AN: So, yeah, I haven't written anything is YEARS. But whatever. This for some reason came into my head and I just had to get out of my system. So enjoy! Hopefully I can finish it, if not, early apologies!
For those that aren't familiar, this takes place in the Ours Universe.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Over the past twelve years, Minoru and Naruto had become pretty much inseparable. Their friendship took its natural path, and over the years Naruto had began to help him with his training and chakra control. Especially with the ability of Minoru's lost bloodline he carried - that he unintentionally unlocked one day when Naruto got himself into a pinch.
It was a rather complicated thing really, Minoru was about eleven - nearly twelve - years old. Naruto was at time seventeen. It happened during an assignment that Naruto and Minoru took along with Gai and Lee. It was suppose to be a rather simple retrieval mission, and Minoru was allowed to join them as part of his ever going training. He was getting ready to take the chunnin exam, and as part, he needed to familiarize himself with different abilities, and team members. Under Kakashi's suggestion, he wanted Minoru to go with them, saying that "it would be good for him". Naruto at the time was already impressed by the young boy who surprised him with every passing day. If he didn't know any better he would have thought he was Kakashi's son by blood with the intelligence and chakra control he held.
However, during this retrieval assignment, things got a bit hairy, apparently they were not the only village after the scrolls they sought. They were outnumbered but in the end it didn't make a difference, in their case it wasn't about quantity. Even though, Naruto got himself into a pinch, one he was able to handle, but Minoru saw otherwise. He saw otherwise when he witnessed the older boy get trapped. Saw otherwise when he saw the nin going for him. Saw otherwise when Gai and Lee were fending off others. Something inside the younger boy snapped when he saw his friend in trouble. Chakra seemed to have sparked out of him, grabbing those that were going after Naruto, and before he realized the nin that were ready to attack were gone, and replaced by smoke. And all Naruto could do was gape. All he could was look at the younger boy whose eyes were wide with confusion and what he identified as fear - whose eyes glowed a light blue before returning to their midnight blue hue.
It wasn't until they returned to Konoha that Naruto reported what happened to Kakashi, which he had to explain detail by detail more than once. After what seemed like hours, Kakashi sat in contemplation, deep thought, until his blue eyes turned to the younger man and told him exactly what he was expecting.
"I'm trusting him to you," he had told him, "I believe that you, with the techniques you've learned with controlling your own chakra, you can pass on to him. I will look further into his bloodline, see if I can find any sort of explanation, anything that can help us help him. But he needs to be trained how to control it, otherwise…."
Naruto knew. He knew exactly what Kakashi was thinking. That Minoru could, unfortunately, become a danger to not only himself, but everyone around him. But it wasn't something that couldn't be helped.
And Kakashi did look into Minoru's bloodline, and found relatively nothing useful. It took a good amount of time and research, which he was thankful he had Iruka to help him with. The only bit of information they found was that the ability that Minoru possesed skipped generations, meaning him father did not carry the trait. But his grandfather did. Who had long passed. After deeper research they found that the ability Minoru carried involved a type of transference of Chakra, in a give or take relation, which also meant canceling out. Which could explain what happened back when it was first triggered. However, Kakashi couldn't figure out more, which he knew there was, but the bloodline had seemed to died off leaving Minoru as the last one.
After Minoru's training started with Naruto, they realized that his ability was also connected to his emotions. It was an interesting thing to witness, because once Minoru got a good grasp of how to control it, his eyes still gave him away. Whether it be sadness, fear or anger, they would flicker or glow a light blue with what looked like chakra for a moment. Minoru, for one, didn't like that fact; he didn't like others being able to read him like a book, so he practiced on that too. Tried to keep his emotions in check around others that he didn't want knowing what he was feeling, or thinking. It proved to be rather difficult but it got better as time went on.
Unfortunately, this process prolonged Minoru's chances to take the chunin exam. Which he had come to terms with. He was learning how to control his chakra, how to preserve it, how to transfer it and how to take it. But just because it took a while, longer than he would have liked - but it couldn't be helped with the lack of working knowledge of his ability - it didn't stop him. He took the exam once he was ready at age of sixteen and passed it. If anything, the training had increased his chances immensely.
He had begun experimenting with the ability to transfer chakra, tried theories he fiddled with in his mind, involving his drawings and quick sketches. It became an experiment with kage bunshin no jutsu. Creating shadow clones with drawings rather than of an original, instead he created his own originals.
Over the years, Minoru took assignments with Naruto and other fellow shinobi, he was hesitant of taking the Jounin exam but Kakashi assured him that there was no rush. For now, he was content with training, becoming stronger, taking assignments with teams and practicing his drawing jutsu.
But there was something he couldn't quite figure out, something he wasn't getting.
Minoru tapped on his sketchbook with his pen and looked from where he was seated on the kitchen counter. He smiled at Naruto when the blonde scratched at the back of his head sheepishly, "I guess I fell asleep," he said, his voice husky with sleep.
Minoru chuckled, closing his medium sized sketch book on his lap, "Yeah, well, you were pretty tired".
Naruto had come back that same day from a two week trip to Sand, what for? Minoru didn't know the details. And really, he didn't need to know. The older man had come back and paid them a visit which involved Iruka cooking up a feast and light conversation. Naruto inevitably fell asleep on the couch, and no one had the heart to wake him. Minoru had even left to train with Gai and came back hours later to find the blonde still on the couch.
Naruto smiled sheepishly and moved to lean on the counter with his lower back, "I guess so."
Minoru smiled and unintentionally studied the older man as he yawned. Blue eyes turned to him and he fought the blush that threatened his face when he realized that he had been starring, "Want something to drink?"
"Sure."
Minoru hopped off the counter and retrieved a cold bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to the older man. Ignoring when their fingers brushed.
Over the years, Minoru had developed a sort of admiration towards Naruto. An admiration he belatedly realized was a crush. To his embarrassment, he had a crush on Naruto. His best friend. His childhood best friend. But he tried to ignore it, he tried not to think about it. He tried to push back all those times that he wanted to reach out and intertwined his finger with the slightly tanned ones. To push back the urge of pulling the older man into an embrace that wasn't exactly meant for friends. He really did. And did a good job of it for the past nearly three years. He kept telling himself that it'll pass. That it was only a crush. But deep down - down at his core - he knew it wasn't . He knew that those feelings that developed back when he was eighteen didn't recede at all.
He pushed himself back onto the counter, hovering above the edge for a few seconds before setting himself down next to the older man, and looked to his left, "How was your mission?"
Naruto shrugged as he gulped down some water, "Alright," he cleared his throat before continuing, "Lee can sometimes be a little irritating, especially when its hot out. I don't understand how he can talk so much."
Minoru chuckled, "Hey, that guy has trained me pretty well. I can almost surpass him," he pinched his forefinger and thumb together, "Almost."
Naruto mimicked the gesture, "I almost just wanted to turn back around and go home if it meant I didn't have to hear him anymore."
Minoru snorted on his laugh, trying to keep quiet while keeping the later hour in mind. He vibrated with suppressed laughter as Naruto snorted. He wiped at the corners of his eyes when years began to form, "Oh, man," he sighed and looked over at the blonde, "I missed you," he said almost a little bit too breathless.
Naruto looked at Minoru, and caught the dark blue eyes for a moment, he held it, held on to the tone of voice that caught him a bit by surprise. And almost missed the flicker of light in the dark eyes before they averted their gaze.
Minoru tried, and failed, to fight off back a blush that found his cheeks, he mentally frowned at himself and half-heartedly blamed his Uncle Gai for wearing him out so much. Maybe I'm more tired than I thought.
"I missed you too."
Minoru smiled, his gaze on the dining table across from him, completely missing the intent look in the cerulean eyes. His smile turned into a smirk as he gave Naruto a sideways look, "But of course, how could you not miss such an awesome person like me?" His lips spread into an exaggerated grin, before they both bit back a laugh.
"Speaking of which," Naruto turned to fully face him, "how's your jutsu technique going?"
"Good!" Minoru smiled, "There's some things I need to figure out, I'll show you... Some other time."
Dark blue eyes looked away and over at the forgotten sketchbook. Naruto watched as the younger man reached over and snatched it off the adjacent counter his eyes snapped back to the darker pair when they turned back to him, "I want to show you something," he said with a smile.
Minoru quirked an eyebrow, "What?" He asked a bit confused, "Right now?" If he had to guess as to what time it was, he would have to say near midnight. Maybe 11:30.
Naruto beamed with a nod, "Right now is the perfect time!"
Minoru forgot how tired he felt, he didn't care, not when Naruto was smiling at him like that. Not when he sounded so enthusiastic. "Okay," he said without thinking and couldn't help but smile as the older man's smile widened.
"Come on!" Naruto said as he pulled Minoru off the counter with a hand at the younger man's elbow.
Minoru ignored how his skin tingled at the contact, he blamed it on his earlier activities. He opted to not think about any of that and simply followed the older man down the hall and towards the front door. They pulled on their jackets and slipped on their shoes and as an after thought Minoru grabbed a lantern from the shelf near the front door. They slipped out of the house quietly and into the chilly air as they walked the dark streets of Konoha.
As they walked, Minoru vaguely wondered where Naruto was taking them. The streets were empty, except for the random individuals having late night conversations with friends over drinks and food. He briefly wondered why it seemed so dark out, and considered that maybe there was a new moon, maybe a crescent. He was pulled out of his musings when a hand touched his elbow making him look at the older man. He quirked an eyebrow as Naruto walked away from the paved road and towards the trees. He sighed and followed when Naruto gestured to him.
He followed Naruto through the trees and frowned when it got darker as they got further away from the main roads. He paused, Naruto pausing with him as he noticed. He opened the lantern and snapped his fingers, causing a white spark followed by the spark of fire. He grinned, now being able to see better, "Good thing I bought this, huh?"
Naruto chuckled, "I didn't even think about it."
"Of course you didn't," Minoru teased earning him a mocked offended look before the older man turned away and continued trekking through the forest.
They continued walking and Minoru was beginning to wonder just how far this thing that Naruto wanted to show him was.
"We're almost there," Naruto announced, as if reading the younger man's mind.
A few minutes later they reached a clearing, that was long and wide. Naruto led them to the middle of it, and Minoru watched him as he plopped down to the soft grass and shifted until he was comfortable.
Naruto looked at the younger man that was now looking down at him with furrowed brows, his light skin reflecting the light from the lantern, "Go on."
Minoru narrowed his eyes in confusion and hesitated before setting down the lantern and laying down next to the older man. He gasped as he looked up. The stars looked stark against the dark sky. Some brighter than others, but beautiful none the less. He felt like he got lost in them, the sky felt vast and dark and the more he looked the more stars he saw further into the distance. He slowly became aware of the depth of them, it was simply a thing of beauty.
"I've been wanting to bring you here," Naruto said quietly, but loud enough for Minoru to hear him, "But either I would be out of town, or the timing wouldn't be right." Naruto continued looking up at the stars, "I found this spot when I was younger. I come here every once in a while, especially when I have a lot on my mind. It's relaxing."
Minoru smiled in agreement, "When I was in the orphanage, there were nights I couldn't sleep... Those nights I would sneak off to the playground," Minoru smiled at the memory, unaware that Naruto had turned his head towards him as he spoke, "There was this one spot, that if you laid down and turned your head a certain way you could look up through the trees and see the stars," his smile faltered, and it didn't go unnoticed, "I don't know why, but laying there in that playground looking at those thousands and thousands of stars... I felt less alone... And then Kakashi and Iruka came into my life," a warm smile tugged on his lips at the memories, "Then I wasn't alone anymore...," he chuckled at himself, "I still snucked out to the back yard to look at the stars though, but only because I liked to. But this view... This is beautiful..."
Naruto smiled when the dark blue eyes drifted closed as the younger man spoke, and he wondered if he even noticed. He turned back to look at the stars, "Isn't it..." He got a sleepy hum in response. He chuckled and lifted himself to a sitting position and braced himself on an arm as he looked down at the younger man, "Maybe we should get you home."
Minoru opened his eyes that he wasn't aware of closing and looked up at the blonde, with a lazy smile in him lips, "Maybe."
Naruto couldn't help but study the younger man with the aid of the dim light the lantern provided. He would be lying to himself if he didn't think that Minoru had grown up to be rather handsome. The younger man's defined features were expressive and the unruly hair complimented his personality. And after years of training together he's learned that the younger man possessed grace that could even compete with Kakashi's. Not to mention the taijutsu training that he received from both Gai and Lee. And while he knew that Minoru didn't like how his eyes had the potential of giving him away when it came to how he felt - although he's gotten really good at controlling it when it came to people he didn't trust - he found it endearing. Part of him thought that when Minoru was around him, and his family, he didn't keep his emotions on such a tight control.
And while he denied it over and over again in the past, right now, looking down at the younger man he couldn't deny how he felt. When he saw the midnight blue eyes glow for a second, as if questioning, he couldn't stop himself when he leaned down. He didn't want to stop himself, not anymore. Especially when the dark eyes drifted close in invitation.
Minoru felt like he was dreaming the moment the older man's lips closed over his in a chaste kiss. He felt his skin break out into goosebumps, because this kiss as chaste as it was - was better than he could have ever imagined. And he had his share of fantasies, none that he was sure could compare to the real thing. It was over too soon, he felt the soft lips pull away, and he opened his eyes to find the cerulean pair looking down at him and saw the hesitation in them, the uncertainty of the situation. Without thinking, he reached up and pulled the blonde back down, their lips locking into another kiss, this one not as timid and chaste as the first, causing him to suppress a shiver.
Naruto broke the kiss, feeling their lips linger for a moment before pulling away to look down at the younger man. Blue eyes opened and locked with his, that after a moment glowed and widened a fraction as if Minoru remembered himself. He moved when the younger man hurriedly sat up, effectively hiding his face from him.
Minoru had to remind himself to breath, his heart was racing, What am I doing? He dipped his head and closed his eyes that he knew must be glowing at this point, he focused on his breathing and slowly breathed out, "I-I should go...," he cleared his throat when his voice failed him, " I should go home... " He stood on legs that he had to force to move, and dared a glance at the older man when he heard him stand, "I should go" he repeated and started to move, managing a few steps before a firm hand found his elbow.
"Minoru, wait," Naruto's voice sounded off even to himself, and the dark eyes finally turned to look at him. He couldn't help but notice the emotions he saw in them, the flicker of chakra that he knew the younger man must have been holding onto with a tight leash, "it wasn't on a whim," he said, his grip on the man's elbow lessening, "I didn't do that... On a whim... You need to know that..."
This wasn't helping. Minoru was hoping that he would wake up any second and find that it was all a dream, and he could continue to live in denial. Naruto was looking at him, hopeful yet worried and for a long moment he couldn't make his voice work. Naruto was telling him what he only dreamt of, and now that it was happening it was all crashing down on him.
He swallowed thickly, and averted eyes, his tiredness from earlier was catching up to him and it was becoming increasingly harder to keep his emotions in check, "I can't," he forced out, and felt the hand on his elbow slowly slip away, "I can't," he said softly and looked at the older man, and regretted it when he saw the solemn yet understanding expression he found there. His eyes must have given him away, he felt it, the flicker, because Naruto's expression softened, "I'm sorry." He took a step back on heavy legs. He wanted to say more, but he couldn't. His legs finally obeyed and he walked through the clearing, his heart felt heavy but his legs kept going on auto pilot and took him through the forest.
Naruto stood in the clearing, watched as the younger man walked away, until he disappeared among the trees. He let out a long deep sigh, and looked up at the stars for a moment before he dipped his head and scratched at the back of his neck, "Shit" he cursed softly to himself, and looked at the lantern. His mouth twitched into a frown and took the lantern that wasn't his into his hand. It was a good enough of a reason as any he figured.
Minoru walked on auto pilot, he didn't think, he didn't want to think, he didn't know what to think. He was grateful that the streets were empty because he couldn't care enough to try to conceal his emotions. He felt tired, physically and now emotionally, and he couldn't get the image of Naruto out of his head. He couldn't stop thinking about how good his lips felt on his own. He felt himself flush and scanned the street subconsciously, as he turned a corner. As he neared his house he slowed his pace, thinking it would be a good idea to calm his frantic heart.
Once he reached his front door, he stopped for a moment before slipping inside. He took off his jacket and shoes at the entrance before soundlessly walking down the hall and into his room. He silently closed the door and leaned heavily back onto it. He didn't have to look up to know that Naruto was there, he felt the older man's presence before he even stepped into his room, and it was comforting. Comforting to know that the the older man didn't hate him. He took a moment before he looked up, and Naruto gave him a soft smile as he held up the forgotten lantern. He managed a smile himself, "Thanks," he said softly.
Naruto set the lantern down on the night stand behind him and turned back to the younger man that was still leaning on the door, he gave him a smile and scratched at the back of his head, "I just have to ask...," his hand fell away and the dark eyes followed the movement, "Why?" His tone was gentle, curious.
Minoru felt his face heat up again, and was grateful for the dim lighting that was filtering through his window. He moved his gaze to his left with a sigh, his eyes falling on the scattered papers of drawings. He hesitated before looking at the older man again and pushing himself off the door. He walked towards him, stopping to stand a few feet away, his eyes never leaving the blonde's face. He averted his gaze for a second, before looking at the older man again, "I'm scared," he admitted softly, "I'm scared of...messing it up...of doing something or - I don't know," he sighed, noting how the older man's expression softened, "I just…," he hesitated, thinking of his words, a small smile tugged on his lips, "You're my best friend Naruto, if...if something happens…," he trailed off, "I can't lose you...I just...I can't…," he closed his eyes briefly when he heard his voice crack, "I can't risk it."
Their gaze locked for a moment, and the darker pair flickered for a second. Naruto gave the younger man a soft smile, "...Okay." He accepted simply, he asked for some sort of answer, and there it was. The last thing he wanted to do was push when he shouldn't, he didn't want that, "Okay," he repeated. He noticed the uncertainty in the younger man's eyes, "It's okay," he reassured with a smile, "I should let you rest though," he chuckled softly, "I'll see you later, alright?"
Minoru's heart skipped a beat when the older man moved to exit through the window he came in through, "Wait - Naruto -," blue eyes turned to him, a soft smile on the blonde's lips.
"It's okay. We're okay," Naruto assured again, and hesitated, "Do you hate me? For what I did?"
Minoru's brows shot up in surprise, "What? No! Of course not! I could never hate you!"
Naruto's smile widened, "Then we're okay. Good night, Minoru."
Minoru watched as the older man exited his bedroom, and stood there for a good while before moving to his bed and heavily dropping onto it. He let out a deep sigh as he ran a hand through his hair and looked out his window. There was a reason why he had never acted on his feelings, and that was it. He valued the older man's friendship too much to risk it for something else. And as much as he wanted to, that want came with the possibility of losing everything. He couldn't, he simply couldn't lose what meant so much to him. And at the same time he couldn't stop thinking about that kiss.
With a heavy sigh Minoru laid down and stared at the ceiling, and didn't even notice when his exhaustion claimed him.