Chapter 5
SASUKE POV
Was it always this hot in the spring? Sasuke lay on the engawa of his home, watermelon juice dripping from his fingers. He squinted his eyes as he looked up at the sun. Holding his hands up to
shade his face, he peered at his fingers. He hesitantly laced them together, remembering how Naruto had grabbed his arms just hours before. He looked to his arms and spotted the angry pink
mark Gaara had left. He stared at it intently, the rays of the sun, distorting his vision. He was broken free from his thoughts as the wind blew the furin chimes. He sat up and sighed.
He grabbed another piece of watermelon from the plate he’d laid out beside him. He bit into it, the freshness calming him. He stared at the sky a little longer, the sun just starting to go down.
After a few minutes, he stood up and went inside.
He felt mindless. Like he was there but not really. He was going through the motions of washing dishes, brushing his teeth, changing his clothes, laying on his bed; but he felt like he was a
puppet. He was on strings, forced to follow a routine, his faint consciousness banging on the walls of his mind, but not even making a small dent.
Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, putting his arms under his head. The moonlight was shining through his eyelids, making it feel like it would be impossible to sleep. He sighed and
ripped the covers off. He strode over to the window and pulled the curtains shut. In his waning fury he sprinted back to his bed, but much to his dismay he felt too restless to sleep.
Some people paint when they’re stressed. Some eat. Some just do nothing. But a special few like to clean.
Sasuke was one of those special people.
Ninja stars, bandage tape, scraps of paper, even his forehead protector. These were all strewn across his room, making it look like the abode of a small child.
He started picking things up, shoving things in his closet, sliding things under the bed. Sasuke felt like his room wasn’t that different from himself. He could clean up his room, and shove things
away. It would look neat and under control to everyone else, but the mess had just been moved so that they couldn’t see it, hiding in the dark.
He picked an arm guard off the floor and shoved it in a drawer, slamming it shut. This shook his dresser, toppling some of its topical decor to the ground. He bent down to retrieve his fallen
things when he stopped. He stood back up and stared down at a broken picture, one face cracked perfectly in half. The other boy's scowl was broken, yet somehow turned into an eerie smile.