirked and took up his stance, stretching out his shinai.

'Do your worst,' he replied. From beneath the shadows of the man's helmet, Sasuke could have sworn that for a moment his opponent seemed to be smiling.

Neji brought his hand down and the fight started.

'One strike!'

Sasuke stood, stunned, as the man's shinai clattered down hard onto the neck piece of his armour, making his helmet clatter noisly and setting his teeth on edge.

How had he…?

His opponent took a swift step backwards and readied his stance again. Sasuke blinked, casting a glance to Neji who seemed just as surprised as he was. Sasuke was never one to lose the very first point – or so quickly at that. Gripping his hands tightly around his shinai, Sasuke took up his stance again, trying to steady out his breathing and focus.

Hot anger had begun to prickle behind his eyes.

Neji brought his hand down again, and Sasuke watched closely as his challenger immediately shifted his weight onto his right foot. The movement was so slight, but his eyes caught the movement and he sprung to the right, bringing his shinai up directly in front of his face as the man attempted to swing at him from the side. Their shinai clashed together, and Sasuke felt the tremors race down the sword to its hilt. The man was tight against him now, and Sasuke hurried to move to get some space between them. He moved back, frustrated to find the man pushing him further, his shinai suddenly changing to the other side and coming down onto the side of his helmet. Sasuke pulled his head back, narrowly missing the sword as it swung heavily down. Seizing the opportunity, Sasuke quickly thrust forward, shouting with annoyance as his competitor dodged to the side, almost as if he had predicted Sasuke's movement.

The hot anger was spreading now, and Sasuke felt a bead of sweat settle in the nape of neck. Who the hell was this guy? And why was it taking so long to defeat him? His grip tightened and he clenched his jaw tight, watching the man's feet as he started to once again shift his weight, to the left this time. Straight away Sasuke leapt to the left, raising his weapon to defend the oncoming strike – when suddenly he was struck hard in the chest. The force was enough to knock him off his feet and push him backwards, and he was sent sprawling backwards onto the unforgiving hall floor. His head swung back and hit the floor with a crash, and he winced as his neck tightened unnaturally at the sudden impact. His shinai went flying across the floor, the bamboo clattering as it skidded to a stop at the feet of his opponent.

The rest of the students stood in silence, watching in disbelief, and Sasuke swore under his breath as he realised that Neji was looking down at him from above with a look of shock.

'Two strikes,' Neji said slowly, almost as if the very words tasted strange in his mouth as he spoke. He had a certain look upon his face, as if he hadn't quite understood what had just happened, and under any other circumstance Sasuke would've found it almost comical.

As the unknown competitor reached down and picked up Sasuke's shinai, everybody's eyes were on him. He walked steadily over to Sasuke, who had begun to try and pick himself up from the floor, pushing his upper body up with elbows as he tried to sit up. His head was still spinning from the impact, and he looked up angrily as the man came to stop just in front of him.

The tip of the shinai was pointed into his throat, covered by the heavy leather padding of his helmet.

'You need to train harder,' the man said, and Sasuke thought he could hear the smirk lining his lips as he spoke. 'I thought the great Uchiha would be more of a challenge,' he said softly, tilting Sasuke's head up with a tap under his helmet, 'but you're really just a bit of a disappointment, aren't you.'

It wasn't a question. The words stung, and Sasuke angrily slapped the shinai sword away from under his chin, roughly pulling off his helmet and ignoring how his dark hair was probably sticking up in sweaty spikes.

'Fuck you,' Sasuke spat angrily, pushing himself to his feet, ignoring the stares of the students who only a few minutes ago had been looking at him with admiration. He reached for his shinai, still in the other man's grip, who merely moved it out of reach. Sasuke gritted his teeth, trying hard to keep his cool in front of Neji, who seemed to be watching the situation unfold with a sense of curiosity. He felt like he was being toyed with.

Sasuke watched as the challenger began to remove his helmet with one hand. Long black hair spilled out from underneath the helmet, and Sasuke found himself doing a strange double-take. This guy… The car from earlier…? There was a moment of odd silence, before some of the students started to whisper restlessly.

'Itachi?' Neji said, suddenly stepping forward. 'It is Itachi, right? The transfer student from Akatsuki Daigaku?'

Sasuke blinked, watching as Neji stepped in front of him and stated shaking the guy's hand. A transfer student? It was obvious from looking at him that he wasn't a first year student – in fact he looked a few years older than any of them there, maybe a couple of years older than Sasuke himself. He angrily pushed his sweaty hair away from his eyes and winced as his neck flared hotly with pain. Neji seemed oddly excitable, an emotion which Sasuke didn't think he had ever seen his usually stern and sarcastic friend feel. He finished shaking Itachi's hand enthusiastically and turned to face Sasuke behind him, grinning as he did so.

'Itachi is the top kendo player at his University,' Neji said excitably, ignoring Sasuke's painful lack of interest. 'He's studying here for this year as part of our University's exchange program, but I didn't think you'd be here for another week at the most!' He said with a grin, turning his attention back towards Itachi, who simply shrugged his shoulders beneath his armour. 'I got here early,' he said simply.

Oh-fucking-yay. Sasuke thought bitterly, sending a glare towards the man who, even as he was shaking Neji's hand and smiling politely to his words of admiration, seemed to be keeping his eyes firmly on him. His eyes were dark, almost black, and when Sasuke caught his gaze he felt an odd prickle of embarrassment flush red in his neck. Itachi smirked, tossing his shinai sword into the air and catching it by its point. He offered the hilt to Sasuke, who angrily swiped at it and holstered it firmly into his hakama without a word. All the while, Itachi was smiling.

'Ok everybody,' Neji said as he struggled to contain his excitement at the new guest, his loud voice seeming to break the tension which had settled in the room like a heavy cloud. The class started and looked towards him expectantly. Sasuke couldn't help but notice how the students were exchanging glances and fitfully looking towards Itachi out of the corner of their eyes. They all obviously knew who he was – so why had Sasuke not heard of him before?

'I'll be in touch with those of you who I believe to be an asset to this year's team – please keep an eye on the sports hall notice board for any updates to the team fixtures throughout the semester, and remember to show your support at our campus matches!' He clapped his hands loudly together twice, and the class burst into noise as they were dismissed.

'I can't believe Itachi is going to be studying here, and all the way from Akatsuki Daigaku too!'

'Do you think he'll make the team? I don't think anyone has ever beaten Sasuke Uchiha so easily in a practice match!'

'I wonder what classes Itachi is taking here? And why here of all places? I heard that Akatsuki Daigaku was the best university in southern Japan…'

Sasuke angrily tightened the leather holster around his shinai as he made his way towards the instructor changing rooms, cursing himself for letting his guard down and allowing such an easy defeat in front of everyone. Neji's voice resounded loudly above the buzz of chatter, and he shouted for the students to head to their changing rooms where they could leave their armour and weapons.

'Hey,' came a voice from behind him as he reached the changing room door. Sasuke gritted his teeth as Itachi stood behind him, pulling off his black training gloves. He had hardly broken a sweat, and Sasuke found himself wanting to wipe the own sweat off his brow, feeling suddenly oddly flustered and hot. 'I meant what I said about you needing to train harder, you know.' His voice was smooth and dark, oddly charismatic. Sasuke found himself watching as he ran a pale hand through his dark hair, pushing his bangs away from his face and tucking them behind one ear. His fingernails were painted a dark purple, he noticed. Weird.

'I train hard enough already,' Sasuke replied.

'Yeah,' Itachi laughed lightly, 'of course you do. Your footwork could do with a hell of a lot of work though,' he said, smiling. 'But of course you probably already know that.'

Sasuke resisted the urge to spit back an angry reply, wanting to tell him exactly where he could go and shove it – that he didn't need any of the man's advice, no matter how good he may have been back at his home University. He held his tongue though. Itachi was, of course, correct – he had been struggling with mastering his footwork for a while, and he knew that if he could learn a few more footwork techniques, it would really help him in his tournaments. Itachi's footwork had seemed flawless in their sparring, he found himself thinking, if only he could move as easily and gracefully as that.

'I can teach you.' Itachi said, and Sasuke found himself feeling startled, as if the man had read his mind. In the distance, Neji was busy ushering the last of the students out of the hall. Sunlight poured in through the skylights and reflected off the basketball hoops, sat high up on the far wall.

'I don't need your help,' Sasuke bit back. 'Besides, I'm guessing you're going to be on the team now anyway, so I'm sure we'll meet again.'

Itachi shook his head. 'No, I'm not joining the team, don't worry,' he said. 'I wouldn't dare dream of stealing your spotlight.'

He smirked and tossed his helmet to Sasuke.

'Put some ice on your neck,' he said with a smile, before he turned and headed towards the last of the leaving students, heading for the changing rooms. He shook Neji's hand again and they seemed to exchange some pleasantries before they left the hall together, the heavy doors banging shut behind them.

Sasuke stood there for a moment, still holding Itachi's helmet. His neck burned with fresh pain and he winced, reaching up a hand to push against the pain.

'Fuck,' he muttered under his breath. This year was going to be a long one.

A/N: Hi everyone! Long time no see! To all my loyal readers who may still have me on their author alerts, a big hello to you all! I have been off the writing scene for a long while now, mainly due to University work and studies, but this story idea came to me the other day and I felt inspired to try a bit of writing again after all these years. I am interested to see how my writing style has changed after so long, and I hope you will enjoy it! This story will develop quite quickly, so I hope you stay with me and enjoy as the story unfolds. This story will be ItaSasu and will contain mature themes. Love you all! x