Shooting Straight

Chapter 1

A caramel-haired man stood in the doorway to his apartment, tapping his foot impatiently as he anxiously checked the time. He sighed and stared down at his younger brother, who sauntered into the room without a care in the world. He scowled at the younger, who offered a half-smile in return. Ash swore he thrived off of making his life frustrating. 

"Arrow! We're going to be late again because you take forever to get ready." Ash sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. His jaw clenched in an effort to smother his anxiety. There was nothing he disliked more than being late- especially at the cause of his little brother.

"We'll be late if we don't get moving." Arrow, ignoring his brother's exclamation, corrected expertly. His bangs flopped limply over his eye, causing him to huff in annoyance. 

Ash gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing in a glare. Arrow's nonchalant attitude didn't help to ease the rising heat of Ash's emotions. Letting out a frustrated huff, Ash straightened his vest and ran a hand through his ruffled hair as he began walking, ultimately doing nothing as the locks fell back over his eyes as they always did. Arrow trailed after the older boy, blowing a few strands of his own hair from his face. 

"I swear if you get into any fights on your first day, I'll personally strangle you," Ash stated, his tone firm yet ever-so-slightly daring.  

"I won't get into any fights," Arrow smirked fondly at the memory of his first day in Sunagakure Academy. "At least not on the first day."

"Please just be good," Ash stressed, running his hands through his hair yet again. "I actually have a good job now, and I don't need to have my dumb brother ruin my reputation." 

"Me? Never." Arrow mocked being hurt, causing Ash to roll his eyes and sigh. Arrow softened a bit. "I promise I won't." 

In Ash's eyes, he still hung on to the memory of Arrow as a mere toddler, curious and innocent. Arrow briefly met his light, forest green eyes to the dark pools of onyx and returned the smile. He then averted his gaze to the ground before him, kicking pebbles along the path as they walked through Konohagakure. 

They reached the Academy in a few short minutes, and the classes had already just begun. A few leaves rustled in the wind as Ash pulled his brother in for a bone-crushing hug. Arrow wrapped his arms around Ash loosely in return, cracking another smile as he lightly pushed his brother away. 

"You should get going," Arrow reminded him, "don't want to be late." His eyebrow quirked up slightly, knowing how punctual his brother liked to be; they were two opposites in that sense. 

"Yeah, yeah," Ash rolled his eyes, amused by the young teen's chastising. "Be good, kid!" He called over his shoulder as he began to jog away. Arrow gave a two-finger salute paired with a smirk in reply before turning to face the building that loomed before him. He let out a small sigh as he shoved his hands deep in his pockets before sauntering in, letting his face fall flat and bare of emotion. 

~~~

Sasuke Uchiha's stark ebony eyes lazily glanced out of the window to his left, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he boredly listened to Iruka introduce the lesson of the day. It didn't take long for his gaze to settle on two figures standing just in front of the academy entrance- one of them looking to be around Sasuke's own age, if not slightly older. He watched with dull curiosity as the taller of the two turned and began walking away- leaving the shorter to pivot and take in the sight of the building. Sasuke saw him give a hefty sigh before resigning himself to his fate and taking long strides until he disappeared into the front lobby- out of the Uchiha's field of view.