"Damn you, Sasuke! My waist... it hurts!"
Naruto clutched his lower back as he struggled to get up from the ground. He had been beaten by Sasuke again, and this time was even worse—Sasuke had actually kicked him right in the waist.
Damn it, doesn't he know you can't just kick a guy in the waist like that? What if something important got messed up?!
"Get up. I'm taking you out for barbecue tonight."
Sasuke, in a good mood, reached out and helped Naruto up. That kick earlier had been an accident—he didn't mean to land it so hard.
Though, of course, he hadn't really held back enough to cause no damage.
"Really? Then I forgive you! But seriously, my back hurts. Look at it!"
Naruto's eyes lit up the moment he heard "barbecue," as if he could already see the grilled meat sizzling in front of him. But the spot where he got kicked still hurt like hell, so he insisted Sasuke take a look.
"...It's bruised."
Sasuke frowned as he looked at the small patch of bluish-purple on Naruto's waist. He was sure he had pulled his kick—how did that even happen?
Besides, a bruise wouldn't form that quickly right after the impact...
"...Uh, Sasuke, stop poking it already! Fine, I'll tell the truth. That bruise's not from your kick—it happened yesterday during combat training at school."
Seeing Sasuke's narrowing eyes, Naruto gave in instantly.
It wasn't just Sasuke's look that was dangerous—the hand that was now sliding around his waist was also making his heart beat faster.
"Yesterday you said you weren't hurt. So now you're learning to lie to me, huh?"
Sasuke suddenly pressed down hard on the bruised spot.
"Ahhh—!"
Naruto yelped in pain, baring his teeth.
But slowly, the pain started to feel... different. It was kind of...
Tingly... cooling... almost soothing...?
Wait, what the hell is this feeling?
Not only did it stop hurting—it actually felt...
Weirdly good.
"Don't move."
Sasuke raised his other hand and firmly pressed Naruto's head against his shoulder to stop him from making any strange or inappropriate expressions.
The Hyuga clan's ANBU member wasn't around today, so using a bit of chakra to heal Naruto wouldn't be noticed.
But if Naruto went around talking about it, explaining where this medical ninjutsu came from would be a real problem.
"Mmm… Sasuke."
Naruto rubbed his head against Sasuke's shoulder, then obediently stayed still.
He already knew there were some Konoha ANBU operatives watching them from the shadows, though he had no idea how many or where exactly they were.
But based on the way Sasuke handled things, Naruto could usually tell how serious the situation was—and whether the surveillance was tight or not.
"Tomorrow's throwing class—keep your score a little lower. Shikamaru will probably go first, just make sure your score is slightly lower than his."
Sasuke whispered tomorrow's test plan into Naruto's ear while also thinking about how to help Naruto continue maintaining the position of "dead last."
"Got it."
Once again playing the role of dead last—Naruto didn't quite understand the reason behind it, but he had never once refused Sasuke's arrangements.
Besides, he'd heard people say that usually, the top-ranked student and the bottom-ranked student often got assigned to the same team after graduation.
In order to stay with Sasuke even after they graduated, Naruto was determined to play his role as the "dead last" perfectly.
He absolutely wouldn't let anyone steal that spot!
"Let's go. Your back's still injured—rest properly when we get home."
As the medical chakra faded from Sasuke's hand, he withdrew his chakra and helped Naruto walk back to the house they were staying in.
After settling Naruto into his room, Sasuke finally returned to his own. He washed up, then lay down to cultivate his chakra before sleep.
That night in the Uchiha compound, the ANBU's shift change seemed to have been delayed slightly.
Maybe something else was going on in Konoha...