CHAPTER 6: A Second Chance

A/N: So here is another chapter, and I hope you all enjoy this one as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it 🤗

Naruto couldn't sleep last night. There were bags under his eyes, and his usually glowing skin seemed dull today, although they weren't that noticeable. His thoughts had done their job quite well last night. They left him wondering about the incidents of yesterday. The way Sasuke had behaved had been bothering him for quite some time before he saw his full name in the attendance register.

'He is an Uchiha... no wonder he was like that yesterday. I've heard about them before from otōsan. They are very prideful and won't accept defeat, even if it costs them their lives.'

He was able to understand Sasuke a little. He knew deep down that if anyone had challenged him the way he had challenged the Uchiha, he would have made the same choice as Sasuke.

He rode his bike to Konoha High, enjoying the fresh air of the pleasant morning. As he approached the school gates, he suddenly stopped. After a moment of contemplation, he parked his bike by the entrance and leaned against one of the pillars holding the huge gates in place. He crossed his hands at the back of his head and waited. He didn't know why, but he found himself worrying about Sasuke.

So, he waited till he spotted Sasuke walking at a leisurely pace at some distance. Naruto waited for him to get a little closer before walking up to him.

"Ne, Sasuke! How are you?"

Naruto called out to him as he closed the gap between them. He saw Sasuke look up at him, then quickly avert his gaze.

'Well... I should've known this.'

Naruto sighed as he went after Sasuke, who had already walked through the gates. Sasuke was confused. Why wouldn't Naruto leave him alone?

'The rounds should've been enough to make it up to him for what happened yesterday... Do I have something else to make up for?'

"What's wrong, dattebayo?"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks a little away from him. He could hear a hint of worry in Naruto's slightly desperate voice. As a result, he turned around to take a look at Naruto. He saw those blue orbs begging Sasuke to talk to him.

'I... should leave him alone. It's for his own good. It was nice meeting you, Naruto.'

Sasuke unconsciously smiled, which was the saddest smile in the eyes of Naruto that he had ever seen anybody give. For some reason, his heart hurt as he watched the Uchiha leave. Naruto would rather see Sasuke act bratty than make such an expression.

'But I won't leave you alone. Not anytime soon. I want to know why you gave me that lovesick smile. You have the 5th lesson with me today. See you soon, Sasuke.'

*TIME SKIP* 10 MINUTES BEFORE THE 5TH LESSON~

Sasuke's leg muscles had cramped pretty badly after yesterday's ordeal, which made today a hellish experience for him. His right ankle was especially giving him a hard time since he had twisted it while taking rounds yesterday. Still, he thought that walking at a slow speed would be very much possible no matter how badly his entire lower body and core hurt.

But this time, he hadn't even cared to look at the situation of his sore points last night.

'It'll get better by tomorrow.'

But Sasuke was careless this time because it never did get better. He was having trouble walking down the hall to get to the changing rooms. He was even limping at this point, but he made sure that it wasn't too noticeable, but it only hurt more in the process. He felt himself flinching every time he set his right foot down.

'How am I supposed to handle rounds like this? Maybe I can rest in the infirmary...'

Ultimately, Sasuke decided to attend his lesson anyway. He wanted a little rest, and he knew he needed it, but there were a few things that kept him going, although they were far from motivating.

Sasuke knew that if he rested in the infirmary or even bought a painkiller, it would be recorded in his file and account statement. This would result in Fugaku interrogating him, and his interactions with his father were hardly worth it. It would end up being more painful than what he was currently going through.

'I should hurry.'

Sasuke's thought as he heard the bell ring. He allowed himself to limp in a more obvious way to the changing rooms as there were not many people nearby. This way, he could reach them faster.

He hurriedly changed into his all-black sports attire and hobbled at a medium pace to the field.

Without his consent, his eyes directed his attention to a heap of blond silky hair. This time, Sasuke took complete notice Naruto, unlike in the morning when he was busy avoiding him. He didn't look very different than yesterday, yet Sasuke found himself admiring his features as if he had seen Naruto for the first time.

'Oh shit... how could I forget about this?! He is a damn coach! I won't be able to avoid him. Oh! I can keep our relationship to a coach and student one only... but then again, he never said he considered me his friend. He is just friendly overall. Ugh! Why is it so difficult? I'd rather solve math papers...'

The whistle was blown, and the herd again set off to take their rounds. Gai sensei was taking the class with Naruto because he wanted to select a few kids for the track and field team.

Normally, Sasuke would have finished his laps before many of the kids, but he was struggling today. He was jogging at the back of the entire group.

'This is going nowhere. I won't be able to cover up like this. It will reflect in my report card... Damn it! It's just running, I should be able to do this at least. Don't let the Uchiha name down, Sasuke!'

Sasuke mentally cursed his legs. He was trying his best to forget about the pain and continue, but that was hardly helping.

Not everyone was oblivious to Sasuke's pain. Naruto had been noticing him for a long time. He could already see drops of sweat forming all over his face, which was scrunching very slightly with every step he took. If he wasn't observing, he probably wouldn't have seen it.

Naruto felt a knot form in his stomach. He didn't like what he was seeing.

'He should've rested for the lesson. That way, he could've avoided this torture altogether, along with me, dattebayo... Why is he here?'

Naruto thought as his heart ached a little at the fact that Sasuke wanted to avoid him. He was also feeling uneasy about the fact that Sasuke was masking his physical pain too well. It almost seemed subconscious to Naruto.

'Are you so used to hiding?'

Naruto turned to Gai-sensei, who was standing beside him, observing everyone in the class and shouting weird things about youth to motivate them.

"Sensei, I'll have to take Sasuke to the infirmary. He seems to have hurt his foot."

"You mean the Uchiha boy running at the back?"

Gai-sensei pointed at Sasuke as he asked Naruto.

"Yes."

"He does seem slow today. How did you find out about his injuries?"

"I saw him limping in the corridors."

"Okay, my boy, you can take him and make sure his youth returns to him before you return to the field!"

"Okay, sensei! I'll be back."

With that, Naruto began to jog towards Sasuke, chuckling to himself a little.

'Sensei, I was with you in your office the entire time, dattebayo!'

He grabbed Sasuke's arm, causing the raven to stop with a loud hiss. Sasuke turned around to see Naruto smiling his signature smile, but his eyes told the raven that he meant business. He slowly led Sasuke out of the tracks.

"Did I do something, Naruto sensei?"

Sasuke's voice sounded distant to Naruto.

'STOP! It's only been a day since you've known him! Stop thinking deep shit like this!'

Naruto talked to himself a little before answering Sasuke.

"No, but you have somewhere to be right now, which doesn't happen to be the field."

"And where would that be?"

"The infirmary! You know, the place with medicines and nurses. It's like an in-school hospital, dattebayo."

"I know what an infirmary is, dobe."

"I know, teme! I was just teasing you, dattebayo!"

"In any case, my answer is no. I am not going to the infirmary."

"I never said it was a question."

Naruto's voice was now serious. He had to at least see for himself the state of his feet and legs.

"As your coach, I order you to come to the infirmary with me."

"Your authority isn't intimidating enough."

"You want me to intimidate you, Sasuke?"

Naruto said with a smirk, completely winning the round. Sasuke's face turned red as he turned away from the blond with a "Tch."

"Dobe,"

Sasuke muttered so softly that Naruto almost didn't catch it.

"Haha! Let's go,"

Naruto spoke, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.

"Hn, whatever."

Sasuke knew that denying Naruto was the worst decision he could have made at the moment. It would only allow him to feel more inclined towards the blond. He was scared that he would slowly become greedy for Naruto's attention, which wasn't a good thing, especially for Naruto.

On the way, he continuously hissed, sometimes even taking the support of the wall, but he completely refused Naruto's help. He tried to avoid the sunshine boy for as long as he could, which soon became impossible due to one stupid mistake.

He was so focused on thinking about ignoring Naruto that he didn't notice the wall against which he was supporting himself come to an end. He almost fell face-first, but strong tan hands caught him and pulled him up. His back hit a muscular chest, which was Naruto's, undoubtedly.

*THUMP*

Sasuke's cheeks flushed as he saw Naruto's buffed-up arms wrapped around his entire being. He feebly tried to push himself out of Naruto's embrace when Naruto took one of his hands and placed it across his shoulder. His other hand snaked around Sasuke's waist and held him firmly.

Sasuke's mind became a complete mess. All his efforts keeping Naruto away were slowly and painfully going down the drain.

'I won't be able to stay away from him if he keeps doing things like this. Thank God he hasn't lifted me off the ground completely. As far as I know him, he would've completely done that if it wasn't me he was dealing with... Thank you, Naruto.'

'I know you value your pride, or else I would've carried you bridal style by now,'

Naruto thought simultaneously as he supported the raven for the rest of the way to the infirmary. Naruto also took note of how Sasuke did not deny his help this time.

'Maybe, just maybe, it's a second chance for me.'

A/N: So that's it for today! The chapters might be long and slow, but that's just how I write. I like giving details and in my opinion it makes the story more beautiful..?(＃￣З￣)I don't know the exact term I should use for it, but anyway, I am sorry if you don't like dragged on things 😅 Also, I have decided on updating it weekly from now on!So... see you all next time! Author sound out ~ ✌🏻