Title: Vantage Point

Author: Hikaru R. Kudou

Rating: K+

Chapter: 1/1 (in other words, one shot!)

Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto

Summary: Sasuke, Naruto, and a tree. "You'll like the view, I tell you!"

DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimers apply. Had I owned Naruto...well, let's just say that there'll be nothing else but Sasuke and Naruto getting it on…

Author's Notes: It's difficult, isn't it, to be obsessed with this pairing? Sigh.

Anyway, if there's any fic out there that shares any resemblance with the one here, I apologise profusely. It is purely coincidental.
Enjoy!

'There is no remedy for love but to love more' – Henry David Thoreau

Naruto had too much energy and too much time. After training alone since morning (basically he had the entire day to himself, since there was no class), he found himself in one area of the forest near the village, where tall trees were abundant.

He remembered the time he climbed a tree, and how he competed with Sasuke to reach the top. It was fun, seeing it as a challenge to both himself and Sasuke.

Naruto looked at the peak and whistled to himself. The tree was decidedly taller and bigger than the one before. He would enjoy this one, he was sure. He grinned and rubbed his hands together.

Then he heard a soft rustling sound near him. Instinctively he readied himself, and approached the source of sound silently.

He hid himself behind the bushes and peeked. He yelled out in surprise when he saw a most familiar figure, who happened to be training by himself as well.

"Sa-SASUKE!?"

Uchiha Sasuke seemed unfazed by Naruto's ejaculation. The former merely glanced at him, with no sign on his face betraying his current emotions.

Naruto jumped out of his hiding place, and shook an accusing finger at his teammate. "What the heck are you doing here!?"

Sasuke straightened himself. "I train here, dope, what else?"

"B-But…" Naruto clutched his hands, and let a few minutes pass before resuming. "You're following me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It's true, isn't it?" Naruto laughed. "You're spying on me to see how great I'm doing!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

"So, Sasuke…" Naruto's eyes sparkled animatedly, that Sasuke had to sweatdrop at the expression on his face. "While you're at it, how about it, huh?"

Sasuke did not understand what he was talking about.

Naruto sighed at his 'slowness' and pointed dramatically to the tree he was engrossed with earlier. "You and I, race to the top! The winner gets free ramen for one week!"

'Free ramen?' Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he imagined Naruto surrounded by bowls of ramen. 'Does he think he'll win that easily over me?'

"So what do you say, Sasuke?" Naruto grinned confidently.

Sasuke suppressed a mischievous smile when he got an equally mischievous idea. "The loser serves the winner for a week."

Naruto stared blankly. "Serves? What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly that." Sasuke approached the tree. "Move it, dope, or are you planning to lose before you even begin?"

Naruto felt steam coming out from his ears. Sasuke was daring him, and boy, he would make that Uchiha pay for his cheekiness! "Alright, then! You're on!"

The two stood on either side of the tree. At the count of three, both of them dashed upwards.

The tree had too many branches, which could either be good or bad. For one thing, they worked well for them to hop from one branch to another, but too many, they impeded their progress. Naruto sensed that he was ahead, so he paused for a split second to glance behind him, to catch any sight of his rival.

No sign of him, and he did not hear any sound either.

'Has he stopped? Or has he reached the top?' Naruto looked around him frantically. 'Or is he hoping to ambush me?'

"Oi, what are you doing there?" Sasuke's voice appeared to have come from somewhere below Naruto.

The blond was confused. He pushed one small branch aside, revealing the raven-haired several feet below.

"You're getting slow!" said Naruto after he got over his surprise. "Come on, Sasuke, you can do better than that! I'll beat you if you're just going to stand there." Naruto went ahead, leaving him behind.

He grimaced when a sharp end of a branch suddenly scratched his thigh from behind. He paused, touching the site of injury to see if it was bleeding. There was none, but his pants would need some stitching if he did not want to attract unnecessary attention. In any case, he continued forward.

He paused again after some time. What on Earth happened to Sasuke? He called out, "Oi, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was still trailing behind. He looked up. "What?"

"What's gotten into you?" demanded Naruto. "I was looking for a good fight, damn it! You're not this weak, are you? What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Sasuke kept a straight face.

Angered that he was getting no response, "Don't you want to reach the top? You'll like the view, I tell you!"

Unexpectedly, Sasuke smirked. "Not as much as I like it from here."

Naruto blushed immediately, although he was not sure why.

Suddenly he felt a soft breath of cold wind grazing against his thigh. He blanched, and reached again behind him…Only to find that the scratch was replaced by a tear. The tear did not, thankfully, reveal a certain private part of his behind. Then he noticed a shuriken embedded in the trunk just below him…and he could have sworn it belonged to Sasuke.

When Naruto's eyes met Sasuke's, the smirk widened even more.

- + - + - + -

Author's Notes: …I'm naughty, I know.