Ramen Bowl

(( By- Blood Seal ))

It was summer. A certain ramen stand was being kept busy by a noisy blond ninja who –after every order of ramen he finished- would simply yell another noisy and eager, "Another bowl, I'm still hungry dattebayo!" He was one hungry ninja in the heat of this blistering summer day. Easily wearing out the owner of Ichiraku's with his orders that had the other running around a mile a second. Literally.

Naruto was just about to dig in to his new order of pork flavored ramen but some annoying voice called out to him, "Oi, dobe, haven't you had enough?" And how Sasuke kept his voice so icy cold in this summer heat was amazing- lucky bastard. But then again, Naruto's energy and insatiable hunger was just as amazing. Naruto spared Sasuke a small glance acknowledging his presence before turning his attention back to the ramen bowl. "Not. Your. Business. Teme." he said each word in a way that made him sound like he was talking to a little kid.

Silence fogged over the stand- just Naruto's noise invaded the area as he continued to slurp noisily; oblivious to the Uchiha who had just taken a seat on the stool beside him. And as soon as he finished his sixth bowl for the day Naruto slammed his payment down on the table and eagerly jumped off the stool yelling a 'thank you' at the owner of the ramen stand then after he waved at the Uchiha and ran off saying something about training for the day. And that was all. What else was there anyway?

Something was terribly out of place- and it wasn't just Sasuke who is now eating his ramen calmly that seemed off.

The way Naruto left Sasuke with out even asking the bastard for a sparring match, or yelling at Sasuke and teasing him about him liking ramen (which was not true), and the least Naruto could have done was take occasional glances at Sasuke and glare at him for even sitting beside him. But Naruto just left- none of the possible reactions listed above were done by the ninja.

This left Sasuke at some sort of confusion.

Chapter 1: Confusion

It was not like Naruto to ignore Sasuke completely. The blond would usually pretend to ignore Sasuke- that was the closest to ignoring the Uchiha as he could get. But just a little while back he completely ignored Sasuke. Well sure he had talked to him a bit and even waved his 'good-bye' to him but that was not very Naruto like. And it bothered the Uchiha a bit. After all what had he done to be ignored? Sure, he hated it if people drooled over him- but that was the point: 'Naruto never 'drooled' over him'. Well not in the obsessed sort of way anyway.

So as he made his quiet way to the training grounds he just knew the blond would be in he pondered on what exactly made him worry. As far as he could remember- he did nothing wrong to really upset Naruto so that the other had a reason to ignore him. And Naruto seemed to have been in a real hurry to leave. To leave and get away from me most probably, Sasuke mused to himself as he kicked a small stone out of the dirt road he walked on.

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets when he arrived at the area he knew Naruto would be in. And a frown instantly met his face when he noticed Naruto was not training. In fact he was sitting at the base of the tree staring at the ground beyond his outstretched legs with his hands tangled together which was now idly on his stomach. "What new jutsu are you practicing now, dobe?" asked Sasuke sarcastically when he got closer to the other; debating on whether to sit beside Naruto or just tower above him like he was doing now. This earned a sarcastic chuckle from Naruto as he stood up and dusted the dirt from his clothes, "Shut up, teme." growled Naruto as he shoved Sasuke away from him a bit.

As some sort of retaliation –for no self-respecting Uchiha would just let someone do that and not exact revenge- Sasuke charged in and grabbed Naruto by the collar slamming him roughly against the tree. Naruto turned his head irritably to the side and refused to look at Sasuke; which just proved to anger the Uchiha more.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" asked Sasuke almost shouting at Naruto. The latter only muttered a curse and did nothing more.

Sasuke held the other's collar tightly as he lifted Naruto up higher so that his feet no longer touched the ground. A glare made it's way to the Uchiha's face as he repeated, "What the hell is wrong with you! Answer me!." There was a moment of silence.

Naruto felt pain rushing though his body when Sasuke slammed him against the tree but he said nothing. He couldn't. He had no right to make a sound of pain. No way. "Nothing's wrong, teme." answered Naruto faking a grin and a chuckle; but he should have known that Uchiha's were hard to fool. What made Sasuke any different? He struggled half-heartedly from the Uchiha's grip holding unto Sasuke's hands as he gave it a little squeeze. Sasuke was shaking slightly as his grip tightened and his fists where pressing uncomfortably against his neck.

There was silence once more- and the confused Uchiha let Naruto drop down to the ground. Almost taking delight in watching the other drop down to a sitting position on the ground before him. There was something wrong with Naruto- and it bothered him. He squatted to meet Naruto's eyes who were a minute ago glaring at his feet. "If nothing's wrong, dobe, then why're you acting like there is something wrong." Sasuke pressed on- his voice cold making Naruto feel a shiver run down his spine.

Was there still a way to hide the truth from Sasuke? Everyone else didn't know- so why should Sasuke know? Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes as if looking for some sort of consolation. He found none. Which made it harder to talk to Sasuke- and why was he talking to Sasuke anyway! "None of your business, teme!" snapped Naruto gently pushing Sasuke to one side as he scrambled away from him as he whined, "Plus it's hot! Don't come near me!"

This confused the Uchiha even more- and Naruto knew it. If only it was that easy to tell Sasuke why he was acting as he was. Why he was avoiding him. But it wasn't easy; Sasuke would freak out and become more distant from him. Sasuke stared at Naruto for a while, blinked, and said, "Well, whatever, usuratonkachi. After all it's none of my business…" with that Sasuke stood up and stalked away. Somehow what Naruto just told him really hurt him but who was he to even care that much about Naruto. He didn't like him- hell no. He was just a friend. And in no way was he being some dense bastard- he knew his feelings all too well and he knew he didn't like anyone, especially Naruto.

As he sat there Naruto felt like calling Sasuke back. But he knew he won't come back. Ever. Even if he begged him to come back so they could talk; that stuck up bastard would rather jump off a cliff than talk to him. That bastard. Sasuke was mad at him; and he made him mad. Why did Sasuke hate him so much? When in reality he, Uzumaki Naruto…

After a few minutes debating with himself Naruto decided to run after Sasuke. Which meant he would have to run all the way to the Uchiha compound. He did.

"Sasuke, bastard, open this door and talk to me!" yelled Naruto as he banged his fist repeatedly on the giant wooden door. He did so for several minutes before finally the door swung open and the sudden lack of solid caused Naruto to fall right unto Sasuke. Ending up hugging him pressing his head against Sasuke's chest. There was an awkward silence before finally Sasuke growled silently to himself and pushed Naruto off of him.

Sasuke did not know what to say- Naruto was here. And wanted to talk to him. "What do you want, Usuratonkachi?" asked Sasuke the words escaping his tongue as if it was burning him on their way out. Naruto straightened himself up and looked at Sasuke a nervous grin on his face, "About a while ago…"

"What is it 'about a while ago', dobe?"

Placing his hand behind his back as if to scratch it Naruto's grin faltered a bit but he continued, "I want to talk with you…about a while ago, teme!." Naruto pushed Sasuke inside the mansion and closed the door behind him. Sasuke glared at Naruto but allowed him to push him; at least he would find out why Naruto was acting so strangely lately.

There was another silence as Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for Naruto's answer.

Something about Sasuke made it so hard for Naruto to tell him anything. And that's what made telling anything to Sasuke extremely unnerving. But if Naruto wanted to keep his friendship with Sasuke he had too- but how! Even if he was able to tell Sasuke what was really troubling him- he wont be able to tell him the reason!

Naruto fidgeted on his place as he stared up at Sasuke nervously, "Well, teme, … I made a deal with someone…" started Naruto as his eyes instantly fell to the ground. The more he looked at Sasuke the more he felt uneasy; after all Sasuke was glaring at him! "… you know… because there's something I want…"

Sasuke frowned, "What does this have to do with your attitude a while ago, dobe?" asked the Uchiha his tone bitter.

"I'm not done, teme!" yelled Naruto glaring at his feet as he continued, "… and… that person." continued Naruto as his hands closed into fists.

It was strange, why did Naruto come to him just to tell him about some stupid deal he had with someone? Then again, why did it affect Naruto that way? And what did Naruto want anyway? "Just say it." commanded Sasuke; he was getting impatient and a little bit anxious. He was worried for Naruto- but if what ever Naruto was going to say turned out to be stupid he was going to throw him out. Literally.

The hardest thing about talking to Sasuke was that he always seemed to hate talking to Naruto- it was like he was some waste of time. But he had to tell him- after all it concerned him too didn't it?

"Teme, I made a deal…"

Sasuke growled, "I know you made a deal dobe." Sasuke informed coldly as he waited for Naruto's much awaited answer.

Naruto bit his lip as he forced himself to look at Sasuke and placed both his hands on Sasuke's shoulders and held him firmly in place. Sasuke frowned but let Naruto hold unto him, he somehow enjoyed the feeling, but wanted it over as well.

Naruto leaned forward holding Sasuke firmer as he pulled him closer to him, "I made a deal with your brother." with that Naruto jerked Sasuke forward pressing his lips roughly against Sasuke's closing his eyes when he could feel tears gathering and ready to fall.

Sasuke was in shock, he did not know what to do first. Beat up Naruto for kissing him; or beat him up for making a dealwith his brother. It was hard to say- it somehow made his heart skip a beat. It couldn't be what could Naruto want that it was necessary for him to make a deal with his traitor of a brother!

Without thinking Sasuke tangled one hand into Naruto's hair- he was frustrated. Why didn't Naruto come to him if he had a problem? And why was Naruto able to approach Itachi- with out being attacked? Naruto whimpered when Sasuke bit his lower lip but he let the other's tongue slip in regardless. The Uchiha pulled the Uzumaki closer; his brother was not going to take Uzumaki Naruto from him. Itachi Uchiha will have no right to take anything away from him!

He didn't like the idea of Naruto going to Itachi. No way was he letting Naruto go to Itachi. No way in hell. Those words it bothered him:

'I made a deal with your brother.'

TBC