Eclipse

Naruto's Not The Only One With A Minion

I was feeling pretty hopeful when I woke up the next morning. I hope that fact alone wasn't enough to jinx my day. My bed-side clock cheerfully let me know that it was seven in the morning. Usually I'd try to sleep some more, but I was kind of excited to hand Naruto that lunch I made him. Pretty plain as far as most things go, but it's a start. I combed through my hair idly, fighting back a jaw-cracking yawn. The yawn won. Now that I'm back home, I don't have to wear sweats and long-sleeves anymore. Even though I was born and raised in the cold, Konoha had tempered me to the warmth. I was more than happy to return to the standard shinobi sandals and my usual spandex shorts and sleeveless turtleneck combo.

I was out of my house by 7:30, eagerly making my way to the bridge we usually met at before we migrated to our designated training grounds. Sasuke was there already, to no one's surprise. I greeted him with a smile, something in my chest unraveling gently. I should be more worried that I grew so attached so quickly, right?

"Have you made any headway with the mystic palm technique?" Sasuke asked, glancing at the container in my hands but not commenting.

I raised a brow at him. "We only got home yesterday, what kind of progress could I possibly make?"

Sasuke let out a small 'hn' and smirked a little smugly. "Some of us don't slack."

His hand glowed mint green. I narrowed my eyes at it.

"You've got it down?" I asked in surprise. "No poaching what you're trying to heal?"

He flipped a kunai out of his pouch and cut a slice open on his palm faster than I could stop him. Even as it healed, I felt exasperation overtake me.

"Sasuke Uchiha! You did not use yourself as an experiment for this stupid technique!"

He tucked away the kunai and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. I grabbed his arm, pulling it closer to me.

"You idiot, these are going to scar," I hissed, taking in the various sized cuts going from his forearm to the backside of his palm.

Some of them were more red than others. Sasuke was tense under my grip. I sighed and rifled through my pack with my free hand, looking for some antiseptic wipes.

"You have to be more careful with yourself," I said softly, trying to be gentle as I cleaned the cuts. "If you got hurt, none of us would know or be able to help."

"I didn't get hurt."

I glanced up at Sasuke. "But you did. Maybe not bad enough to warrant needing help, and maybe it was on purpose, but you still hurt yourself. That's not something you should be resorting to, Sasuke. I know that I can be a lot sometimes, and Naruto even more so, but we have your back with anything. I mean that. Look, if you ever get the stupid idea to do this again, I want you to come to me, okay? We'll figure something better out."

"Oh yes, I'll just find you casually whenever I feel like it," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting to that, you idiot Uchiha."

I let go of his arm and stuffed the used wipe into a separate pocket to throw it out later. I found a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down my address and apartment number before giving it to Sasuke.

"If I'm not home, I keep the key on top of the door. You're always welcome, okay?"

Sasuke said nothing, his eyes firmly reading over the directions. I chose not to say anything when his eyes flashed red for a second. He cleared his throat and put the note into the pocket of his white shorts.

"That's a dumb place to keep the key."

"I carry too many things on me as it is," I shrugged. "This way I won't just lose it."