Hello readers! So, I've been writing on fanfiction here for a while, couple years at least, but looking back on all my old stuff, it's rather embarrassing with all the terrible grammar and what not. So I'm here incognito with a whole new kind of writing style that includes (hopefully) a little bit more plot development and a little less rushing to the point.

So I'll hope you'll enjoy and give me a little feedback!

Pairings

Main: Sasunaru

Side: a bunch. Some more surprising than others nyahahaha

Onesided: Sasusaku, Kibanaru, Narusaku

This first part that's all fancy and italicized is a flash-forward (is that what they call it?) just to clarify.

Chapter One

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. When had things escaladed to this kind of level? All he could see was his team furiously fighting to reach him, Naruto being the only one successful. The sky was too dark and this alley had too few lights to see what happened next. But he could hear it. Everyone could hear it. Everyone could hear it, smell it…Sasuke was sure he could feel it. And if that bitter taste on his tongue wasn't gunpowder residue, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what it really was.

He knew exactly who it was that stopped the hot metal that caused the loud noise from piercing his skin. He could tell by the look of relief on Naruto's tan, whiskered face before it was wiped off by furrowed eyebrows in a mix of pain and confusion. The deed was done and everyone seemed to halt their fighting in something akin to foreboding. Nobody meant to let it go this far. Sasuke watched as the gun was slapped out of the hand of the attacker by the other gang's leader, much to his surprise.

His eyes shot back to Naruto who was struggling to stay on his feet. Sasuke caught him before he could begin to fall over and gently guided him to the ground, cradling his shuddering body.

"Somebody call a damn ambulance!" Sasuke screamed, throwing an incredulous look around at even his enemies. It was clear that they too knew they took it too far. He could tell by the fear in their faces.

But he wondered if they would feel the same way if that bullet had hit its mark: him.

Which brought him to wonder, when had he become important enough to take a bullet for?

---

Sasuke walked briskly down the run down neighborhood that belonged to his favorite and probably most shameful addiction in the eyes of society. No, it wasn't drugs or whores or any of the other filthy desires of men that roamed these parts of town. But it wasn't too far off in the eyes of the socially accepted side of society. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at that thought. He was the socially accepted side of society. His last name practically completed the definition of socially acceptable and held onto it with pride and complacency. It was his approval that the world was after. Not the world's approval that he was after. Sometimes he loved being rich.

But then there was his habit. All the money in the world couldn't help anyone with what he couldn't get enough of. Because his habit was more of a sport than anything and no matter how rich a kid was, it didn't make him athletic.

Sasuke loved fighting.

He loved the blood and sweat and ache of his muscles after a good fight. He loved the raw conflict he could never find in any sort of martial arts. He loved how unprocessed these fights could get while keeping to the strict but completely tolerable rules.

And Sasuke had no problem with the fact that his reputation in the underworld was in no way influenced by his family's wealth. He had earned his reputation there through blood and sweat but mostly blood: blood of his enemies that is; more so than his anyway.

Except…his habit was posing a potential problem. Several gangs controlled the underworld, his being one of the more powerful, but then there was Akatsuki. He couldn't help but clench his jaw in anger over the mere thought of their name. His team was the best. Well…at least they used to be. That was, until Akatsuki moved up from Mist to live comfortably in Sasuke's turf. Konoha was his town, damn it!

The two groups had been close to evenly matched. Sasuke's stronger fighters could easily match up to any of Akatsuki's best fighters and win at least half the time. That's what he considered a good match: an opponent who could come back the next night and put you out the same way you put him out last night.

But he hated the thought of anyone from his team being 'put out' by Akatsuki. He just hated them. And his pride would not allow him to admit that it was because Pein – Akatsuki's leader – was quickly and with seemingly no effort, stealing his reputation as one of the best leaders in the underground.

And now, with the biggest tournament of the year closing in on him, he worried about his team's chance in it.

He knew his fighters, including himself, where some of the best out there. Their only problem now was that they lacked in numbers. Akatsuki had the full group of five. In the underground tournaments, each gang was allowed up to five fighters. Tournaments held five rounds between each group: one fight from each fighter. His problem was the fact that there were only four of them. Usually, one of them would pick up the fifth fight with ease. But ever since those fucking Akatsuki bastards came around, none of them ever made it that easily out of a fight to be able to take on the fifth. He needed a fifth man. And he needed a damn good one. Anyone with any less skill than that of his own would more than likely be no good. But he knew it would be damn near impossible to find someone who fit that role.

Sasuke heard a low rumble coming from the west and he pulled his coat around him tighter as he looked up into the cloudy night sky, oncoming rain evident to almost all of his senses. He could smell it.

He was about to call for a cab when he heard a commotion coming from the next alley down the street. Sasuke sighed. He was a sucker for helping out people who needed it and acting like it was nothing. Maybe it was the attention he received that was absolutely unconnected to the fact that he was rich. He liked to think that maybe he liked helping people out because they would be more thankful to him for saving their asses rather than thankful to the heavens that his presence was near.

He quickly reached the edge of the alleyway to see what was going on. Great, Sasuke thought as he watched the scene before him unfold. Sasuke, although he would never admit it out loud, hated watching people gang up against the smaller, weaker population. And here were three burley guys cornering a surprisingly not too scared looking blonde into a corner of the alley. The blonde seemed to just watch the three, as if calculating when the best time to make his move would be. Sasuke was about to intervene but had decided against it, leaning back against the corner of the alley as he watched, completely intrigued by the look in those cerulean eyes.

"I'm not a girl in case you didn't know," the blonde suddenly informed and Sasuke had to wonder if he had heard correctly. But upon closer inspection, he understood why he could have been mistaken as female. He was nothing short of breathtaking. And in an area like this, this boy was probably used to being mistaken as an attractive girl that could be easily taken advantage of.

"We don't care," the man on the left stated as he took a step towards the blonde. Sasuke had to make sure he didn't blink again while he was watching because he swore the man hadn't been lying on the ground moaning in pain at the brink of consciousness a second ago. The remaining two men charged at the blonde teen, one of them side stepping behind him and grabbing his arms while he was distracted by the man charging straight at him.

Sasuke sighed, figuring it was time to step in before he had to once again stop himself. The blonde seemed far from ready to give up just yet. The man charging at blonde pulled back his fist to punch the kid who merely shifted, tilting his head to the right and easily avoiding the fist which connected painfully to the man's partner who was holding him. Sasuke seemed intrigued by the look on the teen's face. He seemed…amused.

"Well done," the blonde complimented facetiously as he ripped his right arm out the weakened grasp of his captor before swiftly throwing a punch at the man who avoided the fist that grazed his ear much like the blonde had. The blonde merely smirked before opening his fist and twisting his wrist so that his hand grasped at the back of the man's head before quickly and roughly pulling him forward, hitting him square on the forehead with his own forehead, a loud and painful sounding crack resounding in the aftermath. The man fell heavily to the ground, unconscious.

The blonde received a blow to the jaw from the man standing beside him, sending him to the ground. But the blonde caught himself on his hands before he could hit the ground, twisting his hips as he kicked the remaining man across the face. The man staggered slightly before catching himself and grabbing the blonde's ankle in a deadly and seemingly pissed off grasp. The blonde fell onto his back from the momentum and was now glaring up at the man who seemed to twist his foot in a warning of what he would do if he didn't receive some cooperation.

"I wouldn't," the blonde suggested earning a self-righteous scoff followed by a sneer from the man whose look was quite clearly asking the teen what he planned to do about it. The blonde shrugged in an 'I-told-you-so' sort of way before pushing himself so that he slid closer to the man, his free foot kicking up to hook behind the man's neck, using the foothold to pull himself up in a sort of midair sit-up, using the momentum to deliver a hard punch to the man's temple, knocking him hard to the ground, seemingly unconscious, the blonde himself sitting on his chest with a scowl.

Sasuke was speechless. Either God wanted to send him this person as his fifth fighter or this kid was the Devil incarnate, here to show him what his team would never get to have.

He watched as the blonde dragged himself to his feet, grasping his head in pain as he staggered slightly. Sasuke assumed he had received a concussion of his own when he head-butted the second man to go down and now he was suffering from it. But, if it had been him, he would have chosen the concussion over whatever those men had planned for him any day.

Now, how to get this kid on his team…that would be the hard part. He pushed himself off the wall and approached the blonde who immediately dropped his hand from his head to glare defensively at the raven and Sasuke noticed a stream of blood immediately pour down the side of his face, probably from a cut he received when hitting his forehead so roughly against the other man's.

"I don't have any money," the blonde informed as he backed away slightly, becoming somewhat dizzy. Sasuke smirked at the remark. This kid obviously had no clue of whom he was. He didn't need money.

"I'm not after you're money," Sasuke assured as he took another step forward, causing the blonde to tense with anxiety.

"And I'm not a damn girl!"

"I'm not after you're chastity either," the raven stated, feeling somewhat sorry for the fact that this obviously happened habitually if this kid was so quick to assume anyone he met in an alley was probably after his ass, his wallet, or both.

"Then what are you after?" the blonde asked, backing himself into the back wall of the alley.

"Let's start with your name," Sasuke suggested, as he continued to walk towards the blonde, taking in every detail his eyes would allow. He stopped when he was arms length away from the teen and he noticed how thin the boy was. The last thing he would have expected out of someone his size was the performance he had just put on. When the hell was this kid's last meal? And what kind of damage could he cause with a little more healthy meat on him?

"None of your business," the blonde snapped back weakly before his eyes rolled back and he slipped to the pavement, only half conscious. Sasuke caught him before his head could hit the hard ground and possibly worsen his condition. The raven looked at the blonde, noticing three whisker-like scars on each cheek and he couldn't help but feel that this kid seemed so familiar. He was positive he knew him from somewhere, he just couldn't pinpoint where.

The blonde seemed to squint at him as if trying to decipher a code before he slipped into complete unconsciousness, going limp in the raven's arms. Sasuke picked him up with ease as he grabbed his cell phone, calling for a cab as it began to rain.

The cab driver only took several moments before screeching to a stop at Sasuke's location, probably in such a hurry to get there because of his last name: or possibly because he was known to confuse 20s and 50s all the time and was too lazy to care when he did. Thirty bucks was about as important to him as a quarter was to a normal man. He only used the word normal because that's what he'd been brainwashed into thinking. And, although he hated it, it was only his thoughts; it wasn't as if he voiced any sort of discrimination against the poorer class. He had no problem with people who didn't have money. In a way, he sort of envied them. Sure, money made everything (and he meant everything) in life easier, but there was always the initial fear of getting close to anyone because everyone was always after his money or his good looks. Was it really so hard to ask for someone who could look underneath that all and realize he had an opinion? Contrary to popular belief, he actually liked talking. The only problem was that he hardly ever found someone who he honestly believed was listening.

"Where to?" the cab driver began before glancing at the unconscious blonde in Sasuke's arms, "The hospital?" the man asked, a little unnerved.

Sasuke took a moment to glance down and felt as if he should consider just saying yes. The rain had mixed with the blood, only making the blonde's head injury seem worse than it actually was.

"No. The Uchiha Estate will be fine. Thank you," the raven replied as he scooted into the back seat, setting the blonde against the door and fastening his seatbelt as the driver took off.

It wasn't long before they reached the huge estate. Sasuke handed the driver a generous bill as he unbuckled himself and the whiskered teen. The man offered the change to be polite but Sasuke shook his head as he grabbed the blonde, lifting him bridal style and throwing out the excuse that he didn't have any hands to take the change so he might as well just keep it.

He stumbled through the front door, glaring at his brother who was sitting at the kitchen table, daring him to say something about the odd fact that he was carrying an unconscious blonde kid through the threshold before kicking the door closed behind him and continuing on his way to his bedroom. Sasuke laid the blonde on his bed, quickly forcing himself to get over the fact that he'd probably have to buy new sheets as he watched the blood from the blonde's still bleeding head wound seep into his white pillowcase.

Sasuke opened his bedside table, taking out a strip of gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He silently apologized as he poured a generous amount of the alcohol to the gauze before applying it to the lesion just above his left eyebrow, internally noting that the blonde should feel lucky for being unconscious. Alcohol always stung like a fucking bitch.

After he deemed the cut clean, he removed the gauze, his eyebrows furrowing slightly at the sight of the cut. He knew it looked worse than it was but that was just because head injuries always bled more than normal injuries.

He quickly applied a clean swab of gauze to the injury before tightly wrapping the blonde's head with non-stick bandages to keep the gauze in place while not sticking to his hair. It was only once he finished dressing the wound that he noticed how violently the blonde was shivering. He had completely forgotten about the fact that the both of them were completely soaked from waiting for the cab in the rain and, although he didn't feel an oncoming cold anywhere near, he knew the whiskered teen was more susceptible in his weakened state.

He turned to his closet, grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of sweats before turning to the blonde, feeling slightly conflicted about undressing someone he only vaguely remembered, (and from where, he still couldn't recall) but quickly pushed the uneasy thoughts aside as he reminded himself that if he ignored the situation, the kid could go into shock. He unzipped the wet orange sweatshirt and had to take a moment to process the information he gathered from the shirt underneath. The t-shirt had his school emblem embroidered on the upper left side of the shirt and Sasuke immediately remembered why this kid was so familiar.

They went to the same school.

He quickly shook off the fact with a smirk. It would be useful for them to be attending the same school. Because if this kid told him he didn't want anything to do with fighting, he wouldn't be able to completely escape Sasuke's advances. He felt the shirt, noting that it wasn't at all wet and left it alone. He felt almost guilty for not minding that he had to take off the blonde's jeans next. He felt even guiltier for enjoying it.

He didn't know whether he was disappointed or relieved that his boxers were also dry but slipped the sweats on without thinking further about it. He knew he was gay but that didn't mean he would molest an unconscious and possible future teammate. He had to stay on this kid's good side.

Just as he was finished changing out of his wet clothes, he heard a soft moan from the bed, signaling the blonde's return to consciousness. Sasuke turned around and headed over towards the bed, ready to explain where he was and why but was suddenly speechless as the air in his lungs hitched involuntarily at the back of his throat when his eyes locked with bright and slightly hazy cerulean ones that seemed to bore to the center of him even in his slightly delirious state. He wondered what those eyes could do to him when the teen was more alert.

The blonde seemed to glare at him for a heated minute before releasing a revolted scoff.

"Perfect. This is just perfect. Uchiha fucking Sasuke," he mumbled to himself, not caring for the fact that the raven had clearly heard every disgusted word he muttered.

"You know my name," Sasuke stated more than asked. The blonde seemed to shoot him an incredulous look.

"How the fuck can I not?" the blonde shot back. Sasuke had to actually remind himself not to look taken aback. He hadn't expected words like that to come out of a mouth on such a pretty face.

"We go to the same school," the raven remembered, not entirely meaning to make the statement out loud.

"I know. I'm the one that has to listen to all my girl friends bitching and moaning about how you won't give them the time of day," the blonde snapped bitterly.

"Why would you go out with a girl who had her eyes on someone else?" the raven asked, wondering why someone would put themselves through that kind of relationship.

"No, you misunderstood: my friends that are girls. Not girlfriends. Anyway this is completely irrelevant. I am not having a conversation with you. I'll just let myself out," the blonde stated in a berating tone. Sasuke didn't know if he should feel uneasy about the fact that the blonde was so clearly upset with himself for being civil with the raven.

"Well, can I at least have your name?" Sasuke asked as he watched the blonde struggle to his feet.

"Pay attention during school and you'll figure it out pretty quickly. I probably participate more than anyone else in our class. And you don't have to ask which class since we have all the same classes."

It was official. Sasuke felt like the biggest asshole in the world.

He felt the need to explain that it wasn't the fact that he blatantly ignored the blonde so much as that he just never paid attention during class. Classes always just bored him too much to keep his attention. He had this bad habit of already knowing all the material.

But he would have to save it for another day because the whiskered teen had already made his way out of the room, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

---

Naruto stalked out of the Uchiha's room, glancing left and right and deciding that the exit to the huge estate was probably down the hall to the right. He came upon a kitchen, catching eyes with a politely curious older version of that Sasuke bastard. Naruto was glad when he didn't ask any questions as he left, slamming the front door behind him to emphasize a point. Although, he had no idea what point he was trying to make by doing so. Did he really hate Sasuke? His two and a half years of high school so far he spent building up as much hatred for the raven as he could but…Sasuke didn't even know his name! He didn't know whether to be pissed with himself or Sasuke for that. What a waste of almost three years of despise. He was obviously not doing a good enough job of hating Sasuke if the raven didn't even notice.

But why was it again that he hated the raven?

Well…that was obvious. Because he stole his crush's heart. Naruto would have probably liked nothing more than for Sakura to give him a chance but she was so focused on Uchiha Sasuke that he could never finish asking her out before her mind wandered to the raven.

But now that he thought about it, he couldn't really berate the raven for something he had no control over. It wasn't like Sasuke ever showed any interest in Sakura. It just felt better to have someone to blame her lack of interest in him on. And Sasuke was perfect for the role. He was a coldhearted jerk. Every time he opened his mouth it was either to give a teacher the perfect answer or to deny any girl in his range the chance of going out with him. It wasn't the fact that the raven was denying all these girls that made Naruto so mad. (Obviously it would be ridiculous to expect him to go out with them all) But it was the way he went about it. He didn't just let them down easy about it; he let them fall…hard.

Naruto had spent more than enough nights sitting up on the phone listening to Sakura cry her eyes out over his harsh words. That was what pissed Naruto off. Didn't the bastard have any idea what a crush was like and what it felt like to not have those feelings returned?

But what was confusing him now was the fact that the Uchiha hadn't seemed cold, distant, or cruel at all. He was actually gentle and, dare he say, kind. As the thought passed through his mind, he reached up to feel the area of his head that was hurting the most and realized that the bastard had even gone as far as to dress his wound for him.

It was then that he finally realized that he wasn't wearing his jacket or his jeans anymore.

Sasuke had undressed him. Great, that was just great. He was at least thankful that the boxers he was wearing were his own as well as his shirt. But it didn't change the fact that the raven still had his clothes and that he would have to get them back somehow.

Now, how to go about getting his clothes back was the problem. Was he going to be civil about it and possibly…thank the Uchiha? Or would he handle it like he handled most situations – by acting ungrateful and angry about the unwanted help?

He groaned as he held his head tighter in his hand. The internal war over which method to use would have to wait. He had a raging headache and still had a couple blocks to go before he would be even near Kiba's house. His house was even further still.

And here came his next headache; should he go home or to Kiba's? Would he even make it home if he wanted to go there? After a slight waver in his step, he decided that no, he would probably not make it home and would have to set his mind on just making it to his best friend's place for now.

When Kiba's street finally came into view and he saw the front door (which he could never forget due to the fact that he didn't know anyone else who would equip their front door with a doggy door) to the home, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. As he walked up the gravel walkway, a small white dog came bursting through the flap of the dog door to greet him with a happily wagging tail.

"Hey there, Akamaru," the blonde greeted as he bent down to pet the seemingly attention starved animal. Although Naruto knew Kiba treated that spoiled animal better than most adults treated their kids; his act of 'I'm starved of attention' was futile to resist nonetheless.

As he was petting the dog, the front door opened to reveal a feral looking teen who looked both surprised and happy to see the blonde at his front door. Naruto usually never called before coming over but it didn't change the fact that it was still a surprise each time. Not to mention the fact that he looked like hell.

"Naruto? What the hell happened, man?" Kiba asked as he picked up the white dog, setting him back inside the house in a gesture of trying to gain Naruto's complete attention. He knew how easily Naruto's mind could stray. He could be spilling his guts in a conversation as deep as the ocean, but if Akamaru was there, Naruto's attention was gone. It was true; his dog was cute. But it didn't make it any less frustrating when it did happen.

"I got in a fight, kind of. It's a long story. Can I crash here for now? I don't think I can make it to my house," the blonde admitted sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, shooting the brunette a guilty smile.

"Yeah, get in here," the dog lover welcomed as he stepped back, motioning for Naruto to come inside.

"Thanks," Naruto breathed as he stepped over the threshold, heading straight for Kiba's room. He entered the messy bedroom and immediately collapsed onto the full sized futon that was folded up into a couch, his gaze falling to the clock on the bedside table and his gut twisting in guilt when he realized it was already 10:30 at night. He hadn't realized how late it was.

"Oi, lemme at least pull out the couch so I can sleep too!" Kiba exclaimed as he stalked over to the bed.

"Sorry I came over so late," the blonde apologized in a weak voice, causing Kiba's features to soften.

"It's ok," Kiba assured, feeling slightly worried with how lax the blonde seemed. There was a slight tint to his cheeks and Kiba worried that he might have had a fever.

"Can you get up?" Kiba asked as he reached under the bed to motion that he wanted to flatten the couch. Naruto just seemed to smile sheepishly at him as he shook his head.

"I don't even want to try."

"Alright, don't complain then–" the brunette began as he lifted the bed at an angle before yanking it forward and letting it fall into place, making enough room for the both of them to sleep comfortably on. He almost laughed at the scene before him; Naruto groaning in the center of the bed, rolled over slightly from the abrupt movement. Kiba just pushed him onto his back, causing him to slide into place next to the wall so Kiba himself could fit on the bed.

"Wanna explain what happened?" he asked as he sat cross-legged near the head of the bed, facing the blonde who shot him a look that stated he'd rather not.

"It was disgusting Kiba, you'll never guess what happened. Not the getting jumped part, that was just a normal fight, but the person who did this," he began, motioning towards his dressed head injury, "probably destroyed my pride forever," Naruto finished as he sighed, shifting his gaze to the ceiling in something akin to shame. Kiba didn't speak which was his way of telling Naruto to continue, "It was Uchiha Sasuke. He practically saved my ass. Actually, I shouldn't say practically, I should say he really saved my ass. And I mean literally saved my ass," he continued to explain as Kiba nodded in understanding and sympathy, trying to keep his anger in check at whoever was after Naruto this time. It wasn't uncommon for people to attempt to attack Naruto like this with the area they lived in. But that never made it easier to deal with. The idea of someone even thinking about touching Naruto like that pretty much ticked him off more than anything else he could think off. But he let the blonde continue, knowing there was nothing else he could do about it now, "I have no idea how long I was even out, but I was out. It would have been long enough for whoever to do whatever they wanted if Sasuke hadn't been there to clean up the mess. It was utterly humiliating."

"So why were you walking around after dark to begin with?" Kiba asked trying not to sound too scolding while emphasizing the fact that Naruto should know not to walk around alone after dark.

"Says who it was even dark?" the blonde asked with a raised eyebrow, earning a look from Kiba that was practically screaming 'get real Naruto'. Naruto sighed before continuing, "Ok so maybe it was dark but…it was just getting loud at home. I had to get out, ya know, clear my mind," the blonde stated airily. Kiba bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from calling Naruto a liar. He didn't have to always act like everything was ok, but he also didn't need to be reminded that the soft lie he told himself was just a cover for the truth of betrayal that laced the confines of his home. There had probably been a fight – a bad one. Kiba could only try to understand what Naruto's home life was like. It was true that his parents were divorced, so he knew to an extent what Naruto must be going through, but from what he gathered from the small amount Naruto did share with him, the blonde's parents had taken it to a level beyond just falling out of love and it was ripping Naruto up inside.

Although, who couldn't be devastated with the way things turned out? Especially when they were once so good.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Kiba whispered as the blonde shot him a deceiving smile. Kiba only knew it was fake because he'd seen it too many times. But he appreciated the blonde's attitude anyway. Naruto never was the self-pitying kind. And Kiba preferred it that way since he wasn't ever really the comforting kind.

"Let's just go to bed," Naruto suggested, flashing the brunette one last smile before turning over to face the wall. Kiba nodded, not really caring that the blonde couldn't see him do so. There was a silence now that he knew he shouldn't break. Naruto didn't want to talk about it – couldn't talk about it. And he would leave it that way if that's what he wanted.

Because he would do just about anything Naruto wanted. He would do anything Naruto asked of him. He wasn't sure if that could be considered a healthy friendship. Actually he was almost positive it couldn't be. But he also wasn't sure if that was all he wanted. The only thing he did know was that friendship was all he was getting.

---

"Achoo!"

Naruto coughed a little in the aftermath of his sneeze, earning the berating attention of his surrounding friends.

"Naruto, just go home! You're obviously way too sick to be at school," a pink haired classmate stated in a firm voice.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan," Naruto assured in a congested voice, flashing her a smile, "It's already lunch and I feel great anyway," he lied in a tone that completely contradicted his assertion as Shikamaru mumbled 'troublesome' from the spot of grass he was lying on, content to watching the clouds roll by during his lunch session.

"You're not fine, stupid. I told you I would take you home this morning," Kiba scolded before adding in an undertone, "I should have just done it anyway."

"Naruto, I'm going to drag you to the office if you don't just agr–" Sakura began before cutting herself off midsentence as her gaze flicked to something approaching from behind the blonde.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned, slightly taken aback by her abrupt silence and her wide awestruck eyes.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" she stuttered, blushing furiously while Naruto's shoulders sagged. He knew he'd have to face the bastard sometime or another today. It only took about four minutes into their first class for him to hear Naruto's name and the entire day he could feel the raven's heavy gaze on him, practically begging for him to gaze back. With a sigh, he turned to face Sasuke, meeting his eyes for the first time since after Sasuke had saved him.

Sasuke almost stopped and turned away, almost. If he had not received special Uchiha stoicism training, he might have gasped or blushed from the intensity behind those cerulean eyes. How the hell did Sasuke not know Naruto until now? He was more breathtaking than anyone he'd ever met. Sasuke's gaze flicked up to the cut on his forehead and he noticed that it was now kept tightly shut with two butterfly closures. It looked kind of cute.

"Can I talk to you?" Sasuke asked while Naruto's friends shot each other puzzled looks. Since when did someone like Uchiha Sasuke talk to anyone from their social class? Especially someone like Uzumaki Naruto: the epiphany of the lowest class this country housed.

"No," Naruto replied curtly as he turned back around to emphasize his point.

"Well, I've still got–"

"Alright, alright!" Naruto interrupted, knowing the raven was about to mention the fact that he still had the blonde's clothes. Somehow, Naruto just didn't see that piece of unexplained information sitting peacefully with his friends. He knew they'd never let him live it down even after he explained the perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Uchiha Sasuke had his clothes.

So with that thought in mind, he slowly dragged himself to his feet as he ignored the confused glances each of his friends kept shooting him. Kiba seemed to be the only one not giving him puzzled looks and seemed to be avoiding everyone else's eyes. Damn it, he'd give himself away too easily if he kept up that suspicious behavior. It was obvious he knew something. And he was an awful liar. They'd be able to squeeze anything they wanted out of him the moment they figured out he knew something.

When they were finally out of earshot, Sasuke continued to say what he had sought out Naruto to say.

"I still have your clothes," he stated as Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I've got yours too," the blonde mused as he shifted his weight onto his left foot, his hand resting on his hip. There was a question ringing at the back of his throat but he quickly bit it down.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked, picking up on the sound of congestion in Naruto's voice.

"It's just a cold," the blonde stated offhandedly, a bit of irritation in his voice. Sasuke almost felt guilty. He knew he probably got that cold because of how long it took Sasuke to realize he was soaking wet.

"Alright, well your clothes are in my locker, do you want to come get them?" the raven asked as Naruto furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"I guess," the blonde sighed as Sasuke turned to walk back towards the school, Naruto falling into step with him, "It is ok for me to walk next to you right?" the blonde asked in an insultingly sarcastic tone. Sasuke shot him a sidelong glance that clearly told Naruto he was out of line.

"Why are you acting like I'm some sort of jerk who's treated you like crap before or something?" Sasuke asked, becoming rather irritated with Naruto's uncalled for behavior.

"Because you are some sort of jerk and you've treated one of my best friends like crap before and that's all the same to me."

"Don't tell me you're pissed off that I won't go out with that pink haired banshee?" the raven asked incredulously as Naruto threw him an angry look for insulting Sakura.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled you don't wanna go out with her. But you don't have to be so mean to her," the blonde explained, feeling almost guilty for the way Sasuke seemed to be reacting to this newly developing relationship. It seemed he wasn't accustomed to being disliked.

"I tried the nice thing. You have no idea how persistent she was becoming," Sasuke defended as Naruto seemed to bite his lip in internal confliction. Sasuke was…kind of right. Sakura had become overly persistent.

"Ok," the blonde stated with a bit of a laugh, "I agree with you there. But…it's Sakura-chan. How could you not want to go out with her? She is so gorgeous," the blonde stated in a tone that Sasuke noticed as affection. Well it was obvious now why Naruto was so bitter towards him. Naruto was in like if not love with that Haruno Sakura girl. And it was probably hard to watch her pursue him without her giving even so much as a second glance in Naruto's direction.

"Wouldn't it be even less ethical to give her false hope?" Sasuke asked, positive that it would be worse that way.

"What would I know?" Naruto breathed in a nostalgic sort of tone, his thoughts still halfway elsewhere, "Anyway, let's just return our respective clothes and we can both be on our separate ways," the blonde stated, feeling that it would probably never be that easy.

"My locker's right–"

"Here?" Naruto asked as he slapped his hand on a locker before grabbing the lock of the locker next to Sasuke's, "Uzumaki, Uchiha," the blonde explained upon seeing the raven's confused gaze as to why Naruto knew where his locker was, "Your locker's been next to mine since freshmen year. And I only know that in spite of you so don't get excited. How could I forget where the root of all my locker access problems lies? Do you know how hard it is to get to my locker when I have to weave through a crowd of desperate women intent on getting to yours?"

"As if that's my fault," Sasuke shot back, just as annoyed with that fact as Naruto was.

"It is your fault," Naruto accused as he spun the three numbers into the lock before gaining access into his locker, Sasuke following suit, "Maybe you should…I dunno, look uglier or something."

Sasuke had to smirk at this as he fished through his locker, grabbing the blonde's sweatshirt and jeans. Wasn't that pretty much a confession that Naruto also thought of Sasuke as attractive?

"Thanks for um – just – thanks," the blonde mumbled suddenly as he handed the folded and freshly smelling pair of sweat pants back to the raven who honestly hadn't expected such a gesture as cleaning the item before returning it out of the blonde.

"For what?" Sasuke asked as he handed the blonde his clothes in return.

"Ya know," Naruto began awkwardly, wishing now that he could take it back, "For um, helping me out last night."

"Wow, did that hurt?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. It was clear that Naruto wasn't practiced in thanking people. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was shattering his pride because it was Sasuke he was thanking.

"Shut up, jerk," Naruto mumbled sheepishly, blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch block and Naruto couldn't have been more thankful for the beginning of class. He couldn't have thought of a better excuse to leave the raven's presence if he wanted to. But as he turned to leave, Sasuke was on his heel, falling into step easily with him and Naruto had to refrain from slapping his own forehead as he remembered that Sasuke was in the same class as him.

"What do you usually do after school?" Sasuke asked, taking the blonde by surprise. That was just a weird thing to ask. Most people started off with 'What kinds of music do you like?' or similarly impersonal questions when trying to befriend each other.

"Um," Naruto began, unsure of how to answer. Was this some sort of trick question? "It varies from day to day?" he questioned more than stated.

"So you don't have a set schedule or anything like that? No after school commitments? What about weekends?"

"What? Why do you want to know?" Naruto asked somewhat defensively.

"Just wondering," the raven stated offhandedly as they entered the door to their classroom.

"Don't tell me that was your attempt at small talk. You really do need to talk more – to people. You know, like the rest of us. You'll get better at it after some more practice," Naruto insulted in a light tone that let Sasuke know it was just a joke.

"Hn, dobe."

"What was that?!" Naruto snapped, positive that it was too early in their fucked up sort of relationship for Sasuke to be deeming that sort of nickname as his.

"You heard me, dobe."

"Ok, I get the whole part about being inexperienced with talking to people so I'll let the whole shitty small talk bit slide. But calling people names isn't a great way to befriend a guy," Naruto berated as Sasuke smirked.

"Says who I'm trying to befriend anyone?" Sasuke asked while Naruto blinked, slightly taken aback. That was completely true. Never once had Sasuke said he was trying to earn Naruto's friendship. He had only strongly suggested so with the way he talked to the blonde. Naruto suddenly felt uncomfortable and was about to lash out with an insult of his own to save face but Sasuke spoke up before he could do so, "I was kidding," he assured as he, surprisingly, took a seat next to the blonde who had dropped his bag next to the middle seat of the first row.

"Well I wasn't," Naruto mumbled as he sat down at his desk, resting his chin on the hardwood surface in a dejected manor.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke asked earning a sidelong glance from the blonde who raised an eyebrow in question, "Why are you so against the idea of giving me a chance?"

"Because you're parents would probably spank you for associating with someone like me. I'm poor as dirt," Naruto mumbled in an undermining tone.

"Rich people aren't like that, idiot," Sasuke stated, becoming irritated with Naruto's views on him. They were just like everyone else's and that was disappointing.

"I didn't say it was 'cuz you were rich. It's 'cuz you're stuck up. I just assume you learned it from someone."

Scratch that. Naruto's views on him were completely original. The fact that the blonde had absolutely no fear in throwing out a comment like that thrilled him in a way he couldn't really explain. Not even the people who considered themselves his friends had that kind of backbone around him and that was because they clearly feared his financial position. It was true that Sasuke could probably do whatever he wanted should someone piss him off but people just didn't get it that he didn't mind confrontation. He fucking loved it. Which might have been the foundation to why he loved fighting so much.

But now he found the sort of emotional tension he'd always been praying for: someone to irritate him in that good way friends usually did.

And he just had to have it.

Uzumaki Naruto could resist all he wanted, but Sasuke was at least going to get him in on his team. He could easily form a friendship from there.

---

Naruto was quickly becoming irritated. It had been a week and a half and Sasuke would not get off his back. What was worse – his friends were beginning to become suspicious as to Sasuke's motive for doing so. He closed his locker with a sigh, jumping and almost yelling out in shock when Sasuke's face came into view from right behind his locker door.

"What?! For Christ's sake, what?!" Naruto asked, hoping that his clearly visible irritation would do something to scare Sasuke away, or at least make him apprehensive to continue approaching him.

"What are you doing tonight?" Sasuke asked as he leaned against his locker, giving Naruto an interesting and calculating look, apparently quite unfazed by Naruto's aggressive demeanor.

"Why? Why do you need to know that?" Naruto asked, desperation clear in his voice as he tried desperately to make Sasuke understand that he wanted the raven to back off.

"Naruto, stop acting like a girl and get over whatever grudge you have against me and answer the damn question. What are you doing tonight?"

Naruto was speechless. It was true that he did kind of want to let this guy have a chance, but he felt as if he would almost be betraying Sakura by doing so. She had been hurt so many times by Sasuke's rejections but…then again, she did seem to set herself up for them. Would it really be that big of a deal to befriend Sasuke? Would it really hurt anyone to just be nice? Before he could continue with his internal battle, Sasuke raised an impatient eyebrow that was telling Naruto to hurry up and answer.

"Tonight? God, I dunno. It's Friday so I might go to Kiba's but I dunno. I haven't really decided yet."

"Good. You don't have plans," the raven decided for the blonde who bristled with anger.

"Hey! I did have plans!" Naruto attempted to explain before Sasuke shook his head in disagreement as he raised a hand to tell Naruto to shut up.

"Can I show you something tonight?" Sasuke asked, taking Naruto completely by surprise. What the hell could Sasuke possibly have to show to Naruto? As far as he knew, Sasuke didn't really know any of his personal interests which made him question what Sasuke thought was interesting enough to capture his attention long enough to get his mind off the fact that he was trying so hard to hate Sasuke. It was so much easier hating Sasuke before he found out that he really wasn't as bad as Naruto once thought he was. But then there was that accusation his subconscious kept bringing up: Sasuke clearly wanted something out of Naruto and friendship probably had nothing to do with it. People like Sasuke just didn't associate with people like Naruto just because they wanted to be friends.

"Sasuke," Naruto began with a sigh, "What exactly do you want from me?" Naruto finally asked. All week he had been avoiding asking that question, feeling that it was too suggestive. But all Sasuke did the past few days was make small talk with him. And it was getting to a point where Naruto was becoming irritated. Sasuke had an ulterior motive and Naruto wanted to know what it was.

"Join my team," he demanded more than asked, throwing Naruto off guard. His…team? What kind of team?

"What?" the blonde asked, looking rather confused.

"My team," Sasuke stated again, earning an incredulous look mixed with an amused smile from the blonde. What the hell was this guy going on about?

"Thank you for clarifying that so well. Listen, I don't really like that many sports–"

"It's not that kind of sport," Sasuke interrupted, and Naruto had to keep his patience in check. Sasuke's obscurity was really starting to bug him.

"Ok, I'm just gonna say it. I have no fucking idea what you're talking about. No one in their right mind could follow whatever it is that you're suggesting. I don't understand you're subtle hints. You're going to have to just do the normal thing and not talk in code. Alright?" the blonde stated, earning an annoyed look from the raven who sighed in irritation before grabbing the blonde by the arm just above his elbow and roughly leading him outside where no one could overhear them, Naruto protesting all the way.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled as he ripped his arm out of Sasuke's grip.

"I want you to fight for my team," Sasuke demanded while Naruto's annoyance faded into a blank and unreadable expression – probably only unreadable because Naruto was completely baffled at the request.

Once Naruto recovered from his state of confusion and had told himself that he had heard correctly, he slipped into a fit of laughter.

"You – you want me to fight with your team?" he asked through his laughter, "Like, what do you mean? Is it like Smackdown wrestling?" he mocked before Sasuke cut him off.

"No, shut up. It's really different. It's more like an uncensored MMA," the raven explained, Naruto's offensive laughter having absolutely no effect on him.

"Mixed Martial Arts, huh?" the blonde asked after recovering slightly, a smirk the only trace of his laughter remaining on his features, "Well I dunno what kind of rumors are going around but I don't have a single day of experience in any kind of Martial Arts so I'm afraid I can't help you out."

"Yes you can. I saw you fight those guys last Wednesday. You were incredible," Sasuke defended as Naruto gave him a disbelieving look.

"Those guys were belligerently drunk and too stupid for their own good. Anyone who's not a complete moron probably would have done just fine," Naruto stated, earning an annoyed glare from the raven.

"Fight me then. If you lose, you have to at least give it a chance. If you win, I won't bug you anymore," the raven offered. Naruto's stomach churned in a sort of 'I told you so' way. Sasuke was never in this for friendship; that much was clear now. He just wanted Naruto to fight for him, "Well I mean I won't bug you about that anymore. I still might bug you," the raven confessed and Naruto had to check himself to make sure he wasn't smiling like an idiot. Maybe Sasuke wasn't so bad after all.

"You want me to fight you? What, like, right here?" Naruto asked, shooting a glance around the area and noticing that it was quite empty.

"Hn, no. I'll pick you up at seven tonight so be ready," Sasuke stated as he turned to leave.

"I can drive you know!" Naruto defended, feeling as if he were being treated akin to how a guy might treat a girl before a date.

"Yeah, but you might not be able to after I'm done with you so it's better if I just drive," the raven insulted, smirking from the rise he was clearly earning out of the blonde.

"Don't act so cocky, asshole!" Naruto yelled back.

"That's good. Hold on to that anger and save it for tonight. I want see you at your best."

And with that, he disappeared back into the school, leaving Naruto to wonder what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

---

Well that's it for now! Hope it was enjoyable :] Shall I continue?