Naruto stared at the body lying crumpled on the grass in front of him. Just a second ago, the person had been attacking him with a stolen sword and a wild war cry, wielding it with desperation and madness. The headband declared them to be part of Cloud village.

Sasuke turned away from the body lying crumpled on the dirt in front of him. Just a second ago, the person had been attacking him with a scythe and chain, wielding it with expert precision. The headband had a slash through it, and declared they had once been part of Grass Village.

There was a prickling at the back of Naruto's eyes, and his stomach groaned in protest. It had been his first kill.

A cold numbness spread through Sasuke's body as he deactivated his Sharingan. It had been his first kill.

As Naruto emptied the contents of his breakfast in a nearby stream, he tried to convince himself that the drops falling from his eyes were due to the backlash from his stomach. He didn't believe it.

As Sasuke walked away from the arena, using a washcloth from a nearby attendant washing the blood from his hands, he tried to convince himself that he shouldn't care; it was all training for killing that man . He believed it.

It was horrifying how easy it was to kill another human being, how easily the skin parted and blood flowed. Naruto had watched the man twitch, spasm, coughing blood from his mouth, and the light fade slowly from overly bright eyes.

It was interesting how easy it was to kill another human being, how easily bone broke and muscles tore. Sasuke had turned away, but listened as the man gave one last rattling, fluid-filled laugh, and then went silent.

Naruto prayed that he never got used to killing people.

Sasuke prayed to always feel distant from his target.