Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A State of Utter Denial ❯ Chapter 2: Rising Tension ( Chapter 2 )

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A State of Utter Denial

by thatreevesgirl/LemonDrops (yes I'm both)

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Chapter 2: Rising Tension

 

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“Sasuke…” Naruto whined, “I hate the cot. Give me a spot, it's not like you don't have the biggest bed in all of Konoha, even Tsunade's is puny compared to yours.”

 

It was true, Sasuke had a king-plus sized bed. It was an overly elaborate piece of work, whose frame had been his parent's. He bought a new mattress for it years ago, feeling weird about keeping the one which his parents had, because they owned it for as long as the young Uchiha could remember. They had probably conceived him and Itachi on the damn thing, so Sasuke had to buy a new one.

 

“Whatever, dumbass,” Sasuke groaned, hating the fact Naruto snored and drooled on his pillows.

 

Sasuke was ready to sleep, and pulled the blanket up around his body as Naruto plopped onto the other side of the bed, still wearing a version of his ridiculous looking sleeping cap with the large teeth and big googley eyes, something entirely inappropriate for a nearly eighteen year old man to wear, but unusually comforting to see as well. Sasuke desired a good nights rest, but apparently Naruto wanted to chat.

 

“Why do you like Hinata?”

 

Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh, “Why not? What makes you like Sakura?”

 

Naruto grinned, “Everything.”

 

“Everything?”

 

Naruto nodded furiously, so sure in his feelings for the pink-haired kunoichi. “She's strong, beautiful, nice, kind…she changed a lot while you were away.”

 

“So I've noticed.”

 

Naruto's expression turned sad, “You know, she likes you, why don't you like her back? Don't you agree with me on that stuff?”

 

“You mean about her being strong, beautiful, nice, and kind?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Sasuke thought for a moment, yes, he did agree with all of that, but it wasn't enough for him. “Yes, I believe she's all of those things, but I'm not attracted to her.”

 

“Oh, so you're attracted to Hinata.”

 

Hinata is more suitable.

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

Hinata is beautiful and graceful.

 

“She's a good match too, perfect to revive my clan with.”

 

Hinata is reserved and kind.

 

Naruto pursed his lips thoughtfully, “Oh, so you actually want to marry her?”

 

Hinata is a perfect and logical fit.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I want to marry Sakura and have lots of little brats with her after I become Hokage,” Naruto told Sasuke with a smile. One of the blond's quirky, disarming kinds of smiles that made Sasuke (a person who didn't let his happiness show, ever) want to grin right back at his friend.

 

“Have you ever had sex, Sasuke?”

 

What? Did Naruto just ask me about sex?

 

“Go to bed, dumbasss, I need some sleep,” Sasuke grumbled as he turned over and tried to ignore the question which was now plaguing his mind.

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'll take that as a no,” Naruto replied as he buried himself in the covers of Sasuke's bed.

 

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“Rise and shine,” came a chipper and far too happy morning voice, as both Sasuke and Naruto were being poked by someone. “It is a glorious day outside, far too beautiful to waste such an opportunity on sleeping in.”

 

Naruto grumbled, “Lee, shut up.”

 

“Your shift is over, I'm here to relieve you.”

 

“Well, we're sleeping,” Naruto explained to the green spandex-clad ninja, “So just let us. Go watch cartoons or something, or make breakfast, I think Sasuke has some instant ramen stashed in the cupboard over the sink.”

 

“Go sleep in your own bed, dumbass,” Sasuke growled, angered that Lee and Naruto were disturbing his rest. The one nice thing about being demoted to such a low post was that Sasuke had very little to do other than sleep, train, see Ibiki, and attend classes at the academy. Most of these things occurred after ten in the morning, so Sasuke liked to sleep in.

 

“I'm staying right here, I'm all warm and comfortable. My bed's lumpy…when I can afford a better mattress, then I'll go sleep in my own bed.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes, he was positive Naruto had volunteered to do the nightshift solely because he was able to sleep in Sasuke's expensive and very comfortable bed.

 

“Whatever, just shut up,” he mumbled, shooing Lee away as the green-clad fashion monstrosity tried to poke him awake again.

 

Lee decided since Naruto was there, he would indeed go down and fix them all a hearty breakfast, hoping that the smell of food would lure his friends out of bed. If there really was ramen, Lee knew Naruto would be up and at it in no time flat.

 

Sasuke couldn't get back to sleep. This is why he hated when Naruto didn't take a double shift. If Naruto had a double shift, then there was no person that came in at eight in the morning to relieve him and they…they?…could sleep in.

 

“Naruto?”

 

“What do you want, teme?” Naruto asked, turning over and facing Sasuke, looking at him with those vibrant blue eyes.

 

“Do you have time to train with me today? I need someone challenging to spar with, and I don't think my ten year old classmates are good choices.”

 

Naruto chuckled, “Not enjoying retaking some of the more basic classes? Like ethics?”

 

“I hate ethics, Iruka picks on me in class every single day and all those stupid brats get such a kick out of it.”

 

Naruto smiled, “It's because Iruka-sensei likes having you there, in all of his classes actually. He told me that. We were eating ramen the other day and he commented on how much easier it is to teach techniques with you there, because you and he can demonstrate. He told me you were a good teacher.”

 

Sasuke lifted an amused eyebrow, “Did he?”

 

“Yep, I think you should consider a position. From what Kakashi says, having more things on your resume will help you gain your rank back faster. So teaching might be good for you. I hear the second grade teacher is going on maternity leave soon.”

 

“Not that young…I might kill them.”

 

Naruto gave a hearty laugh, “I don't think you would have to worry about any of them misbehaving, they are probably scared shitless of you.”

 

Sasuke grinned…I actually grinned…and then quickly realized that he and Naruto were lying in bed next to one another talking.

 

Kami…this is just weird.

 

Sasuke shed himself of the covers and hopped out of the bed as quickly as he could.

 

“Hey, where are you going?” Naruto asked, quickly moving to follow his friend.

 

“Breakfast, where else?”

 

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Sasuke handed Tsunade the application, the one which Naruto had pestered him into filling out and submitting.

 

“Pre-genin cannot teach at the academy,” Tsunade told Sasuke, lifting an eyebrow in disdain at the young Uchiha.

 

“I can finish up my classwork by then. I'll be given a genin ranking, more than enough to teach second grade.”

 

Tsunade sighed, had she any other applicants the Hokage would have been able to turn Sasuke away, but there hadn't been a single other person who wanted the wholly terror of a class which Inuzuka Yumi would be vacating for two months.

 

“You understand that these are children, small impressionable children, Sasuke? You can't just blow them off or be impatient with them. It's a second grade class.”

 

Sasuke mused at the thought of him molding the minds of the young, but realized he wouldn't be alone. “I'll have a guard with me, won't I?” Sasuke asked.

 

Until now, anytime Sasuke was in class, the responsibility of guarding him had gone to the teacher of the subject he was studying, and giving the teaching position to Sasuke would require more ninja and resources to be dedicated to guarding him.

 

Tsunade sighed, “If you can find a person willing to take those guard hours for genin-wage, I'll accept you for the position.”

 

Sasuke nodded, he knew of a certain dumbass who needed a new mattress, and who would probably be willing to help him out…or at least agree to spending a bit of extra time with him. Naruto had already been working lots of overtime guarding Sasuke, and for the life of the Uchiha, Sasuke couldn't figure out where all that extra money of Naruto's went. It was probably spent frivolously at the ramen shop. Naruto could down an entire paycheck's worth of ramen in one sitting if he so chose.

 

Sasuke smirked, he'd also ask Hinata…that way she'd see him working with the little brats. Women always like men who spent time with children, made them seem more fatherly or some such crap.

 

“I'll have a list of people to you tomorrow morning,” Sasuke replied before asking to be dismissed. Tsunade waved him away and the Uchiha went to find a handful of people to help him teach.

 

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Naruto had the edge, it was only a slight edge, but he had control of the situation nonetheless.

 

“Pull that stick out of your ass!” Naruto shouted, trying to goad Sasuke into anger, which would surely distract the Uchiha from his target.

 

“Nah, helps me kick your butt better,” Sasuke hissed as he landed a powerful punch to Naruto's shoulder. Naruto had assumed his ploy would work, and it got the teen injured in the process. Sasuke stopped the training battle, after seeing Naruto was significantly maimed.

 

“That hurt, teme,” Naruto growled, trying to clench the loose shoulder to his body. “Straight out of the socket…ah damn.”

 

“What?” Sasuke asked as he leaned down to inspect his handiwork.

 

“I think I have a break too, a hairline fracture at the very least, cause Kyuubi's trying to heal it.”

 

Sasuke's eyes grew wider. Ever since their last real battle Naruto had avoided using any of Kyuubi's chakra, mostly because it was becoming easier for the fox demon to leak through, and if Naruto wasn't careful he would start randomly sprouting a flaming red chakra tail here or there, just like one popped up now.

 

“Here, let me,” Sasuke murmured, laying his hands on the injured area, letting what little medical jutsu he knew aide Naruto in healing as purple strands of Sasuke's chakra wove into the blond's body, calming the beast within his friend.

 

“Heh, thanks, teme,” Naruto whispered.

 

Naruto never told anyone, but the fact Kyuubi was getting harder to control bothered him greatly. He was afraid someday the fox would leak through and there would be nothing Naruto could do to stop the demon from claiming his body…killing his friends. Kami, Naruto hated that thought.

 

“Sasuke?”

 

“What do you want, dobe?” Sasuke asked as he prepared to reset Naruto's arm into its socket.

 

“If Kyuubi…if I ever…if Kyuubi takes me over completely, I need you to promise me something.” Naruto's voice was barely audible.

 

“And what's that, dobe?”

 

“Kill me.”

 

Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked at his friend with complete shock. “No.”

 

“You have to.”

 

“You saved me, what makes you think that I wouldn't try to save you?”

 

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, “Because I'm asking you not to.”

 

Sasuke ignored Naruto's request, trying to forget he'd ever been asked something so ridiculous and popped Naruto's shoulder back into place.

 

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Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto were all at Sasuke's place hanging out. Sasuke had invited them, somewhat to help with his and Naruto's plan, but also to ask them if they would be willing to take substandard pay to spend a good portion of their day with him in a second grade classroom.

 

“I applied for that teaching position,” Sasuke told the group as he set out a bowl of popcorn. For once the Uchiha had actually gone to the store and bought some groceries, mostly snack items for the people who spent much of their day with him.

 

Sakura's eyes beamed at her friend, “Really, Sasuke? That's great! What did Tsunade have to say about it?”

 

“I have to finish my classes in the next two weeks, but then I can have it on one condition,” Sasuke replied.

 

Naruto grinned, “And what's that?”

 

“I have a guard with me at all times, but they'd only receive genin-wage pay. I know it isn't much, but I would really like to do it. It would mean I wouldn't be put in a new team either. I could just work until I regained enough rank to rejoin team seven.”

 

“Really? That's wonderful,” Hinata told him with a warm smile on her face.

 

“Yes, I'd be teaching this second grade class for two months, and then when the new year started I would have a position with the additional second grade class they are forming for the increasing population.”

 

All of Sasuke's friends congratulated him, but Sasuke wasn't done yet. “I was hoping the four of you would be willing to take on that responsibility. I know it isn't very good pay, but it would mean becoming a team again faster.”

 

Hinata felt a little left out…she wasn't exactly a member of team seven. “Why me, Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke had already devised a perfectly good excuse to why he needed Hinata's help, and had told Naruto about it earlier. “Because when team seven leaves on a mission I need someone to fill in. Both Naruto and Sakura could get called away, so I need a person who would still be available.”

 

Hinata nodded, that made perfect sense, and it made her smile and blush to think that Sasuke had thought of her first. She was really happy at the friendships she had started to form with the Uchiha heir…it was very pleasant, almost as nice as being around Naruto.

 

All three were in complete agreement, they would help Sasuke. It meant good things for their friend, and Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata wanted to give Sasuke back the life he had lost after he betrayed Konoha. There was no way they could tell him no, especially when the normally brooding teen had asked them so nicely.

 

“Two weeks?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yes, I teach for four hours every afternoon, from noon to four, then I head straight to my daily session with Ibiki,” Sasuke informed them.

 

“I think you'll make a good teacher, Iruka does too, but he told me that he's gonna miss you,” Naruto informed his friend.

 

Sasuke shook his head. Strangely, he was going to miss Iruka as well. As much as Sasuke had thought he would hate jumping through the hoops the elders had laid out for him, the young Uchiha found it was only helping to send him on a path of redemption. Strange…it was probably something they had planned all along.

 

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END OF CHAPTER

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