They were always together … the two of them.

All summer they would scream, hurling themselves into their imaginary battles, predicting a future their mother's would cringe at. They would both of them be soldiers. They would fight in the Kings army, and they would fight side by side. They would never be parted. They were children then; and they didn't know any better, so they played, and made believe that they would grow to be as they were then, best friends.

"Sasuke! LOOK OUT!!"

'The cannons' roared in triumph as their targets fell. Their aim was true and the men guiding them leapt for joy. But the two comrades were not out yet! 'It'll be a cold day in hell! -Naruto! you mind your language!- before we are taken by such ingigsnifigant weapons!!! You'll NEVER stop us … BASTARDS!!'

"Naruto! I thought I told you to mind your tongue ..!" Sasuke lay on the ground clutching at his faux wound and glancing at the slightly younger blonde. About to mock him for his lack of pronounciation skills, Sasuke watched instead as the boy got told off by his mother for swearing … again. They'd been playing 'War Heroes.' It was one of their favorites; but it always got them - well, Naruto in trouble. For some reason the idiot couldn't stop himself from cussing whenever they got to the dying parts.

"I'm sorry Oka-san … it won't happen again. I promise." The dopey little dobe even placed his right hand over his heart when he spoke that precious little gem. Kushina could never stay mad at Naruto for longer than a moment. He looked too much like Minato, and God knows all that man had to do was bat to pretty-blue-eyes at her and she'd melt. Unfortunately, he'd passed on the trait to their six year old trouble-making son. Kushina wondered inside, mumbling something about hitting Minato when she saw him next and smiling. Just a little.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, a mischievous smirk on his face … "I bet I can bet you in a horse race!!" the blonde child hollered, beating on his miniature chest and striding slowly toward his abandoned stick-horse. "Dobe. You couldn't beat me even if I just flat out refused to move." Sasuke picked himself up with all the grace of a speeding jaguar and lopped over to his own wooden horse. The eight year old raven-haired boy slowly bent down to retrieve his fallen steed and when he had it set in his hands, Sasuke's glittering jet-black eyes fell to lock gazes with two orbs of ocean-blue; growing darker as the older male held them. Sasuke chuckled to himself and waited for his friend to react - as always, Sasuke was not disappointed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!!?!" -'Naruto!!, you're LANGUAGE!'-

The young raven turned his -now amused- eyes from the door through which Kushina had just yelled toward his fuming friend and waited 'patiently' for the count down. Naruto saw the hidden impatience and decided that Sasuke could wait. If the prick was gonna laugh at him than he could just sit there getting his breeches in a twist.

'Naruto, hurry u-' "54321! GO!" Naruto legged it. Wooden horse flailing uselessly at his side as he sprinted toward what had become their permanent finish line - the old oak branch that fell last spring. He pushed every last bit of energy he had to his feet, willing them to Just. Keep. Going. If they could just keep moving then maybe, maybe he would beat the teme! It was something that was seemingly glued to Naruto's 'to-do' list; but if his feet kept moving … then today would be the day.

The bright streak of blonde hair and orange sweats flew past Sasuke … 'You won't get far dobe,' and he was right. Naruto had yet to beat Sasuke at - anything. The blondie kept complaining that it was because he was younger, less developed and whenever that argument wouldn't hold up he'd accuse Sasuke of cheating, saying that his parents' genetically altered him - or his DNA or something stupid to that affect. Naruto always seemed to think that this would automatically qualify him as 'winner' by default . And Naruto wanted to win, bad - so, as the blonde-dummy 'just, kept, moving,' Sasuke came from behind him; carried on inhumanly long legs, moving swiftly alongside the blonde … and -with an uncommon ease- passed him.

Naruto saw Sasuke from the corner of his eye; and watched in unbearable horror as the 'stinkin'TEME!' beat him easily to their finish line. The frustration that always steamed from losing to Sasuke began to rise in Naruto now; he'd never been a quiet loser and damn it he wasn't about to start. But, Naruto was an idiot and as he began to scream that the raced had been 'fixed' he almost completely neglected his tired feet.

Naruto tripped. One of the tree roots had risen out of the ground a few summers back and Naruto -which really shouldn't have surprised Sasuke as much as it did- hadn't seen it. His tired, throbbing right foot slid into the gap and stopped Naruto in his tracks, the young fool fell face first (A/N: Man that's alota 'f's :o) and for a while, he didn't get up.

Sasuke watched as Naruto slowed down, blinked furiously as he saw -in slow motion- Naruto's body fling forward and the toy horse fly from his opening palm. He stood transfixed and horrified. His eight year old mind concluding that, by beating him, Sasuke had effectively killed Uzumaki Naruto … Sasuke had killed his best friend - his only friend.

Even before Naruto had started moving, Sasuke had started to run. The wooden horse still clutched within his tightening grasp; Sasuke ran, falling to his knees in a frightened heap once he'd reached his friend. Naruto lifted himself off the ground - refusing Sasuke's help - and pushed himself to lean back on his legs. Naruto's whiskered face -scars, reminiscent of a brother long dead- was lined with dirt and tears. His blonde head was covered in muck and now seemed patchy, Sasuke had risen from the ground and held out his hand to his friend. The young blonde merely sat there, gazing around their tear-stained 'battle-field' turned 'race-track,' his sky-blue eyes paused as he noticed a familiar shape lying beneath the old oak tree. A horse head … but it was wrong, 'there's no neck.' And then he saw it; the stick that had been the torso of his horse, lying some feet away from his faithful steed's head. Naruto stood on shaky six-year old legs, glanced side-long at his friend and then, inching closer to the tragedy that was his fallen horse Naruto let out an unbidden sob. It was ruined … he would never ride it again. And it wasn't even that - he would never get to ride with Sasuke, race him or play any of their war games that had horses in them. Naruto knelt beside his wooden toy and silently wept - there was no reason for it he knew, but it was his toy. Sasuke had bought him that as a summer holiday present … Naruto loved that horse, and now it was gone.

The tears wouldn't stop. Even when Sasuke moved gently behind Naruto and the blue-eyed boy swiped furiously at his cheeks - the tears just wouldn't stop. Naruto was about to take another swipe at his eyes, getting annoyed now, that the tears wouldn't go away. But one pale hand, adorned by long thin fingers slid smoothly into his line of vision … Naruto followed the connected arm to the face he knew so well. A smiling Sasuke was a rare thing indeed - he usually only did it when Naruto needed cheering up, so now seemed the perfect time for it. The raven-haired boy left his hand outstretched before Naruto, waiting for him to -unquestioningly- take the proffered hand and accept the help given. Naruto did; the unvoiced question burning through his deep azure gaze … 'why?'

"What? Did you think I would leave you crying ..? You know there's room on this thing for two, right?"

Sasuke nodded toward the back of his stick-horse as he spoke; his lips drooping a bit into a tentative smile. Naruto swung his leg over the 'body' of the horse and as he did so his head came down to rest on Sasuke's shoulder and his arms went smoothly around the waist before him. The older boy hadn't finished his little speech yet, so Naruto sat there, and listened as his friend's breathy voice washed over him and numbed his hurt.

"Climb on Naruto; we'll both fly," Sasuke hoped that Naruto knew the significance of that line -Naruto's father always calls him a 'flying fox'. "You won't slow us down Naruto, we can go just as fast together …" He glanced behind him and saw his little blonde smiling. "Hey, do you think about when we get older - we're both gonna be soldiers right?" behind him, Sasuke heard Naruto's sleepy sigh of agreement. "And our horses aren't gonna be toys; well - I wonder if we'll remember this … ya know, when we were kids. If we'll remember back when he were just, two little boys."

AN: Okay, this is just the first chapter … please tell me what you think of it.

The song 'Two little Boys' is by Rolf Harris. I was listening to it the other day and this whole paragraph just shot through my head -weird I know but that's how it happen- unfortunately it was for the second chapter.

So yeah … review? Please? I won't badger anyone but I just want to know what you think. :o)

Ja ne!