Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

"You seemed to have fallen really hard..."

"So, did Uchiha Nagi win this sparring match?"

Iruka-sensei quickly stepped forward and examined Sasuke's visibly swollen ankle, and sure enough, he saw a bruise.

He frowned, then glanced at you beside him, who seemed to want to disappear immediately.

Iruka understood perfectly well that you probably didn't want to be in the limelight at all.

He thought for a moment, then took the opportunity to give you a way out, which also served as a task for you: "Uchiha Nagi, Sasuke's foot is injured and he has difficulty moving around. Could you please take him to the infirmary?"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke, who had initially intended to feign that he could leave, immediately swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He lowered his head slightly, the wisps of hair on his forehead obscuring the fleeting smugness in his eyes. When he raised his head again, his face wore a restrained yet resolute expression, and he spoke in a weak voice.

"No...it's alright, Iruka-sensei. If...if she doesn't want to go...I can...walk there myself..."

As he spoke, he deliberately leaned more of his weight on you, as if even standing was difficult for him.

If you weren't absolutely certain you hadn't bumped into him, just looking at him, you'd almost believe he was lying! This guy... he's definitely faking an accident!

You coldly drew a conclusion in your heart, looking at Sasuke's weak and helpless appearance, and thinking about how you had become the number one in sparring by mistake and gained the limelight, completely contrary to your original intention... A strange sense of bad luck arose spontaneously.

Today was truly...a day of nothing going right.

But with everyone watching, especially since Iruka-sensei has spoken, you can't directly expose him or refuse.

So, under your icy, gloomy gaze, Sasuke was secretly delighted, but outwardly he endured the pain and, half-supported and half-carried by you, limped toward the infirmary.

You had just helped Sasuke to sit down by the bedside when you turned around without hesitation. Before you could take a step, you felt a slight pull from behind as Sasuke's hand gripped the corner of your robe tightly.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke's voice rang out, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency and self-righteousness.

You stopped, but didn't turn around. You just crossed your arms and said, "Go back to class." Your patience was visibly wearing thin.

"No way!" Sasuke immediately retorted, his grip on your clothes tightening as he tried to make his voice sound more convincing. "I twisted my ankle during our sparring session! You have to take responsibility for me!"

The logic in those words finally made you turn around. You looked at Sasuke sitting on the hospital bed with an expression that said, "I'm injured, so I'm right," and a clear sense of absurdity flashed across your eyes.

You narrowed your eyes slightly, scrutinizing Sasuke with a gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce through his skin and reach his very soul.

Suddenly, you grabbed Sasuke by the collar and pulled him towards you, instantly closing the distance between you to the point where you could hear each other breathing.

Your voice was low, laced with a cold accusation, "Are you trying to scam me?"

"I...I didn't!" Sasuke tried to remain calm as he retorted, but his shifty eyes and trembling voice betrayed his guilty conscience.

Just as the atmosphere was tense, the door to the infirmary creaked open.

The school doctor, wearing a white coat, walked in and immediately saw the almost physical fight that was taking place by the bedside, especially the shocking scene of the black-haired girl grabbing the injured patient's collar.

"What are you doing! Calm down!" The school doctor rushed forward. "This is the infirmary! The injured person needs to rest quietly! Student, let go!"

When you saw the school doctor come in, the coldness in your eyes instantly disappeared; you didn't want to make a big fuss and attract any more unnecessary attention.

So you obediently let go of Sasuke's collar, as if you weren't the one who had just been gripping him.

Chapter 299 Demonstration

You stopped looking at Sasuke, walked straight to the window, turned your back to the hospital bed, and leaned against the window frame alone.

The afternoon sunlight shines through the glass, but it can't penetrate the depths of your eyes.

You frowned, silently reflecting on where things went wrong. Was it agreeing to spar? Or failing to dodge in time when he lunged at you?

Or...should we have refused him outright the moment he issued the challenge?

I'm carefully reviewing the whole process, trying to find the key mistakes that led to this troublesome situation.

The conclusion is that Uchiha Sasuke is indeed an unpredictable factor that will cause trouble, and we must keep a stricter distance from him in the future.

Once you calmed down, the school doctor skillfully examined Sasuke's swollen ankle, applied a cooling ointment, and then carefully wrapped and secured it with a white bandage.

Throughout the entire process, Sasuke remained unusually quiet and cooperative, only occasionally glancing at the solitary figure by the window.

"It's just a common sprain, no bones are broken. Rest for a few days and avoid strenuous exercise, and it will heal quickly."

After the school doctor finished bandaging the wound, he gave some instructions.

He glanced at you by the window, then at Sasuke on the hospital bed, sensing something odd about the atmosphere between the two. So he added, "You're classmates, you should get along peacefully and help each other, understand?"

After saying that, the school doctor took his things and left the infirmary, looking back several times as he went, seemingly not comfortable leaving the two obviously at odds children alone together.

The door was gently closed, and once again only the two of you remained in the infirmary.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke finally mustered his courage. "Um... could you... take me home today?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the figure by the window finally moved.

You slowly turned around, your gaze falling on Sasuke's face, wanting to see just how much more outrageous his requests could be.

Sasuke instinctively avoided your gaze, but then, as if remembering something, he looked up again, his voice lowered, trembling with a hint of loneliness, "You know... I'm all alone at home..."

"...Okay." You finally agreed.

As school ended, Sakura Haruno packed her schoolbag and watched with a complicated expression as you helped Sasuke slowly walk out of the school gate.

She had indeed always harbored feelings for Sasuke, but at this moment, seeing that you couldn't walk with her because you were taking Sasuke home, a strange, bittersweet feeling of irritation welled up uncontrollably in her heart.

Sakura shook her head vigorously, her pink hair tracing a clean arc in the air.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore! Nagi is probably just being sympathetic!

She tried to convince herself to suppress the sudden dislike she felt for Sasuke.

You helped Sasuke along the route you remembered, heading towards the Uchiha clan's territory. After walking for a while, you suddenly turned onto a side road.

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat, thinking you'd changed your mind at the last minute, and he blurted out, "Hey! Where are you going? Don't forget you promised to take me home!"

You glanced at him sideways and explained in a flat tone, "Go find someone in the Dark Division."

"Anbu?!" Sasuke was stunned.

Filled with doubt, Sasuke was half-supported and half-carried by you to the vicinity of a seemingly ordinary building.

Before they could get close, a tall, silver-haired figure appeared silently in front of them.

Even though the other person was wearing a mask, Sasuke could recognize him from his signature silver hair and lazy demeanor as the elite Jonin Kakashi Hatake!

What happened next left Sasuke even more dumbfounded.

You very naturally took out those familiar ninja academy practice books from your bag and then stuffed them directly into Kakashi Hatake's hand.

Kakashi took the homework assignments without any surprise or refusal. He just sighed helplessly, and you could feel his resigned attitude even through his mask. He then casually put the assignments away.

"I'll come pick it up tomorrow morning." You said this to Kakashi in a manner that sounded like a superior giving an order to a subordinate, and then, without saying another word, you helped Sasuke, who was still in shock, and turned to continue walking towards the Uchiha clan's territory.

After walking quite a distance, Sasuke seemed to regain his voice. He suddenly turned his head and looked at you beside him, his tone filled with disbelief.

"You...you had someone else do your homework for you?" This completely overturned his understanding.

You didn't even bother to lift your eyelids. "Shut up, or you can write it."

Sasuke fell silent instantly, all the words stuck in his throat.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He silently turned his head and looked at the road ahead that was gradually becoming familiar.

What a joke!

He's too lazy to even do his own homework!

Although he was extremely shocked and inexplicably annoyed by your cheating behavior—why should Kakashi be willing to write it for you?—Sasuke wisely chose to keep quiet after weighing the pros and cons.

After sending Sasuke back to the Uchiha mansion, a place so quiet that only the echoes of memories remained, you thought the farce of the accident was finally over. You even had a plan in mind for your departure, wanting to find a place to study the power within your body.

Just as he let go of her hand and was about to turn around, Sasuke's voice rang out again, "Um, considering I'm injured," he leaned against the doorframe, his eyes darting around, but his tone trying to remain calm, "could you... take care of my daily needs?"

You suddenly turned around, your gloomy aura instantly transforming into a tangible, cold sharpness. You took a step in front of Sasuke and unceremoniously pinched one of his cheeks hard, the force so great that Sasuke instantly winced in pain.

"You can give it a try?"

Sasuke was startled by your sudden outburst and merciless force, and his cheeks burned with pain.

He immediately realized that this request was indeed too much and had crossed your bottom line.

He quickly took remedial measures, enduring the pain on his face, softening his voice, and even adding a pleading tone that he himself did not realize, "Then... stay with me tonight, just for one night."

Sasuke raised his eyes, his eyes, so similar to Itachi's, now filled with desolation, loneliness, and a barely perceptible vulnerability—a fear of being left alone in this enormous mansion. "Just one night...is that alright?"

Looking at his appearance, and thinking about your plan with Itachi, the anger you felt from being scammed strangely dissipated, replaced by a numbness.

From Sasuke's unusual performance during sparring to his sprained ankle, and now his pleading, you've probably really been completely hooked on this eccentric fellow clansman.

After a few seconds of silence, you finally managed to squeeze out a monotonous syllable from your throat, "...um."

Upon hearing your agreement, Sasuke's eyes instantly lit up, as if he had received some great blessing.

What you perceive as companionship is merely finding a room in this mansion to spend the night without disturbing each other.

But when they followed Sasuke to his room, they discovered that things were not so simple.

The room was fairly tidy, but on Sasuke's bed, the bedding was neatly made, while next to it... there was a makeshift bed on the floor.

“You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.” Sasuke pointed to the bed, his tone casual, as if it were the obvious arrangement.

Seeing Sasuke's feigned composure, the irritation you had just suppressed resurfaced.

He grabbed Sasuke's arm and shoved him onto the bed without a word, nearly causing Sasuke to hit the headboard.

"What exactly do you want?" You looked down at him, your dark eyes filled with impatience and scrutiny. "Just say it directly, don't play these roundabout games."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat when he was suddenly pinned down on the bed.

When you meet his all-seeing gaze up close, Sasuke panics, but reacts instinctively. He suddenly reaches out, grabs your wrist, and pulls it hard.

You didn't expect him to suddenly exert force, and your body instantly lost its balance. Before you could even cry out, he pulled you down, and you fell onto the soft bedding.

You lay side by side on the bed.

"I just..." Sasuke's voice was slightly breathless, and filled with a desperate honesty, "I just wanted to be your friend."

The way Sasuke said the word carried an absurd sense of incongruity.

You lay flat on the bed, staring at the family crest on the ceiling, not responding immediately; only his somewhat disordered breathing could be heard in the room.

After a long while, you suddenly spoke, bringing up a night you had deliberately forgotten, "Didn't you say you wanted to be strangers to me?"

It was on the night the Uchiha clan was massacred that he made this resolute declaration to you, filled with hatred.

Sasuke's body stiffened instantly, and an embarrassed blush rose to his cheeks. He coughed awkwardly twice, trying to cover it up. "I was a little out of control at the time. That wasn't my intention."

He spoke with a lack of confidence.

"Oh," you replied with a single word, your tone ambiguous, neither telling of belief nor sarcasm.

Sasuke felt uneasy at that "oh," unsure of your attitude.

In an attempt to change the subject and to achieve his own ulterior motives, he spoke again, his tone deliberately kind.

“Sitting in the last row, you’re bound to be affected by other people. The seat next to me is empty. Do you want to ask Iruka-sensei to switch seats?” He was referring to Naruto, that annoying guy.

"The back row is fine." You rejected his offer without hesitation.

Undeterred by the rejection, Sasuke finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time, "Um... what's the situation between you and Nara Shikamaru?"

He felt a tightness in his chest when he recalled that the two of them had the exact same score on the test.

"Me and him?" You finally turned your head to look at Sasuke lying next to you, your eyes filled with inexplicable doubt.

All of Sasuke's questions and actions tonight were inexplicably baffling.

"Your shuriken throwing results shouldn't be like that!" Sasuke's voice became agitated as he recalled the incident. He even sat up abruptly, despite the pain in his ankle, and stared at you.

"You did it on purpose! You deliberately submitted the same score as him!" This made him feel betrayed.

"What does this have to do with you?" Your tone turned cold. You put your hands behind your head, intending to end this boring conversation and close your eyes to rest.

"How can it have nothing to do with me?!" Sasuke was completely enraged by your aloof attitude. Ignoring the pain in his foot, he reached out and shook your shoulder forcefully, forcing you to sit up again.

Annoyed by his shaking, you stare coldly at him and say, "You'd better give me a reason that can convince me."

Sasuke was somewhat intimidated by your cold gaze, but the words were already out of his mouth. He steeled himself, his cheeks flushed red, and his voice grew softer and softer.

"Because...because we...kissed today...so..."

You thought back and realized that when you fell, your lips did seem to brush against his chin.