Sasuke regretted everything.
Not the training.
Not the progress.
But waking up after three hours of sleep?
Yeah. That part.
He blinked blearily at the ceiling. His muscles ached in that slow-burning way that meant he'd pushed himself a bit too far last night. Worth it. But still.
He moved on autopilot — freshened up, dressed in his usual navy-blue outfit, packed his notebook, and headed out.
Halfway to the academy, he got ambushed.
Again.
"SASUKEEEE!"
Sasuke didn't dodge this time.
He just stepped aside.
Thud.
Naruto hit the ground with all the grace of a sack of potatoes.
"Ow! Hey! That was supposed to be a dramatic entrance!"
"You've had five dramatic entrances this week," Sasuke said, stepping over him. "All of them ended with your face in the dirt."
"Consistency is important," Naruto grumbled, rolling up to his feet and jogging to catch up. "Anyway, I had the weirdest dream last night."
"I'm not interested."
"There were giant ramen bowls. And one of them could talk. It kept yelling 'BELIEVE IT' while trying to chase me—do you think that means anything?"
"Yes," Sasuke replied without hesitation. "It means your brain is a swamp."
Naruto snorted. "That's fair. But hey! I almost got the tree-walking thing last night!"
Sasuke blinked. "You trained? Alone?"
"Well, yeah! I mean, I fell into a bush and got chased by a raccoon, but I stuck to the tree for like five seconds before falling on my face!"
"…That's… not bad," Sasuke muttered.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait. Was that a compliment?! From Sasuke 'Uchiha the Ice Cube'?! Mark this day down in history!"
Sasuke immediately regretted everything. Again.
They arrived at the classroom just as Iruka-sensei was finishing writing on the board.
Naruto burst through the door like an overly excited ferret. "WE'RE HERE!"
Iruka turned around with the expression of a man who had already consumed too much chaos for one lifetime. "Naruto. Sit down. Quietly."
"I am always quiet!"
Sasuke took his seat by the window.
Naruto plopped down beside him — in the exact seat he'd reserved yesterday — with a proud grin. "See? Told you I'd save it for you again."
Sasuke side-eyed him. "You're the only one loud enough to scare off competition."
"Gotta use your strengths!"
Iruka cleared his throat. "Today's lecture is about chakra flow efficiency and nature transformation—"
Naruto raised his hand.
"…We're two words in, Naruto."
"But what if we combined nature transformation with ramen?!"
"…No."
Sasuke sighed and slumped ever so slightly in his seat. The chalk squeaked on the board. Sakura was busy whispering with Ino in the back. Kiba was asleep. Shikamaru was also asleep but strategically. Choji was munching loudly.
And Naruto?
Naruto was doodling battle ramen on his scroll and humming off-key.
Sasuke stared out the window, eyes glazed.
He was exhausted. Sore. Mentally depleted.
But for some reason… his chest felt a little lighter.
He didn't smile.
But he didn't frown either.
Lunch Break
"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said between bites of rice and raw enthusiasm. "You wanna train again after school?"
Sasuke paused mid-chew.
He thought of the quiet clearing. The moonlight. The silence.
Then he thought of this loud, chaotic moron trying to chakra-mold while falling out of a tree and yelling, "I REGRET NOTHING!"
"…Fine," Sasuke said at last.
Naruto blinked. "Wait. Really?!"
"Just… don't bring your raccoon friend."
"Can't promise that."
Sasuke sighed.
But deep down…
He didn't mind.
________
They reached the clearing in silence — well, Sasuke was silent.
Naruto was narrating his own entrance like a sports commentator.
"—and then the mysterious, ruggedly handsome ninja enters the secret training ground—!"
Sasuke gave him a slow sideways glare. "You're talking about yourself?"
"Obviously!" Naruto grinned. "Who else around here has this much natural hero charisma?"
Sasuke sighed and dropped his bag at the base of the tree. "I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Nah. Just me," Naruto said brightly, already jogging to the tree. "Anyway, let's see if I can get more than three steps up today!"
For the next hour, the training field echoed with the sounds of effort, falling bodies, and Naruto's overly dramatic grunts.
"YAAAH—!"
Thud.
"…Ow."
"You didn't mold it evenly again," Sasuke muttered without looking.
"I tried! It's your instructions that are uneven!"
"You're uneven."
Naruto flopped onto his back dramatically. "Sensei Sasuke is being emotionally distant again~!"
Sasuke launched a pebble at his forehead. "Stop calling me sensei."
Despite the banter, Sasuke noted something silently: Naruto was improving.
Clumsy? Yes.
Unrefined? Obviously.
But underneath the chaos was a raw, stubborn drive — the kind that didn't quit even when he landed face-first in a thorn bush.
And that… that was familiar.
Too familiar.
"You got four steps this time," Sasuke said, crossing his arms.
Naruto's eyes lit up like he'd been handed a lifetime ramen voucher. "Wait, really?! You counted?! You actually counted?!"
Sasuke blinked. "I was observing for correction purposes."
"You care~!" Naruto sang.
Sasuke's eye twitched. "I will actually set you on fire."
As the sun dipped low, stomachs began to rumble.
Naruto collapsed dramatically onto the grass. "Okay. I can't move. I've burned all my chakra. My body is dust. I am ready to pass on."
"…Good."
"But if I die hungry, I'll haunt you!"
"You already do that. In broad daylight."
Naruto's stomach gave an aggressive growl.
Then he bolted upright like a man possessed. "SASUKE. Let's go to Ichiraku!"
"No."
"Come on! You haven't lived until you've tasted Teuchi-ossan's miso butter special!"
"I'm not interested in overpriced carbs."
"But they're happy carbs! They soothe the soul! They change lives! They—"
"Fine," Sasuke muttered. "If it'll shut you up."
Naruto fist-pumped. "YES! Ramen diplomacy works!"
Ichiraku Ramen — early evening
The ramen stand glowed with a cozy, golden warmth. Teuchi smiled as they sat down at the counter, Ayame waving from the back.
"Welcome back, Naruto! Oh—and you brought a friend?"
Naruto beamed. "Yup! This is Sasuke. He's brooding, emotionally repressed, and has the social energy of a rock, but he's cool."
Teuchi chuckled. "Well then, two bowls coming right up!"
Naruto immediately rattled off his order. "One miso butter pork! Extra bamboo shoots! Extra noodles! And an egg!"
Sasuke scanned the menu once, then quietly said, "Shio… light broth. No toppings."
Naruto gasped dramatically. "You monster."
Sasuke stared. "What."
"No toppings?! No egg? No seaweed? What's the point of ramen without an egg?!"
"I don't eat food for emotional fulfillment."
"You eat lies," Naruto said solemnly.
They ate.
Naruto slurped loudly, nearly inhaling half the broth in one go. "MMMPH! Worth every bruise."
Sasuke sipped slowly, watching the steam curl upward. The taste was… warm. Balanced. Not bad.
"You like it, don't you," Naruto said smugly.
"I didn't say that."
"Your face said it."
"My face is expressionless."
"Your soul smiled."
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
But he didn't get up and leave.
In fact, he stayed until Naruto finished his second bowl, and even let the blond talk non-stop about a frog he'd seen during training that may or may not have been trying to communicate via blinking.
Sasuke said nothing the whole time.
But when they parted ways outside the ramen stand, under the soft glow of the lanterns, he muttered just loud enough for Naruto to hear:
"…Thanks."
Naruto blinked. "For the ramen?"
Sasuke was already walking away.
"Naruto!"
The blond turned. "Huh?"
Sasuke didn't stop walking. But he said, without turning back—
"You got five steps up that tree today."
Naruto stood there, blinking, before grinning so wide it nearly split his face.
"He totally cares~!"