Debate Team (sasunaru/narusasu)

|| Chapter Eight ||

It had been a few weeks and things had been going well for the debate club. Everyone was gradually becoming close friends, they even began to hang out together outside of school.

They'd just finished playing laser tag and were now dining at a restaurant together. All the Konoha debate team members were there; Kiba, Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura. All except for Mr. Hatake.

"Wow, that was a lot of fun!" Tenten chirped. Everyone was chatting and cracking a few jokes.

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see a smirking raven. He groaned knowing exactly why he was acting this way; he had got him out during laser tag. "I was just distracted, bastard!" He spoke in a hushed tone, his voice laced with venom, so no one else could hear him.

"Hn, whatever you say. I still got you, idiot." He cocked his head and smirked.

Naruto was about to tell him off when Kiba interjected. "Naruto are you excited about the trip tomorrow?"

Sasuke found himself pouting as Naruto turned away from him. He'd had Naruto's attention, but Kiba had snatched it away from him. He didn't know why it annoyed him. He probably just wanted to make fun of him some more.

"I guess. I'm just glad we didn't go camping." He shrugged.

Kiba laughed. "Wait a minute, everybody, he blackmailed me into voting for the water park because he's afraid of bugs!" Everyone's attention was drawn to Naruto, and they all began to laugh.

"It's not funny!" The blond pouted, his upper lip curling up into an unintentional grin. Was this how it felt to be a part of a friend group? If so, he hoped to be able to stop time and stay there indefinitely.

"Idiot," Naruto was jolted back into reality as he glanced back over his shoulder to see Sasuke.

He snatched Sasuke's shirt and dragged him forward, bringing them face to face. "What did you say, bastard?"

"Woah, Naruto! Calm down!" Sakura and Ino intervened in their quarrel. Before returning his gaze to the blond, Sasuke gave them a menacing glare.

"Fine!" Naruto huffed and let go of Sasuke's shirt collar. "I'm going home. I'll see you all tomorrow." He took one last drink of his soda and began to crawl over Sasuke and Neji to exit the booth, but was stopped in his tracks as he felt a cool liquid material being poured over him.

All in the room gasped whilst Naruto's mouth gaped open. "Oops," Neji said as he rose from his seat to allow Naruto to rise. "I didn't mean to."

"Yes, you did!" Naruto yelled, fuming.

"Calm down, Naruto, I'll lend you my jacket," Kiba said as he removed his jacket and handed it to Naruto before pulling him away from the table and whispering to him. "Remember how we were supposed to avoid them?"

"I know!" He huffed. "But even so, he did it on purpose!" Naruto said, accusingly pointing his finger at Neji.

"This is exactly what they're looking for. They want to get under your skin and rile you up! Allowing them to get to you is a bad idea." The brunette gave his opinion.

Naruto let out a sigh. They were just trying to bug him until he did something stupid, as Kiba pointed out. "All right, I'm going home." Before leaving, he thanked him for the jacket and waved goodbye.

Kiba returned to the booth and came to a halt in front of Neji. "Try something like that again and see what happens." He made a threat before looking back at the group with a smile. "Naruto has gone home." Before resuming his seat, he told them.

•🧡💙•

Naruto had arrived home and was passing through the kitchen on his way to his room when he noticed a single pink sheet of paper on the counter with a box next to it. He stalked over and quickly grabbed the note.

Naruto, I won't be home for a few days. I apologize. I hope you enjoy your trip to the water park. Have some fun and let loose!

Naruto sighed and rubbed his temples. He crumpled up the paper and hurled it into the trash can.

He shifted his attention to the box. The note said nothing about the box, which he had seen Jiraiya with a couple of times. His instincts told him to open it, even though he knew it would be a breach of privacy. He ignored the thought, snatched it up, and carried it to his room, stashing it in his closet for safekeeping.

He put his school belongings on his bed and took a short shower before searching his closet for a bag to put his belongings in. He decided to take some swim trunks with him in case the water wasn't too deep. Maybe, just maybe, he'd learn to swim. He packed an extra set of clothing, as well as some sunscreen and snacks.

He jumped into bed, calling it a night, and was soon engulfed by sleep.