[complete!]

[oirokenojutsu]

Who: Sasuke (hawtcuzimfly) and Naruto (oirokenojutsu)
What: Sasuke asks Naruto to train with him and it becomes... tense and awkward. And weird.
When: A week after the carnival.
Where: The forest and some random cave.
Warnings: Violence and... bwahaha we'll see. SURPRAIZE! ... No, really, there's some boy love in this XD

Comments

[hawtcuzimfly]

Naruto’s neutral expression only slightly unnerved Sasuke, given the nature of the overly zealous boy, although his own neutral expression didn’t waver. Naruto must have been confused as to why he would have invited him to come along in the first place, especially after ignoring him for so long. He didn’t blame him for putting up a cold front, to avoid showing Sasuke any vulnerabilities. It was true, friends didn’t take advantage of your vulnerabilities, but Naruto should have known by now that Sasuke was no friend of his, or at least, he was no good friend of his. Sasuke looked out for himself and himself only; a fact that he had tried to convey through action. He was relieved that Naruto had known better than to show what he was truly feeling and start another emotional argument similar to that of the one they had the Ferris Wheel about a week ago. Sasuke had purposefully not reached out to him when the boy finally broke down in tears, and even mocked him for it, to demonstrate that he could and would hurt him if he was given the opportunity. It was a mistake to trust someone who claimed to hold no loyalties to anyone, and Naruto seemed to have learned that the hard way many times.

Sasuke had chosen to start off training with Tai Jutsu, knowing that they would be pretty even in strength, but not skill. He recognized Naruto’s talent as a ninja, but it was nowhere near his own talent. Sasuke was still under the impression that he was stronger than Naruto and would forever remain so. Try as he might, Naruto would never be able to catch up if he kept chasing Sasuke. They held each other back - so why did they ‘need’ each other? Sasuke had selfishly left Naruto in hopes of completing his own goal, but Naruto had never given up on him, even if it was a set back from his own goal. Sasuke had asked Naruto once if he thought he was selfish, in which he replied no, but Sasuke had already known he was. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have let Naruto into his life again only to push him back out. If only Naruto had known then.

As he watched Naruto prepare himself, he took the time to reflect on the past few months he had spent in Paradisa. Things may have seemed normal, but they were far from it. Naruto may have been satisfied enough, but the past would always linger in the back of Sasuke’s mind, which wasn’t exactly a good thing for anyone trying to move on. They had literally started over again, right down to the awkward tension at the beginning, to the rare intimate moments that they never spoke of afterwards. It brought back similar feelings to that of their genin days, but with a maturer outlook. Most of his experiences in Paradisa had not been pleasant, but for the first time in years, he had fun. He despised the castle, yet appreciated it at the same time. It gave him what he wanted (Itachi) but it seemed to have come with a price. Everything that had happened to him had seemed like tests, lessons to learn. What was the castle trying to tell him? Was it even trying to tell him anything or was he thinking about it too much?