Monsters

Monsters With Monsters

He's alive.

He's okay.

He's not leaving.

They're safe.

Suddenly Sasuke felt very much like an eight-year-old.

He tackled the blonde, his transformation falling, but he didn't care. He clung to the other, hiding his face in his shirt and flicking him on the back of the neck over and over because he couldn't use words to say how stupid the dobe was.

He could feel the boy laughing at him, but he was focusing very hard on making sure the only person who could see him couldn't see him crying.

He was then unceremoniously picked up by the dumb blonde, which Sasuke was begrudgingly beginning to get used to because Naruto was an idiot that couldn't take a hint.

"Sensei, this is Sasuke." He introduced, and Iruka seemed to grow two shades paler with a very deep frown as he lowered the kunai without a thought.

Naruto then realized there probably wasn't enough context for him to not sound insane. He picked up the blanket off the floor with one hand, the other still holding Sasuke at his hip (but Iruka couldn't see that).

He set his friend down, who was currently glaring at him the same way he always did after being picked up, disingenuously. He then put the blanket over his head, which draped over much similarly to a sheet 'ghost' he remembers trying to scare his big brother with when he was four.

Naruto made jazz hands in Sasuke's direction, and Iruka seemed to be searching the boy's hands and his jutsu knowledge. "Naruto, if this is another of those pranks--"

But Iruka cut himself off because he realized he was doing it again, and Naruto drooped for less than a second before his smile shifted to show less eyes and more teeth. "Sorry, sorry." He said, kneeling to get closer to eye level with the boy…s?

Naruto furrowed his brows for a second before turning to the floating sheet. "How do you think we can get him to see you?" The sheet shifted oddly in what only Naruto rendered as a shrug.

"What if you turn into a transformation of yourself!"

The ghost lifted the sheet from over his face. 'tired' Sasuke mouthed without words. Iruka silently studied the lack of a person under the sheet.

"Oh. I guess so, huh." Naruto replied.

Iruka nodded. "Okay. Sasuke?" The teacher addressed apprehensively to the sheet ghost.

The sheet shifted a little in response. "I'm sorry I came in without permission, I was just trying to help Naruto's injury, okay?" He said gently and vaguely.

The sheet made a sudden movement and then dropped all together, and Iruka startled with a cut off yell. Naruto chuckled a little. "Guess you can't be a ninja if you can't even hit people, teme."

Sasuke knocked him on the back of his head, and Naruto whined about being the only one he could hit. Iruka blinked at the one side of the interaction he could see, not mentioning anything because no harm was actually done.

The teacher sighed before lightly tapping Naruto on the arm to pull his attention back. This seemed to be the wrong move, and Naruto flinched violently, all comeradery stopping for a second, and then the blonde had his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. "Yo." He said casually.

"... Yes. Can you follow my finger for a second?" Iruka said, wishing there was more light in the room while he moved his finger through Naruto's field of vision.

Naruto followed the finger with his eyes for a while before realizing what Iruka was doing. "Oh! No, I don't have a concussion. It's all healed up already, I took a nap earlier."

"Naruto," Iruka said firmly, but not unkindly. "You can't heal from a head injury in an hour."

The blonde scratched the side of his head. "I can, though? I only need some sleep and I can heal cuts, burns, broken bones, my finger was even cut off once!" He wiggled his pinky for emphasis and no one knew what to say to that. "...Are you sure?" Iruka asked lamely. He guessed it could make sense, and it's not like he could do anything if Naruto actually did have a concussion.

Naruto nodded with a big smile. Sasuke tapped him on the shoulder.

The blonde looked over before chuckling. "Guess you're really tired, huh? You can go back to the bedroom, ya' know." But the ghost stared where he was, still throwing suspicious glances toward Iruka.

The teacher seemed to read the room, and he sighed. "Okay, if you...either of you need help, there's a red apartment building in the shinobi housing district, on the sixth floor look for door 603. If I don't answer go to door 637, a friend of mine lives there, he'll help however he can, tru--... okay?" He corrected, knowing 'trust me' was a little bold of him. Naruto nodded and the ghost continued to barely move, eyeing the teacher even if the teacher didn't know it.

"Okay, I'll see you in class on Monday." He said to Naruto before leaving the two alone.