Best Man
Best Man - Your best friend through thick and thin. Your brother whether you are related or not. They're not ones to mince words; the good ones will call you out! They know everything there is to know about you as a fellow man. They look out for and support you, even when you're being dumb. They want the best for you on your wedding day and life.
Exhaustion from Chakra depletion feels like your soul is seeping through your feet onto the earth. Your head feels light and heavy, as if it isn't receiving enough oxygen despite greedy inhales of air. Each bone is weighed down as if the marrow were replaced with sandbags. It is unpleasant, but for two overzealous genin, it is the only means for them to stop.
Sasuke braced himself on the beaten tree before him. Sweat dripped from every pore, landing on the dirt and dust below. His chest rose and fell rapidly in hungry breaths, trying to catch up to his racing heart. Sasuke swallowed the nausea rising in his chest, craning his neck upward for the night air to cool him down.
Several yards away, Naruto was in a worse state. The blonde was drenched in sweat as well, panting hard and noisily through his mouth. His steps were clumsy as he found a tree to lean on.
"M-man! Kak— Kakashi-"the blonde inhaled loudly. "He's insane!" The exclamation came out in one inhale before Naruto submitted to the ground below. He dropped onto the worn grass with a thud, bits of dust curling into the air.
Sasuke smirked slightly in victory at being the last one standing. He agreed with the blonde on their teacher's chakra exercise, but he didn't want to waste his breath as it was beginning to settle.
The two boys were climbing trees using chakra in the forest for hours. They'd done it before, but not on the trees in their village. They grew much taller. They were ethereal giants with canopies blocking most of the night sky. Climbing up these trees was much more challenging. Kakashi then upped the difficulty by instructing them to disperse chakra from their feet and launch them backward as far and accurately as possible, marking their progress on the tree and the ground. The first few hours were filled with trial and error. Naruto stopped the chakra supply to his feet and fell straight down instead of creating any distance. Sasuke's efforts were only slightly better. He didn't fall off, but he was either putting too much chakra to his feet or too little, causing him to jump off prematurely and not have much distance.
And then there was Sakura.
While Sasuke and Naruto went full force at the beginning of the exercise, Sakura was methodical, thoughtful, and precise. She had placed her foot on the tree trunk, experimenting with her chakra flow and observing how it responded to the tree. After failing the first few tries, Sasuke hung back and observed Sakura. She was the first of the whole team to master the tree climbing exercise in the Land of Waves. Kakashi proclaimed that she had a natural predisposition for chakra control. If anyone were to succeed in this particular exercise, Sasuke would wager it would be Sakura.
After a few moments, the kunoichi walked back a few yards and sprinted forward. Sakura's foot latched on perfectly as she securely ran upward, climbing higher and higher. Just before reaching the top of the tree, she crutched down low, feet flat against the tree's surface, knees to her chest. She began to extend her legs, dispersing a burst of chakra to her feet just as her thigh muscles contracted to power her launch backward.
Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke watched as Sakura soared gracefully above them, cutting through the tree line in an arch before descending several yards behind them. The momentum of the freefall caused her feet to skid under her and give way, landing roughly on her side.
"Landing is also something you must work on throughout this exercise," Kakashi said as he approached Sakura. The girl quickly stood, brushing the dust and dirt off her dress. "But well done for your first attempt, Sakura. Many can't even get that far until a few more days or weeks in." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask as he patted her head, messing the top of her hair.
Sakura beamed at the praise as she wiped a piece of gravel from her face. "Thank you, Sensei!"
Naruto ran up to Sakura with a broad smile on his face. "Whoa! Sakura, that was so cool!" He exclaimed. "Can you help me out, please? Please?"
"Do you really need my help again? You got a lot better at climbing trees since last time." Sakura had a quirked eyebrow, suspicious that he just wanted her attention.
Naruto blushed, and his grin widened even more. "Really? Have you noticed I've improved? Wow, so you've been watching closely, right Sakura?" The blonde chuckled in satisfaction.
"No, but I did notice I didn't have to bring ice packs for a while." Sakura rebutted, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Sasuke smirked.
Naruto's face fell into an exaggerated look of shock and hurt. "Ouch! I thought we were getting along so well!"
Sasuke watched as Sakura laughed at their teammate's ridiculousness, her face bright as the sun shone through the leaves. The breeze that cooled the sweat on Sasuke's neck caressed Sakura's long pink hair away from her eyes. Bright green eyes he still didn't have a name for.
"Alright!" Kakashi called them all to refocus. "Let's continue while the sun's out, shall we?"
Naruto and Sakura returned to their previous positions parallel to Sasuke, standing before three grand trees. Sasuke felt someone's eyes on him, and he looked to his right to see Naruto staring at him.
"What do you want, loser?" He bit out without any actual venom in his words. This was their usual interaction - insults, and jabs to rile the other person up enough to push them. He waited for Naruto's response, but instead, the blonde gave a mischievous smirk before throwing himself forward toward the tree. It was a challenge. Sasuke huffed as he raced forward toward his own.
Sakura followed suit. She climbed even higher, jumped off harder, and landed much further. Her landing was still rough as she once again landed on her side. She swiftly stood up and dusted herself off, ready to go again.
Naruto was still not dispersing the chakra at the right moment, dropping from the sky rather than launching off. Some of the bursts were too strong, causing the bark to explode from the trunk and sending bits of debris and splinters into his hair and clothes. After a few more attempts, he retreated to Sakura.
Sasuke watched as they spoke quietly, Sakura intent on giving as clear instructions as possible. She motioned for Naruto to plant his foot on the tree and give a few test bursts. He sent too much chakra to his feet again, sending himself careening back, crashing into Sakura and sending them both to the ground.
"I am tired of the dirt." Sakura muffled as she sat up.
Naruto chuckled lightly. "Sorry, Sakura. Chakra control is hard; it's super impressive that you're so good at it." Sakura smiled as she got up, offering him a hand, which he gratefully took. He smiled broadly as the girl pulled him up with surprising strength. "Alright! Let's try that---huh?" Naruto's exuberant face fell into a frown.
Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion as Naruto turned her arm slightly. "What are you doing?"
"You're bleeding." Sakura turned to her side to see Sasuke with his medical pack. Turning her arm, she saw a trail of bright red blood trickle down from a rather nasty scrape on her forearm. "You scraped it when the idiot knocked you down."
Naruto bristled. "Hey! It was an accident!"
Sakura chuckled at the two boys at the beginning of their bickering. She took the small pack from Sasuke with a grateful smile. "Relax. It's just a little blood. I've seen the two of you get worse with your scuffles alone."
Sasuke scoffed. "Don't exaggerate."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto hollered.
"Too stupid to figure it out, Naruto?"
"Shut up! It's not like you've ever drawn blood!"
"It's not necessary when you do it yourself."
Naruto gaped back at his teammate, his face reddening. The two stared each other down with fire and ice. Kakashi sighed in the background as he watched the two, anticipating an impromptu sparring match. Just when it looked like Naruto was about to lunge forward, Sasuke turned his head sharply to the side. Naruto frowned in confusion, turning to see where the other boy was looking.
Sakura's laughter carried over to them on the wind, surrounding them like the breeze.
"What's so funny?" Naruto asked, glancing at Sasuke to see if he understood the joke. Instead of a mirrored look of confusion, the other boy kept facing Sakura as her giggles settled down.
"You two, I swear…" Sakura sighed with an amused smile still on her lips. "You two might as well be brothers."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Brothers…?
Naruto let out a skeptical laugh. "Brothers? Me with this jerk?" He laughed some more as he pointed a thumb at the Uchiha. "That is funny!"
Sasuke said nothing. He didn't know what he could say or how he felt about Sakura's statement. He used to be someone's brother, and he often forgot how he technically still was. It's been years since he's felt like someone's anything. The title of teammate was still new and unfamiliar, but it was the only relation he had to anyone. But even when he was someone's brother, it was nothing like his dynamic with Naruto.
Naruto's cackling continued while Sakura focused on Sasuke, noticing his silence. He seemed dazed, lost in thought, and she felt her heart sink low into her stomach. Why did she—What a stupid thing to say! Why didn't she think before opening her mouth? Of all the things to say to— oh.
Oh.
Sasuke was focused and alert and staring right at her now. Her spiraling thoughts faded away into silence as his infinitely black eyes bore into her. Sakura breathed out softly, easing back into her usual smile. Satisfied, Sasuke turned around and returned to the exercise, leaving behind a perplexed Naruto.
After four hours of training, Sakura mastered the exercise. She climbed up the tallest tree and launched off, clearing the half-mile-long field they were in. Once her chakra levels were past her limits and she began stumbling, Kakashi escorted her home. Naruto and Sasuke, with their more extensive chakra reserves, continued their tree climbing.
Their Sensei and Sakura had warned them against overworking themselves to the point of chakra depletion, but of course, they did not listen. Sasuke cursed himself and Naruto for their competition with every wave of lightheadedness. Taking one last glance at the blonde still on the ground, he submitted himself to his exhaustion and sat against the tree.
Peeking up from his spot on the ground, Naruto chuckled. "Dammit, guess you won this one. That sucks." He muttered.
Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes as he rested his head against the tree bark. Naruto continued muttering and groaning about nothing, words coming out like broken plates.
"Hey, don ignore me," Naruto called at the other boy, his speech slurring more and more. "Astard, ways ignore me." He stumbled up slowly on his hands and knees. "Ya thank yur soooo cool an tha I'm soooo stupid but ya'd be surprised!" His scowl melted into a fit of undignified giggles.
Sasuke scoffed, keeping his eyes shut. "You're drunk."
Naruto giggled some more as he crawled to the tree next to Sasuke. With a heavy sigh, the boy plopped down with his back against the rough bark. A mutual silence settled between them as they rested with the delightful breeze drying the sweat from their brow and wafting in the sweet scent of leaves and grass. Sasuke inhaled deeply, picturing all the shades of green in their forests.
A moment's peace was always brief around Naruto. Sasuke opened his tired eyes as he heard the other boy giggle return, full of delight. Naruto's head lulled to the side as he grinned widely.
Sasuke scowled. "Now what?"
Another string of giggles left Naruto before he forced them to a stop. His face suddenly snapped into an exaggerated, grumpy expression. "This you." Naruto broke into another fit of laughter. Sasuke's scowl deepened, causing the blonde to laugh even harder. After a few more minutes, Naruto took several deep breaths to quell his drunken hysteria.
"Idiot," Sasuke mumbled, sighing as he mustered the energy to stand. The skin on his back was relieved at no longer having rough bark pressed against it. His head swam as he stood up, bracing himself briefly on the tree.
Naruto huffed. "Can't call me an idiot, look at you! Sakura's gonna be so mad at you." He pointed a finger as he snickered.
"I'm not the one talking nonsense." Sasuke countered.
"I'm not talkin no sense." Naruto pouted. "But it's ok if she gets mad. Means she cares about us, ya know?" A bright smile spread on his face. "She's always lookin after us, ya know? Sakura's a nice girl."
Sasuke ignored the way Naruto's face reddened.
"She's also really pretty and cute. Her hair is so long and shiny, and it smells so nice too. Sakura's like one of the prettiest girls in the village, ya know!"
Sasuke felt his eye twitch in irritation.
"And I know you know too!"
The Uchiha stared at the boy, not expecting that declaration at all. "I don't waste my time on such foolishness." He scowled.
Naruto continued grinning. "Yeah suuuure you don't. Come on, man, you can't say that you don't think Sakura is pretty. Or do you think she's not pretty?" He gasped, face openly scandalized at the thought. "Poor Sakura…"
Sasuke's scowl morphed into a vicious glare. Naruto was utterly unfazed by the nasty look as he continued rambling on.
"Man, maybe I am stupid—"
"Definitely are," Sasuke muttered.
"—cuz I really thought I was onto somethin'."
What the hell did that mean? Sasuke wondered.
"I mean, you're always lookin' at er, all the time now. It's really weird, ya know, cuz you didn't do that before. Eh, wait…" Naruto paused his rambling, squinting at Sasuke. "I dunno buh I swear you threw yurself in fronnuva her, too. You remember? You pushed me out the way, jerk, but you stayed with Sakura…"
"We were protecting Tazuna. It was part of the mission." Sasuke sighed. "And you were just frozen in place, remember? Scaredy cat?" He smirked as he waited for Naruto to respond to his jab.
"No, buh you got mad at Kashi-sensei for saving us. And Sakura looked real happy for him."
Sasuke's smirk returned to a scowl like a reflex. He remembered that. He remembered that sudden, intense irritation when their team leader saved them from the rogue ninja. Sakura's bright and happy face as she saw the Jonin safe and whole. It bothered him, but he didn't understand why.
"An today!" Naruto shouted, ripping Sasuke from his thoughts. "You were like aaaall the way over there." He pointed to another tree several yards away from them. "An' S'kura an' I were aaaaaall the way over there." He pointed in the opposite direction. "An you were ready with the banages! Like, how'd you know, ya know?"
Sasuke ran his hand over his face. "I didn't understand a single word of that." He sighed before walking over to Naruto, still sitting on the ground. "Come on, it's getting late." Sasuke offered a hand to lift the boy.
Naruto smiled at him now, disturbing Sasuke enough to want to leave him there. "Aaaaaaw you're so niiiice! You jerk, being so nice, that's so nice." He grabbed his hand and finally got onto his feet with some effort. His balance was shaky, but he didn't topple over.
"You are the worst kind of drunk…" Sasuke grumbled as he quickly retracted his hand away. "You're getting worse by the second."
Naruto grinned, giggling slightly. "Is nice talkin bout S'kura. Bet she'd be all blushy and smiley hearing you talk bout her."
"I'm not the one talking about her, idiot," Sasuke said as he walked away, heading toward the forest entrance. Naruto followed clumsily behind him.
"No, but you're always lookin' at her."
Sasuke's pace stopped, causing the other boy to bump into him. Naruto stumbled back slightly but managed to stay on his feet, though he swayed a bit in place. Still, Naruto continued, ignoring the strange look on his teammate's face.
"Sakura was laughing today, and I thought she was being crazy. I thought you'd be like, 'She's crazy!' and walk away. But 'stead your face was all stuck. Like you couldn't look away." Naruto looked at Sasuke, eyebrows tightly knit. "Now you're both looking at each other like that, too, like you're stuck. Like no one's there, not Kakashi or me, ya know?"
Naruto walked past Sasuke, leaving him behind in total silence. Sasuke stared after the other boy, reeling at the surprising observations. Naruto was renowned among his peers for his lack of perception and observation. The most basic principles of ninja culture went completely over his head, but he could spew all this while being mentally tossed. The world must be imploding if Naruto Uzumaki could pick up on behavior Sasuke Uchiha wasn't aware of, especially of himself.
Did he look at Sakura that much?
When did that develop?
Why would he stare at her so much?
Why were all the things Naruto said about Sakura running through his mind on repeat? Her smile, her pink hair, her laugh.
Her eyes.
Naruto never mentioned her eyes, Sasuke realized. Why was he thinking about her eyes again? Naruto pointed out that she always looked at him with big green eyes. A shade of green that he couldn't find anywhere else.
"Hey!" Naruto called, now past the edge of the forest and on one of the many roads of the village. "You think Ichiraku is still open? I'm starving!" A loud rumbling erupted from both of their stomachs as though in harmony. Naruto chuckled while Sasuke sighed.
Without another word, Sasuke caught up to his teammate and made their way toward the ramen stand. The shop owner was kind enough to make them both a bowl of ramen just minutes before closing. Naruto was so overjoyed at the gesture he nearly sobbed as he expressed his love and appreciation to the shop owner and his daughter. The two merely smiled and laughed at Naruto's antics with all the fondness in the world.
While Sasuke was grateful that Naruto had moved on from the topic of Sakura, his own mind had not. The girl was there smiling in his mind, refusing to leave him in peace. Her long pink hair fell over her face when she landed successfully during training. Her pride made her eyes brighter as she finished the exercise. Green eyes in a shade he can't find anywhere else.
Sasuke lifted his chopsticks to eat his noodles, only to wince at how cold they'd gotten. Naruto ordered a second helping of ramen before turning to his moody friend. Sasuke did his best to ignore him and ate his warmer noodles.
"You know, Sasuke," Naruto started as he played with his broth spoon. "Maybe you should bring S'kura on a date ere."
The dark-haired boy kept silent, not acknowledging his teammate at all. Naruto wasn't deterred. When he wants to talk, he will keep talking.
"I mean, c'mon! Anyone would be sooo lucky to have S'kura as a girlfriend." The blonde continued. "I think she'd make anyone happy. But I don't think jus an'won could make 'er happy. I think you're the same way. You hav' all those girls from the academy days; you can pick whoever you want!" Naruto made an expansive gesture with his hands, nearly knocking the empty ramen bowl over. "But none of them are S'kura. I don' think you'd like any of dem. I didn't."
Sasuke sighed. "Can't you let me eat in peace?" He admonished. "Why do you keep blathering on about this?"
Naruto's face screwed together as he thought of his response. After a few moments, he shrugged. "I jus' think you like her. Maybe jus a little. An' she really likes you, so isn't it kinda perfect?"
Sasuke's hand remained steady and fluid as he finished up what was left of his noodles. He lifted the bowl to his mouth and drained the richly flavored broth before gently placing it back on the worn countertop. Sasuke retrieved his wallet and paid for his meal.
Naruto's face grew panicked as he watched Sasuke walk away from the ramen stand. "Hey, wait! Sasuke, what about my food!?" He exclaimed.
Sasuke kept walking away. "I never said I was treating you." He called back, not bothering to turn around.
Naruto watched as the young Uchiha walked away into the night. The shop owner's daughter set down his second bowl with a soft smile. "Hey, Naruto? Maybe don't bother him with these types of things. It's hard for boys like him."
"But I was jus tryna show him how awesome S'kura is." Naruto mumbled.
The young woman sighed. "I thought you liked Sakura? Why are you trying to put her with Sasuke?"
Naruto's face became solemn, an expression neither the shop owner nor his daughter had seen before. "Yeah, I do. But I dunno. The way I like her feels different." The blonde took a greedy slurp of noodles, humming appreciatively. "S'kura said that the bastard n' I are like brothers…can you believe dat?"
"I can see it." The shop owner chimed in.
Naruto grumbled as he consumed more noodles. "Very funny. Anyway, Sasuke is too stupid."
The daughter giggled. "And how do you figure that?"
Naruto looked up at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Cuz he likes her too, but he doesn't know yet."