Sakura entered her room and plopped herself down in her chair in front of her desk. She was exhausted from a long day of training. Naruto's yells of frustration could be heard still resounding in the distance. Taking out a pen, she retrieved her diary from her drawer and started to write about her day.
'Today I trained more with Naruto. His depression is totally showing now. I tried to comfort him, but he won't have any of it. He's so stubborn. I didn't think he would act this way if Sasuke was missing. It's been five years since we all met, and yet, their rivalry hasn't died down.
I didn't think there would ever be a time where I wasn't chasing after Sasuke. Don't get me wrong, he's still the coolest guy ever but… I don't think I understand him too well after all. I just wish he would come back… before Naruto does something drastic. It has been over a month…since he left for that mission.
The weirdest thing was how Naruto didn't see him off. I expected Naruto to come out shouting about how Sasuke couldn't handle anything without him or something. But, Naruto didn't even show himself until Sasuke was gone over the horizon. I don't think he knows, but I saw him jump down from that tree near the village gates. He ran off to his training area and didn't come back for two days.'
"Sakura! Dinner's ready!" her mother called. Sakura put her things away and ran towards the kitchen.
+++
Naruto slammed his fish through the tree he had been staring at for a few minutes. All the trees in the area, as well as the ground were all ripped up. He pulled his hand out of the tree and slumped to the ground.
'Sasuke hasn't come back. He had promised to be back for my seventeenth birthday. That was two weeks ago. What the hell happened to that asshole!'
Naruto punched the ground in frustration. Why did this affect him so much? Why had Sasuke suddenly become so important to his life? He had hated the asshole from the beginning… hadn't he?
'Of course I still hate that asshole! What the hell is wrong with me!'
Blue eyes turned upward at the darkening sky as he allowed himself to fall back. The stars were just starting to come out. There was a light breeze that ran through his hair and what was left of the grass. A few crickets chirped and provided an eerie music. It was just like that night…
+++
Sasuke walked out towards the gate of the Hidden Leaf village. His new mission, although only rank C, seemed to give little detail of what he was to do. It gave him a terrible and dark feeling. Hearing rustling leaves, he turned his head slightly towards a tree. 'Enjoy spying on me, Dobe?"
Naruto jumped down from his hiding place, his normal Cheshire grin in place. "I'm just making sure you aren't leaving without saying goodbye to us." He leaned against the gate and sighed. "You sure you don't want to take me with you? I could probably get the mission done faster than you."
Sasuke didn't even turn his head. "I don't need a loud baka messing up my plans." He could hear Naruto fuming and could only smirk as the blond let out an annoyed growl. "Besides, It was assigned to me, not you."
"Well, you better be back by my seventeenth birthday! October 10th" Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Sasuke.
"What's so important about that? Besides, I don't have anything to give you…" The last part was barely a whisper as he said, "…that you would want." Sasuke shifted away from Naruto more as the young ninja blinked in shock.
"What are you talking about Sasuke? Every once in a while you acknowledge me. That's enough for me," he said and grinned widely at the dark eyed boy.
Sasuke turned around and smirked. "Is that really all you want?"
Naruto was confused again but just ignored the warm look Sasuke was giving him. "That and ramen!"
This caused Sasuke to laugh a little. Naruto was shocked for the second time.
"Speaking of birthdays, you didn't even get me anything." Sasuke's eyes lost the warm look they had acquired as he spoke.
"Um… anou… you never told me what you wanted?" His voice cracked under the stare he was getting from Sasuke. Naruto felt even more uneasy as Sasuke started to shorten the distance between them. "So… what is this mission you are going on anyways? You never told us," he said as he took a few steps back.
Sasuke stopped his advance and dropped his eyes to the ground for a bit as he tried to form words, much to the relief of Naruto. "Its just some surveillance around a few small villages with rumors of violent activity." Naruto opened his mouth so say something and Sasuke reached a hand forward to cover it. "I have a bad feeling about it, and this is hard for me to say. So shut up for a minute." He took a deep breath and kept his hand over the other's mouth. "They picked me for it because they said all my skills would work well. I just have a fear that more is going on there than we think."
As Sasuke's hand lowered, Naruto blinked at him. He'd never seen Sasuke so worried before and admitting it. Grabbing a hold of the blue shirt, Naruto glared into his dark eyes. "If you are so worried, then why can't I come with you!"
"Because you are too much of a distraction!" Sasuke yelled back in his face. The two stayed glaring at each other, their breaths mingling in the warm air. The dark eyes became more intense as Sasuke suddenly kissed Naruto, hard. Naruto was too confused to react and Sasuke pulled away and jumped up into the trees, fleeing the scene.