Broken (SasuNaru / NaruSasu)

3. Knight in Shining Armor

"Hm, Usuratonkashi" He eyed the blond for a second then looked away trying to calm his beating heart. Naruto's smile had to be his weakness. It wasn't like Sasuke to walk to school but this was the path Naruto took to and from school. This was Sasuke's way of showing Naruto he wanted to spend time with him.

The two teens did not notice the group of strangers coming from behind them, but they saw the one approaching from ahead. Some carried clubs but those were the least dangerous of the weapons they had. Naruto was first to read their malicious intent.

His instinct to protect Sasuke kicked in, holding the latter's hand and pulling him behind him; only to notice that there were three approaching from behind. The mobsters were sent by one guy. He wanted revenge on Naruto, obviously, he stressed on not hurting the Uchiha even though he was the one who stopped him from harming the blond.

Sasuke was ready to fight too, there was only one problem: he had never fought against armed guys. He did not know how to react to the situation; he felt a hand push him to the side protectively. Naruto did not even show a moment's hesitation, only shooting glances at Sasuke. He figured they were after him when no one attempted to attack Sasuke. That is until one of them saw the Uchiha on the phone.

"Sasuke-teme!!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, he took care of the two guys between them and ran to the one going for Sasuke. His hand reached the assailant's arm before the machete reached Sasuke's head. Sasuke had seen his life flash before his eyes. He slid down in shock not even hearing the crack of bone that characterized Naruto breaking the criminal's arm.

The guy was screaming in pain. His mates, even more, wanted to teach the new boy a lesson; but they were hesitant. They have not even been able to land a single hit on him and he seemed to be getting serious now.

Naruto eyed his opponents and dropped his backpack then walked ahead leaving the shocked Uchiha to recover. He was not going to just play defence anymore. When he cracked his fingers, they dropped everything and ran away. 'There is no way this boy is human' they collectively thought. This was not what they signed up for.

Naruto rushed to his classmate. No, he rushed to his crush.
"Sasuke, are you alright?" the Uchiha was as pale as snow, his eyes shot wide in horror and fixated on the machete that was only a few inches away from him. His breathing went from soft to audible as he was in a panic. "Look at me...look at me" Naruto came between him and the blade; blocking his view. "You're okay; I won't let anyone hurt you."

Sasuke saw those Turquoise eyes, as clear as beach water. His voice as truthful as his actions so Sasuke only pulled him in for a hug; his mind still scrambling to make sense of what had just happened. Naruto wrapped his arms around him, it was all too familiar for the blond: the fear of losing someone you love. It wasn't long that Itachi was in the scene.

"Sasuke!" he rushed to his brother's side, he freaked out when he read the text message from his brother initially. He only saw weapons on the ground and the two boys in a silent embrace on the ground.

Naruto pulled away despite Sasuke's silent pleading to not leave his side. A plea that Naruto failed to notice; he let the vice-principal check on his beloved baby brother.

Itachi was thankful Naruto was with him. He knew the boy was a martial art genius amongst other things but he never thought him capable of fending off a group of armed assailants to the point where they'd drop their weapons and run.

His mind rushed to his own boyfriend. He remembered that night as if it had just happened.

Itachi was eighteen, he had just finished his PhD thesis in education and psychology.