Debate Team (sasunaru/narusasu)

|| Chapter Twenty Eight ||

Naruto jumped off the bathroom countertop, grunting with pain as he felt the full effects of his earlier beating. He was certain then that he would never kick a random stranger between the legs ever again, not after what just happened.

He glanced at himself in the mirror, chuckling at the thought, his expression turning glum as his eyes met his reflection. Great, he didn't just feel like shit but looked like it, too.

While his mind circled around the events that had led up to this, he felt his eyes growing glassy. Why were things suddenly so difficult? How had things gotten so bad? Nothing seemed to be going right in his life; he felt frustrated. You'd think having drama in your life would spice things up, but this... This was too much. At this moment, a long nap sounded very appealing to Naruto. Perhaps when he woke up, his problems would cease to exist.

He flinched slightly as he was brought back to the present by the sound of the jiggling bathroom doorknob. Sasuke was finally back. After one final glance in the mirror, he walked over to the bathroom door without a second thought.

Within seconds of opening the door, all fell silent. Naruto was in a state of mild shock. His eyes dilated in the direction of the person across from him. Both he and the latter were perplexed as they looked back at one another.

Only a few distant sounds could be heard as a raspy voice spoke up. The sound seemed to both surprise and reawaken Naruto from his daze. "Are you all right?"

Now, Naruto was even more confused. Why was the unknown redhead asking that?

And as if the latter heard his question, he pointed to Naruto's face. It took Naruto a few seconds to realize what he meant by that, but when he did, he looked back into the bathroom, in the mirror, a small bruise was revealed on his right cheek.

The redhead, Gaara, carefully observed Naruto's changed demeanor. Naruto's lips had curled into a frown and his eyebrows had scrunched up. The blond seemed to be upset by the bruising.

He wasn't sure what it was about the blond that piqued his interest but he didn't care.

His blank stare continued, admiring the blond's features that were not only unique but beautiful. The scars on his cheeks were odd, but they gave personality as if they helped define who he was. And his blond spikes blended in perfectly with everything else, the cherry on top.

While Gaara did not know who the blond across from him was, he did not care, as if the two of them were the only two living beings on Earth. The time seemed to drag on as he began to raise his hand, and all Gaara wanted was for it to speed up, his heart thumping against his chest. His hand was mere centimeters away from touching those flawless scarred cheeks—

Gaara couldn't help but be startled, it happened so quickly. A hand had reached out to stop him in his tracks. He wasn't sure what overtook him as he realized what he was about to do, yet the interruption bothered him.

As he slowly turned to the side, the vicious look was only temporarily startling, but he knew by then he'd strode onto ground that was already marked as another's territory. The thought of this only amplified his excitement further though. He knew he couldn't back out now, this would be too much fun.

He yanked his hand away from the grip, returning a defiant stare to the raven, who remained unmoved.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke spoke first, his eyes narrowed.

The sound of Sasuke's voice caught Naruto's attention as he looked away from the mirror and out into the hallway where Gaara and Sasuke stood, staring at each other as if they were in their own world, none taking him into account.

A few seconds passed and Sasuke finally broke the stare. His glare subsided as he turned towards Naruto. "Let's go." He simply said, his voice stern, leaving no room for retaliation. "If we don't go now we won't make it in time, and we'll end up getting disqualified."

In response, Naruto nodded, feeling his mouth dry up. He turned onto his side and squeezed through the small gap in the doorway the redhead blocking the path left.

After walking a few steps away from the bathroom, Sasuke turned towards Naruto, holding an orange sweater in one hand. "Put it on." He ordered, letting Naruto take the sweater before continuing his walk.

While pulling on the orange jacket, Naruto could sense Sasuke was upset. Why? First and foremost, he got himself beaten up, and second, he let someone other than Sasuke into the bathroom when he had specifically told him not to let anyone else in.

As Naruto followed after Sasuke, who was displaying no signs of emotion, the only assumption Naruto could come to was that he was mad because he had failed to do the one thing Sasuke had asked for.

Both boys walked quietly around the school, Naruto obediently following Sasuke who was looking for the classroom where their first debate would take place.

A small scoff escaped the raven's lips. "What's wrong with you?" He finally asked, stopping in his tracks to turn towards Naruto, tired of seeing him sulk.

Naruto finally looked up from the ground as surprise and excitement flooded his face. Sasuke was finally talking to him. "Me...?"

Sasuke turned forward again, continuing his search. "Hn,"

Naruto grinned big before starting to run towards Sasuke. "I don't know..." He glanced at the ground before turning back to Sasuke, who was only peering around the hallways.

"Are you mad at me?" He finally asked, keeping his head low in shame and embarrassment.

Immediately stopping in his tracks, Sasuke turned and looked at Naruto. "What are you talking about? Why would I be mad?"

When he was asked the question, Naruto searched his mind for an answer but found only things he would be viewed as stupid for. "I... You just seemed mad... I guess?" He finally said, hoping he didn't sound too stupid.

Sasuke scoffed, letting out a small chuckle that lit up Naruto's insides. "I just have a bad feeling about that redhead. But really I have no reason to be mad at you. You're an idiot, you know?"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, but stopped himself from making any further remarks after realizing Sasuke had stopped walking. "Wha...?" He mumbled in confusion, raising one eyebrow.

"Fuck." Sasuke cursed under his breath, running a hand through his silk black hair, as he looked through the window of the classroom in front of them. "I'm going to regret this, c'mon." He said, turning towards Naruto and grasping his wrist.

He drew Naruto in behind himself after opening the classroom door with his free hand.

Naruto, still confused,  followed after him, his eyes only slightly widening as he realized he recognized the people inside the classroom, his opponents.

It was the redhead.