to stay sat still on the ground in a moment of contention like this would be too far out of character for sasuke, no matter how much attention his injury really should require. maybe it’s his bridling rage that sharpens his focus enough to sloppily finish dressing the wound, or maybe he just cares more about yelling at naruto, but either way, he won’t be looked down at by him of all people — he couldn’t stand the thought of it when they were just kids, and he still can’t. so he forces himself to his feet, turning with his injured arm shielded from view like an animal too prideful to admit that it’s vulnerable in any way, his eyes narrowed in the direction of his comrade.
“ keep it down, you idiot! ” the command comes out in a whispered hiss of a yell, ironically loud for what he’s asking of naruto.
you haven’t changed a bit, he thinks with contempt, and a voice in his head mocks him for it, dark and far removed from who he thinks he is now: you haven’t either, sasuke. ( that scares him a little. )
“ because we aren’t teammates. not like we used to be. the jounin is the leader. i’m the leader. that’s simple mission protocol! " he explains, spelling it out for him in what can only be described as the same volume that he’d just warned naruto about using. once they’re eye to eye, it’s hard to hold back; almost like when they were younger, screaming at each other to reiterate points that neither of them could seem to grasp.
what’s left to say seems like a moot point, as he really is just repeating the same thing over and over — until naruto says that he felt left behind, and something about that, just… infuriates him. at that point, sasuke’s demeanor shifts from irritated to enraged.
“ you were left behind? ” he starts, posing it as a question, and even partially a challenge; his tone is even and it’s low, and he feels something boiling beneath his skin that he’s forgotten about — only after a fair amount of coaxing from dear old sensei, that is, but the fact of the matter is that sasuke was angry at naruto for a long time after he left; and it was childish, he knows that now. it was unfair of him. he knows. and since he’s been back, sasuke wants to think he’s a different person — a more tolerant one. but in that moment, he feels the rage of his thirteen year old self take over; the rage of losing his best friend right after he’d come home.
that rage is what prompts his arm forward, and it’s what twists his fist into naruto’s collar, pulling him closer by it until they’re truly facing each other. his grip isn’t as tight as it could be, because he doesn’t want to hurt him — he just wants him to hear him, and for him to hear him loud and clear. that, and his fist trembles in the collar; it’s still singed, and the pressure of grabbing isn’t doing anything good for him.
“ you dragged me back here and then you left, naruto! so tell me, who left behind who ?! ” now louder than even naruto had been speaking, sasuke watches himself as he erupts with an emotion that he immediately regrets — because there’s a pang of humiliating hurt in his argument, unlike he’s ever shown him before. he drops naruto’s collar then, forcing himself to step back and avert his gaze; it’s bad enough that he’s revealed as much as he has with his words. he doesn’t need naruto getting a big head over him caring that he was gone.
when he starts talking again, it’s with narrowed eyes, gaze fixated on his feet on the ground. “ i know how strong you are, naruto. i’ve always known that. ” for an admission, it sounds shameful, almost; like it’s hard for him to say, even now — because it is. for as long as they’ve known each other, naruto being his rival is what pushed him forward. “ why does something like title even matter to you ? you were trained personally by a legendary sannin ! so what if i get to make the calls ? i don’t understand you. ”
even now, naruto grunts and scoffs at sasuke’s words ; stubbornness at its peak as his teeth grit, fists clenched as emotions pour from the uchiha’s mouth. but he can’t accept that — none of it ! the nine tail’s chakra boiling within him as his emotions grew stronger and stronger ... sasuke’s words not even daring to grasp his attention until it’s forced by the hand that grabbed his collar, bringing him forward and demanding that he listen.
the emotion that drew out those words ... a pent up rage unlike what anger others had taken out on naruto throughout his childhood. this was different : emotion lacing words that genuinely cared, and one demanding to be heard at that. each word pressing at the blonde as the chakra within him simmered, burning his entire body from the inside and out even once he was released.
‘ so what ? ’ he manages, hurt laced within those words and he’s not even quite sure if sasuke would have been able to hear him. ‘ do you regret coming back ? ’ he’s a bit louder this time, and the thickened whiskers on his face were clear to how strongly he felt. ‘ —— i don’t understand you ! so what if pervy sage trained me ! i only did that to keep my word ... ’ to protect what mattered to him. ‘ i’d drag you back a million times if i had to. ’ to protect who mattered to him.
‘ you can call yourself whatever you want, i don’t care about that ! ’ there was a tear shed, his anger getting the better of him. ‘ i just want you to listen to me ! it’s like nothing i say matters ... i’m just trying to make sure you don’t get seriously hurt. ’ he couldn’t risk the chance of losing him again.
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