Naruto's grin barely lasted three seconds before he realized—oh no, he'd screwed up again.
This was his first real friend. And he just called him short.
Panic set in. His stomach dropped. Was Satoru gonna ditch him now?
Just as Naruto spiraled into self-doubt, a voice cut through his thoughts.
"The stupid one is you!"
Naruto blinked. Sasuke was glaring at him.
Oh, it was on.
"You're an idiot! Idiot!"
"Fool!"
"Moron!"
"Dumbass!"
Their argument had devolved into a full-blown loop, like a pair of malfunctioning parrots, when—
"Sasuke, that's rude," Itachi's calm voice interrupted.
Sasuke froze.
Oh crap, his big brother saw that.
His shoulders stiffened as he lowered his head, mumbling, "I… I'm sorry."
It wasn't really his fault though. Naruto started it!
Naruto, meanwhile, was taken aback. Apology? That was unexpected. Did he need to say something back?
"Uh… well, I was kinda wrong too." He scratched his head, flashing a sheepish grin.
Satoru watched them with an unreadable expression. Then, he beamed. "Ah, the bonds of brotherhood—truly heartwarming. Childhood sweethearts at their finest."
…
Silence.
Two pairs of wide, horrified eyes snapped to him.
"WHAT?!"
"Second brother, stop talking nonsense!" Sasuke practically shrieked.
Naruto paled. "Big bro, what are you saying?! Take it back!"
Satoru blinked innocently. "What? I'm just saying, the chemistry is undeniable."
"Shut up!"
Both Sasuke and Naruto turned on him in unison, horrified by whatever bizarre delusion he had just spoken into existence.
Naruto was starting to question everything. Was Satoru really his cool first friend? Or was he some sort of madman? And why did it seem like he enjoyed making them suffer?
Just then, a voice interrupted.
"Why is everyone just standing around?"
A new figure approached—Uchiha Shisui.
The moment he appeared, Itachi's usually guarded expression relaxed slightly. "Shisui."
"Hey, Itachi."
Shisui then shifted his attention to the rest of the group. He immediately recognized Naruto—he looked way too much like the Fourth Hokage to be anyone else.
And, of course, there was Satoru. How could he not know him? The clan's walking headache.
And the last one must be Itachi's little brother.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Uchiha Shisui," he introduced himself with an easygoing smile.
The three younger boys greeted him in return, though Sasuke still seemed a bit ruffled from earlier.
That's when Naruto suddenly turned to Satoru.
"Big bro! Remember the other day?"
"The other day?" Satoru echoed blankly.
"At the ramen shop! The contest! It's happening soon!"
Satoru's Six Eyes briefly flickered with curiosity. "The ramen contest? Already?"
"Yeah! They moved it up! Let's go enter!" Naruto practically vibrated with excitement.
Satoru tapped his chin. "Huh. That's weird. It usually doesn't change dates…"
Itachi, however, had a pretty good guess why. Konoha was preparing for a small-scale conflict. Some internal schedules had to shift to accommodate more serious matters.
Sasuke, still recovering from earlier, hesitated. "You're all going?"
"Of course! And you should come too, Sasuke," Satoru said, flashing a mischievous grin. "After all… your big brother is going."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"My big brother… is going to a ramen contest?"
Satoru nodded solemnly. "Yes. And you wouldn't want to fall behind, would you?"
Sasuke clenched his fists. "Fine. I'll go."
Satoru smirked. Hook, line, and sinker.
This was going to be fun.
—
(A/N: Don't Forget To Add In Your Collection And Support via Powerstone)