Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 7
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Arigatomina 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 328 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 328 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 7
Sasuke had planned to stay in his room until someone called him out. He'd hoped to go back to sleep for a few hours. The curtained window so close to his bed had kept him awake most of the night. He liked that it faced the patch of forest separating the yard from the fields, but the rain never stopped, a steady drone that made it impossible to hear anything else. Eventually he'd dozed off because the bed was nice and he had the room to himself and he wanted to enjoy that for however long it lasted.
He was sure it hadn't lasted very long before the noises woke him up. He'd been dreaming, the sharingan cycling him through images it shouldn't have been able to record, trying to show him things he'd been forced to forget. It did that sometimes, wasting his energy on things he still wouldn't be able to remember when he woke up. Things he didn't particularly want to remember. When he woke naturally he was left feeling disturbed and drained, dazed, sometimes sick to his stomach. And so frustrated with himself.
Kakashi had teased him about it once, just once, a few weeks after they met. Sasuke didn't remember exactly what Kakashi had said, only that the comment had left him so furious he'd wanted to scream. He'd punched him instead. It was a blind blow, no thought or powers behind it, but it had connected where none of his other attacks had. He'd knocked the headband off, tearing open the long cut that had barely started to close, and left Kakashi staring at him with his own wild red eye exposed. Kakashi had been the first to look away.
Sasuke hadn't needed to say anything. Kakashi didn't know. Kakashi couldn't even control one of the eyes, and he'd been born a mutant. Sasuke knew what the problem was and there was nothing he could do about it. Itachi had given him a mutant talent, but he hadn't given him a mutant body. That was the difference. Most mutants came into their powers at puberty, when their bodies were better able to handle the stress, but they'd had those talents all along, lying dormant since birth.
Sasuke didn't know what the genetic differences were, but he knew there were no sibling mutants. Maybe if both parents had been mutants, or if the siblings were identical or polar twins, then maybe they'd share the same genetic mutations. None had ever been found as far as he knew.
Itachi had explained it to him once, an off-handed comment about his own 'experimentation' during one of those strange visits where he didn't do anything but look at him. Sasuke didn't know what Itachi saw when he looked at him with the sharingan. Sometimes he'd get a vague frown, just standing there with the black curls in his eyes widening, thickening, and he'd still be standing there long after Sasuke escaped, as if he hadn't even noticed. Sometimes he'd come closer, corner him, and give one of those quiet casual comments as if everything he did was for Sasuke's sake and he didn't understand why his little brother wasn't more appreciative.
Itachi had given him an adult talent four months after his sixth birthday and it had nearly killed him. He'd lost two years of his life to a hospital bed, his eyes bound while his body worked stubbornly to reject them, as if his own eyes had become parasitic tumors. He remembered that lost time in a hazy way, moments where the doctors would leave Itachi to do whatever he could to help, no idea that he was the cause of the problem. The bandages would come off and he wouldn't have time to see anything but Itachi's eyes, sharingan blazing, and then it would all start over again.
Reinforcement, Itachi had explained during one of those disturbing visits years later. Their shared blood wasn't enough. He'd had to reinforce the talent before Sasuke's body would accept it as his own.
Eventually he had adapted enough to turn the sharingan off. Enough energy to understand what was going on around him, to protest the way the adults were treating Itachi as some kind of hero for helping him through it all, and to realize none of them would ever believe what had happened. He'd adapted, recovered, and then he'd run. He'd never stopped running.
He'd learned to turn the sharingan off, to keep it off, and reactivate it at will. He'd learned to use it instinctively, constantly if necessary, and to cut through that dazed aftermath without even feeling exhaustion or pain. No matter how drained he was, he could and would react in an instant. And he was still improving. He'd fought hard to control his talent and the only time he ever lost control was while he slept. Kakashi had no right to say anything to him about lack of control. Kakashi still thought they'd both been knocked unconscious because they'd lost control and instinctively tried to copy each other at the same time.
Sasuke hadn't lost control at all. The only thing Sasuke had tried to copy was that crushing move Kakashi had used on his arm. And he had copied that, perfectly. If one of Itachi's hirelings hadn't chosen that moment to attack, Kakashi would have been found alone in that alley, his throat crushed by a perfect replica of one of his own copied talents. Sasuke would have explained that to him if he hadn't been ashamed that his own distraction had landed him in a hospital with Itachi giving him another of those vaguely disappointed lectures.
When Sasuke woke up that morning he came close to losing control. He was ripped out of a disturbing blank sharingan-cycled dream by the sound of something trying to tear its way through the wall right next to his head. He panicked and for a moment he could actually see it. Then the sharingan spun and he realized he was looking at an energy signal, faint and clumsy and not the least bit threatening. Just a noisy mutant stumbling around in the room next to his. He'd gone to the door to see who it was, though he'd already guessed it was Naruto. Kakashi was silent in the mornings and Iruka hadn't struck him as the noisy inconsiderate type.
Once his suspicions were confirmed he'd gone back to his bed, moved it a good foot away from that wall - he'd ask before rearranging the room since it was Iruka's house - and then he'd curled up under the covers with the intention of hibernating till Kakashi came up and made good on his threat to drag him out like a stubborn pup. He was out immediately, slipping into a boneless dreamless sleep.
And then came the shouting from downstairs.
Sasuke's first thought was to stalk down there and beat the hell out of someone. Preferably Naruto, but Kakashi would serve as a substitute if necessary. Maybe the people who'd built the house with such thin walls.
He grabbed his bag and stalked to the bathroom instead. He kept two changes of clothes rolled up in the bottom of the bag, simple, space conservative, and no fold lines. It wasn't that he cared, personally, just that dressing in wrinkled clothes attracted more attention than he liked.
He made sure the door was locked, turned on the shower and threw up as quietly as possible. That got rid of the sick disturbed feeling of having had his head filled with sharingan-cycled images while he slept. Normally he didn't bother since Kakashi's idea of breakfast was a pot of coffee, the last few cups laced with whatever calorie-laden flavoring they had at the moment. If breakfast here was anything like the 'snack' Iruka had offered them last night, Sasuke had every intention of eating it. He'd choked down far too much of Kakashi's slop to start wasting actual food.
He made it downstairs before that lethargy started slipping over him again. He shoved it away viciously. This was unknown territory, he needed to be alert in order to notice things that might be important. And he was still angry, frustrated. If he didn't pay attention he'd say the wrong thing and regret it later. It was a good pep talk and it might have worked if he'd been on the streets of a strange city filled with dark alleys and potential ambushes. It fell flat the moment he entered the living room.
Common room, Sasuke remembered. Iruka had called it the common room before he'd corrected himself. The room was too big, mostly empty space, with a long couch, two soft love seats to either side with cabinet stands and matching lamps, a low table in front of the couch, and a mostly empty entertainment center taking up the corner. Two windows looked out onto the front yard, curtains drawn back to show that the rain was finally starting to lessen. It cast a gray tint over the room. Textbooks were spread out across the long table, one lying on its face half under the couch. Naruto was sleeping, curled on the corner of the couch with another book ready to slip off his lap if he shifted just a little.
One look at the blonde and Sasuke gave up trying to maintain his 'sense of imminent danger'. It was too homey, too...normal. He glowered resentfully at the happily napping Naruto and went over to look at the textbooks.
School. He hadn't fully considered that. To say he was behind was a joke. His mother had started teaching him as soon as he'd started talking. He'd learned more before he went to school than he had in the few short years he'd attended. Since then...
He picked up the math text and flipped through the back to the practice section. Nothing but the equations was remotely familiar. Dread and disgust took hold at the thought of how far behind he was. He knew how to handle being too smart. He couldn't even imagine being dumber than everyone around him. There was no way.
He took the book with him to the kitchen where, just as he'd expected, Kakashi and Iruka were sitting over coffee. Kakashi looked over in surprise.
"You're up early," said Kakashi. "And you're lucid!" His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How did that happen...?"
Sasuke ignored him and went over to sit across from Iruka. He nodded, "We need to talk."
"Good morning," Iruka said back, glancing from the book to Sasuke. "I was just about to start breakfast. If you want to move to the counter, we can talk while I work."
"I'll help," Sasuke offered. He firmly ignored the startled suspicious look Kakashi sent him. Iruka just smiled and led the way.
"Do you know how to cook?" asked Iruka.
"Some," Sasuke frowned. He'd never done it himself, but he remembered watching his mother cook. He was sure with the proper equipment and ingredients he could reproduce anything he'd seen her make. He'd had a good memory even before the sharingan let him mimic things. "I'm a fast learner," he shrugged and put the book on the counter with the tall stools that stood across from the kitchen set.
"That's what I want to talk about," said Sasuke. "School is mandatory here?"
"Yes," Iruka nodded. He started to rummage in the refrigerator and paused to glance back, "Anything you don't like in an omelet?"
Sasuke almost said syrup before he remembered Kakashi wasn't the one cooking. He shook his head, "I'm not a picky eater." And he wasn't. It didn't matter if he liked it or not. If he could keep it down for more than ten minutes, he'd eat it. Iruka smiled, looking pleased with the response. Sasuke forced himself not to grimace or give any sign of how hard this was. Being sociable. What a joke.
"I was planning to get you enrolled today," Iruka said as he worked. "Naruto has his placement tests in a few hours." His eyebrow twitched. "He'll be studying until it's time to leave."
Kakashi laughed from the table, and Sasuke suspected the last minute studying was a punishment of some sort. He wondered how Iruka would react if he knew the blonde was napping lazily in the other room. Sasuke wouldn't say a word about it. As smug as Kakashi looked, he'd probably been more to blame for the yelling earlier than Naruto. That was just like him.
"Will I be tested immediately?" Sasuke asked Iruka. "How long before I'm expected to start attending?"
"You'll be starting next semester," said Iruka. "The third of August. We'll have to request an individual placement test for you, any time before the end of July." He turned a reassuring look on Sasuke. "You don't have to worry about being behind. The classes are scaled so all the children can attend the same school."
Sasuke sent a dark look at the book he'd placed on the counter. Iruka followed his gaze.
"Stir this for me, would you?" Iruka asked, waving at the skillet. It was a risky move if Sasuke proved as dangerous around appliances as Naruto had. He did it anyway. He turned his back and flipped through the text Sasuke had brought in. He wasn't surprised by what he saw. No wonder Sasuke sounded so worried.
"This is an advanced text," Iruka said, glancing over his shoulder. "Naruto won't test into this level for a few more semesters. I'm a counselor at the school, and I help with some of the peer tutoring, so I have access to all the primers. I can lend you the first series if you'd like to get a head start this summer."
A head start on catching up, Sasuke thought. He nodded and stepped back so Iruka could take his place. Kakashi was still watching him from across the way. Sasuke ignored him. As long as Kakashi kept his mouth shut, he could watch as much as he wanted.
"This is about ready," said Iruka. He turned the stove off and nodded toward the door. "Would you mind waking Naruto up for me? Just roll him off the couch and he'll get right up."
Sasuke blinked. So Iruka had known. Kakashi obviously hadn't, from the way he lost that pleased smile and gave a considering look from Iruka to the door. Sasuke couldn't think of a good excuse to refuse that request, so he took the math text back to the livingroom.
Naruto was sleeping on his side now, one cheek smooshed against the back of his hand, drool collecting at the corner of his open mouth. The book had slipped from his lap and lay splayed on the floor. Sasuke stopped four feet away and grimaced.
Roll him off the couch? Who did things like that?
He set the textbook back on the table, exactly where he'd found it, and went a few steps closer. "Oi," he muttered. "Wake up." The blonde didn't so much as twitch. He glowered and took one more step. "Naruto."
Naruto's nose scrunched up. That was all.
Sasuke was debating on actually touching the idiot or taking Iruka's advice and tipping him out of the stupid couch when he felt someone watching him. He turned a sharp glare on the doorway, expecting to find a smirking Kakashi lounging there to enjoy the show. Nothing. He immediately forgot about waking Naruto and focused on the room itself.
His eyes dilated. That was what it felt like when he activated the sharingan, as if he'd gone from a blindingly white room into absolute darkness, except the results were the opposite. Everything was sharper, too vivid for such an empty room. There was nothing to focus on. He could see dust in the air, fat earthworms squirming in the drizzled grass outside the double windows, the raindrops. His eyes wanted to focus on the raindrops in particular because they were moving faster than anything else in sight. He tore his gaze away and focused on Naruto. His was the only energy in the room.
It was orange and hazy and loose, not so much weak as uncontrolled. Sasuke recognized it immediately as the same thing he'd seen through the wall in his room. He couldn't see very far through barriers - Kakashi's signature was much more vivid and familiar, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of where he sat in the kitchen. Sasuke sharpened his focus more, checking to see if Naruto were faking sleep. Watching through his eyelashes? He wasn't. But there was something about that hazy energy that bothered him. The loose shape almost looked like it was intentional.
Naruto's eyes flicked open and Sasuke tensed. The irises were as dark red as his own. That wasn't the problem. It was that lucid stare when Naruto hadn't so much as shifted a muscle. If his eyes hadn't been open, Sasuke would have sworn he was still asleep. Then the blonde gave a slow grin and lifted his head. Sasuke had a sudden urge to back up, so he did. He'd never been one to ignore his instincts.
"Iruka said to tell you breakfast is ready," Sasuke said, his tone as bland as he could make it.
He closed his eyes firmly and when he opened them again the sharingan was gone. He was ready to activate it again if necessary, but he didn't think he'd have to. Naruto's reaction wasn't any worse than his own when he was woken up by a stranger coming too close to him. At least he hadn't attacked the second he saw him.
Naruto blinked suddenly, his eyes fading to blue and that strange grin disappearing. He stared at Sasuke as if seeing him for the first time, let out a sleepy 'muh' sound, and fell onto the floor.
So much for not rolling him off the couch. Sasuke barely kept from snorting. He went back into the kitchen, tired, still sort of annoyed, but satisfied that he'd more than filled his 'interaction quota' for the day.
.-.
TBC
Sasuke had planned to stay in his room until someone called him out. He'd hoped to go back to sleep for a few hours. The curtained window so close to his bed had kept him awake most of the night. He liked that it faced the patch of forest separating the yard from the fields, but the rain never stopped, a steady drone that made it impossible to hear anything else. Eventually he'd dozed off because the bed was nice and he had the room to himself and he wanted to enjoy that for however long it lasted.
He was sure it hadn't lasted very long before the noises woke him up. He'd been dreaming, the sharingan cycling him through images it shouldn't have been able to record, trying to show him things he'd been forced to forget. It did that sometimes, wasting his energy on things he still wouldn't be able to remember when he woke up. Things he didn't particularly want to remember. When he woke naturally he was left feeling disturbed and drained, dazed, sometimes sick to his stomach. And so frustrated with himself.
Kakashi had teased him about it once, just once, a few weeks after they met. Sasuke didn't remember exactly what Kakashi had said, only that the comment had left him so furious he'd wanted to scream. He'd punched him instead. It was a blind blow, no thought or powers behind it, but it had connected where none of his other attacks had. He'd knocked the headband off, tearing open the long cut that had barely started to close, and left Kakashi staring at him with his own wild red eye exposed. Kakashi had been the first to look away.
Sasuke hadn't needed to say anything. Kakashi didn't know. Kakashi couldn't even control one of the eyes, and he'd been born a mutant. Sasuke knew what the problem was and there was nothing he could do about it. Itachi had given him a mutant talent, but he hadn't given him a mutant body. That was the difference. Most mutants came into their powers at puberty, when their bodies were better able to handle the stress, but they'd had those talents all along, lying dormant since birth.
Sasuke didn't know what the genetic differences were, but he knew there were no sibling mutants. Maybe if both parents had been mutants, or if the siblings were identical or polar twins, then maybe they'd share the same genetic mutations. None had ever been found as far as he knew.
Itachi had explained it to him once, an off-handed comment about his own 'experimentation' during one of those strange visits where he didn't do anything but look at him. Sasuke didn't know what Itachi saw when he looked at him with the sharingan. Sometimes he'd get a vague frown, just standing there with the black curls in his eyes widening, thickening, and he'd still be standing there long after Sasuke escaped, as if he hadn't even noticed. Sometimes he'd come closer, corner him, and give one of those quiet casual comments as if everything he did was for Sasuke's sake and he didn't understand why his little brother wasn't more appreciative.
Itachi had given him an adult talent four months after his sixth birthday and it had nearly killed him. He'd lost two years of his life to a hospital bed, his eyes bound while his body worked stubbornly to reject them, as if his own eyes had become parasitic tumors. He remembered that lost time in a hazy way, moments where the doctors would leave Itachi to do whatever he could to help, no idea that he was the cause of the problem. The bandages would come off and he wouldn't have time to see anything but Itachi's eyes, sharingan blazing, and then it would all start over again.
Reinforcement, Itachi had explained during one of those disturbing visits years later. Their shared blood wasn't enough. He'd had to reinforce the talent before Sasuke's body would accept it as his own.
Eventually he had adapted enough to turn the sharingan off. Enough energy to understand what was going on around him, to protest the way the adults were treating Itachi as some kind of hero for helping him through it all, and to realize none of them would ever believe what had happened. He'd adapted, recovered, and then he'd run. He'd never stopped running.
He'd learned to turn the sharingan off, to keep it off, and reactivate it at will. He'd learned to use it instinctively, constantly if necessary, and to cut through that dazed aftermath without even feeling exhaustion or pain. No matter how drained he was, he could and would react in an instant. And he was still improving. He'd fought hard to control his talent and the only time he ever lost control was while he slept. Kakashi had no right to say anything to him about lack of control. Kakashi still thought they'd both been knocked unconscious because they'd lost control and instinctively tried to copy each other at the same time.
Sasuke hadn't lost control at all. The only thing Sasuke had tried to copy was that crushing move Kakashi had used on his arm. And he had copied that, perfectly. If one of Itachi's hirelings hadn't chosen that moment to attack, Kakashi would have been found alone in that alley, his throat crushed by a perfect replica of one of his own copied talents. Sasuke would have explained that to him if he hadn't been ashamed that his own distraction had landed him in a hospital with Itachi giving him another of those vaguely disappointed lectures.
When Sasuke woke up that morning he came close to losing control. He was ripped out of a disturbing blank sharingan-cycled dream by the sound of something trying to tear its way through the wall right next to his head. He panicked and for a moment he could actually see it. Then the sharingan spun and he realized he was looking at an energy signal, faint and clumsy and not the least bit threatening. Just a noisy mutant stumbling around in the room next to his. He'd gone to the door to see who it was, though he'd already guessed it was Naruto. Kakashi was silent in the mornings and Iruka hadn't struck him as the noisy inconsiderate type.
Once his suspicions were confirmed he'd gone back to his bed, moved it a good foot away from that wall - he'd ask before rearranging the room since it was Iruka's house - and then he'd curled up under the covers with the intention of hibernating till Kakashi came up and made good on his threat to drag him out like a stubborn pup. He was out immediately, slipping into a boneless dreamless sleep.
And then came the shouting from downstairs.
Sasuke's first thought was to stalk down there and beat the hell out of someone. Preferably Naruto, but Kakashi would serve as a substitute if necessary. Maybe the people who'd built the house with such thin walls.
He grabbed his bag and stalked to the bathroom instead. He kept two changes of clothes rolled up in the bottom of the bag, simple, space conservative, and no fold lines. It wasn't that he cared, personally, just that dressing in wrinkled clothes attracted more attention than he liked.
He made sure the door was locked, turned on the shower and threw up as quietly as possible. That got rid of the sick disturbed feeling of having had his head filled with sharingan-cycled images while he slept. Normally he didn't bother since Kakashi's idea of breakfast was a pot of coffee, the last few cups laced with whatever calorie-laden flavoring they had at the moment. If breakfast here was anything like the 'snack' Iruka had offered them last night, Sasuke had every intention of eating it. He'd choked down far too much of Kakashi's slop to start wasting actual food.
He made it downstairs before that lethargy started slipping over him again. He shoved it away viciously. This was unknown territory, he needed to be alert in order to notice things that might be important. And he was still angry, frustrated. If he didn't pay attention he'd say the wrong thing and regret it later. It was a good pep talk and it might have worked if he'd been on the streets of a strange city filled with dark alleys and potential ambushes. It fell flat the moment he entered the living room.
Common room, Sasuke remembered. Iruka had called it the common room before he'd corrected himself. The room was too big, mostly empty space, with a long couch, two soft love seats to either side with cabinet stands and matching lamps, a low table in front of the couch, and a mostly empty entertainment center taking up the corner. Two windows looked out onto the front yard, curtains drawn back to show that the rain was finally starting to lessen. It cast a gray tint over the room. Textbooks were spread out across the long table, one lying on its face half under the couch. Naruto was sleeping, curled on the corner of the couch with another book ready to slip off his lap if he shifted just a little.
One look at the blonde and Sasuke gave up trying to maintain his 'sense of imminent danger'. It was too homey, too...normal. He glowered resentfully at the happily napping Naruto and went over to look at the textbooks.
School. He hadn't fully considered that. To say he was behind was a joke. His mother had started teaching him as soon as he'd started talking. He'd learned more before he went to school than he had in the few short years he'd attended. Since then...
He picked up the math text and flipped through the back to the practice section. Nothing but the equations was remotely familiar. Dread and disgust took hold at the thought of how far behind he was. He knew how to handle being too smart. He couldn't even imagine being dumber than everyone around him. There was no way.
He took the book with him to the kitchen where, just as he'd expected, Kakashi and Iruka were sitting over coffee. Kakashi looked over in surprise.
"You're up early," said Kakashi. "And you're lucid!" His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How did that happen...?"
Sasuke ignored him and went over to sit across from Iruka. He nodded, "We need to talk."
"Good morning," Iruka said back, glancing from the book to Sasuke. "I was just about to start breakfast. If you want to move to the counter, we can talk while I work."
"I'll help," Sasuke offered. He firmly ignored the startled suspicious look Kakashi sent him. Iruka just smiled and led the way.
"Do you know how to cook?" asked Iruka.
"Some," Sasuke frowned. He'd never done it himself, but he remembered watching his mother cook. He was sure with the proper equipment and ingredients he could reproduce anything he'd seen her make. He'd had a good memory even before the sharingan let him mimic things. "I'm a fast learner," he shrugged and put the book on the counter with the tall stools that stood across from the kitchen set.
"That's what I want to talk about," said Sasuke. "School is mandatory here?"
"Yes," Iruka nodded. He started to rummage in the refrigerator and paused to glance back, "Anything you don't like in an omelet?"
Sasuke almost said syrup before he remembered Kakashi wasn't the one cooking. He shook his head, "I'm not a picky eater." And he wasn't. It didn't matter if he liked it or not. If he could keep it down for more than ten minutes, he'd eat it. Iruka smiled, looking pleased with the response. Sasuke forced himself not to grimace or give any sign of how hard this was. Being sociable. What a joke.
"I was planning to get you enrolled today," Iruka said as he worked. "Naruto has his placement tests in a few hours." His eyebrow twitched. "He'll be studying until it's time to leave."
Kakashi laughed from the table, and Sasuke suspected the last minute studying was a punishment of some sort. He wondered how Iruka would react if he knew the blonde was napping lazily in the other room. Sasuke wouldn't say a word about it. As smug as Kakashi looked, he'd probably been more to blame for the yelling earlier than Naruto. That was just like him.
"Will I be tested immediately?" Sasuke asked Iruka. "How long before I'm expected to start attending?"
"You'll be starting next semester," said Iruka. "The third of August. We'll have to request an individual placement test for you, any time before the end of July." He turned a reassuring look on Sasuke. "You don't have to worry about being behind. The classes are scaled so all the children can attend the same school."
Sasuke sent a dark look at the book he'd placed on the counter. Iruka followed his gaze.
"Stir this for me, would you?" Iruka asked, waving at the skillet. It was a risky move if Sasuke proved as dangerous around appliances as Naruto had. He did it anyway. He turned his back and flipped through the text Sasuke had brought in. He wasn't surprised by what he saw. No wonder Sasuke sounded so worried.
"This is an advanced text," Iruka said, glancing over his shoulder. "Naruto won't test into this level for a few more semesters. I'm a counselor at the school, and I help with some of the peer tutoring, so I have access to all the primers. I can lend you the first series if you'd like to get a head start this summer."
A head start on catching up, Sasuke thought. He nodded and stepped back so Iruka could take his place. Kakashi was still watching him from across the way. Sasuke ignored him. As long as Kakashi kept his mouth shut, he could watch as much as he wanted.
"This is about ready," said Iruka. He turned the stove off and nodded toward the door. "Would you mind waking Naruto up for me? Just roll him off the couch and he'll get right up."
Sasuke blinked. So Iruka had known. Kakashi obviously hadn't, from the way he lost that pleased smile and gave a considering look from Iruka to the door. Sasuke couldn't think of a good excuse to refuse that request, so he took the math text back to the livingroom.
Naruto was sleeping on his side now, one cheek smooshed against the back of his hand, drool collecting at the corner of his open mouth. The book had slipped from his lap and lay splayed on the floor. Sasuke stopped four feet away and grimaced.
Roll him off the couch? Who did things like that?
He set the textbook back on the table, exactly where he'd found it, and went a few steps closer. "Oi," he muttered. "Wake up." The blonde didn't so much as twitch. He glowered and took one more step. "Naruto."
Naruto's nose scrunched up. That was all.
Sasuke was debating on actually touching the idiot or taking Iruka's advice and tipping him out of the stupid couch when he felt someone watching him. He turned a sharp glare on the doorway, expecting to find a smirking Kakashi lounging there to enjoy the show. Nothing. He immediately forgot about waking Naruto and focused on the room itself.
His eyes dilated. That was what it felt like when he activated the sharingan, as if he'd gone from a blindingly white room into absolute darkness, except the results were the opposite. Everything was sharper, too vivid for such an empty room. There was nothing to focus on. He could see dust in the air, fat earthworms squirming in the drizzled grass outside the double windows, the raindrops. His eyes wanted to focus on the raindrops in particular because they were moving faster than anything else in sight. He tore his gaze away and focused on Naruto. His was the only energy in the room.
It was orange and hazy and loose, not so much weak as uncontrolled. Sasuke recognized it immediately as the same thing he'd seen through the wall in his room. He couldn't see very far through barriers - Kakashi's signature was much more vivid and familiar, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of where he sat in the kitchen. Sasuke sharpened his focus more, checking to see if Naruto were faking sleep. Watching through his eyelashes? He wasn't. But there was something about that hazy energy that bothered him. The loose shape almost looked like it was intentional.
Naruto's eyes flicked open and Sasuke tensed. The irises were as dark red as his own. That wasn't the problem. It was that lucid stare when Naruto hadn't so much as shifted a muscle. If his eyes hadn't been open, Sasuke would have sworn he was still asleep. Then the blonde gave a slow grin and lifted his head. Sasuke had a sudden urge to back up, so he did. He'd never been one to ignore his instincts.
"Iruka said to tell you breakfast is ready," Sasuke said, his tone as bland as he could make it.
He closed his eyes firmly and when he opened them again the sharingan was gone. He was ready to activate it again if necessary, but he didn't think he'd have to. Naruto's reaction wasn't any worse than his own when he was woken up by a stranger coming too close to him. At least he hadn't attacked the second he saw him.
Naruto blinked suddenly, his eyes fading to blue and that strange grin disappearing. He stared at Sasuke as if seeing him for the first time, let out a sleepy 'muh' sound, and fell onto the floor.
So much for not rolling him off the couch. Sasuke barely kept from snorting. He went back into the kitchen, tired, still sort of annoyed, but satisfied that he'd more than filled his 'interaction quota' for the day.
.-.
TBC