Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, chances are I wouldn't be writing fan fiction about it.

Opposites
One-shot
by: Eternity Bites

People often said that Naruto and Sasuke were as different as the sun and the moon. Where Naruto was loud and annoying, Sasuke was calm and collected.

Some of the older shinobi would often compare Naruto to curious puppy. The Kyuubi contained was often seen smiling broadly and loudly laughing as he ran across Konoha's rooftops. Also whenever confronted with something he'd never before seen Naruto would cock his head to the side and look confusedly at said item. Yes Naruto was rather like a puppy; clumsy and harmless but fiercely loyal.

Sasuke, in comparison, was more like a dangerous jungle cat. Something that moved with disturbing grace and wasted no extra movement. The last Uchiha was always seen with a blank, emotionless face. The face of a person who had seen more than his fair share.

One was a dead last and the other a prodigy and yet somehow they understood each other. Many of the jonin passed it off as pity. Because after all, who would actually want to be seen with the villages pariah? However it went deeper than that.

The village could speculate as much as they wanted but they would never truly know. The true reason the last Uchiha put up with the Kyuubi child's antics was incredibly simple yet at the same time, mind-bogglingly complicated.

To Sasuke, Naruto was the only person who understood him. Somehow the supposed 'dobe' had seen under his cold and aloof mask to the hurting child underneath. Sasuke had known that when Naruto yelled at Inari 'to quit being a drama queen' that he had also been yelling at him. Sasuke was shocked that the village idiot was able to see what so many had missed. That was why when he saw the fake hunter-nin target Naruto he finally knew what all those therapists were trying to tell him; life was nothing without your precious people and Naruto was his only precious person and he would do anything to protect him.

It`s a little easier to comprehend why Naruto had attached himself to Sasuke. The Rookie of the Year was the first person to ever accept him as a human being. Sure, Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji had always been there for him but to them Naruto was always kind of an afterthought or a nuisance.

Naruto finally realized that Sasuke actually cared about him. When the avenger had asked if he was scared it was Sasuke`s own subtle way of asking if he was alright. Naruto couldn`t recall how he had answered but it was probably loud and brash. The important thing was that he had finally found his own precious person and that thought had kept the blonde smiling widely all day.

After the wave mission, despite the fact that the two rivals seemed to get along worse than ever, Naruto and Sasuke had formed a deeper bond. Unfortunately during the chuunin exams things seemed to go straight to hell. When Sasuke had awoken after the attack from Orochimaru and the first thing he saw was the battered form of his only friend.

Sorrow embraced his entire being. How could he ever hope to defeat him when he couldn`t even protect his only precious person? It was then he noticed the power flowing through his veins and Sasuke finally realized what was happening around him. Some baka-nin was attacking his dobe (since when had Naruto been his?). The avenger didn't want them to use Naruto against the team so he turned to the useless pink thing, Sakura he vaguely remembered, and asked her who had done it. The Uchiha made short work of the enemy ninja and by that time Naruto had woken up. Sasuke heard his blonde teammate ask his other one about her hair but the entire time Naruto was looking at Sasuke with large worried eyes.

When Naruto had awakened his first thoughts had been on his raven haired teammate. With his eyes Sasuke quickly reassured the Kyuubi contained that he was fine. Naruto was admittedly fairly clueless but he'd have to be a downright moron not to see the troubled looks Sakura kept shooting the Uchiha. Against his better judgement Naruto stayed quiet for the rest of the exam. During the preliminaries Naruto keenly listened to Sasuke and Sakura fight but still didn't get involved. When Kakashi-sensei had taken Sasuke away Naruto masked his anxiousness by cheering for his fellow leaf-nin.

During the one month training period things seemed to calm down. Naruto felt he should've realized that things wouldn't stay that way. Soon after the beginning of the invasion Naruto rushed off with Sakura and Shikamaru. Throughout Naruto's fight with Gaara he couldn't help but worry about his avenger friend.

Time seemed to speed up after his victory over the Shukaku container and soon Naruto found himself whisked away with the super pervert to find some old woman. While they were staying in some town Naruto finally met Sasuke's older brother, Itachi.

When Sasuke had heard that Itachi had been sighted he couldn't fight the familiar surge of anger. Sasuke wasn't foolish enough to believe he had the strength to defeat Itachi but the moment Naruto's name left the lips of the no-named shinobi Sasuke moved faster than he ever had before. The fight between him and his older brother was mostly a blur. As Sasuke thought he wasn't strong enough to beat his older brother. The last thing the avenger saw before falling into unconsciousness was Itachi's sharingan eyes mocking him.

During the fight between the two brothers Naruto couldn't help but hold his breath. He didn't want Sasuke to get hurt because of him! The Kyuubi boy finally realized that he loved the last loyal Uchiha but he knew that Sasuke would never reciprocate those feelings. Seeing the crazed way his raven haired friend attacked his brother Naruto understood that he would always be second to Itachi.

When Naruto finally returned with the newest hokage, Tsunade (who looked deceptively young he might add), the first thing he had her do was heal Sasuke. Assured that Sasuke was alright Naruto attempted to leave as quickly as he arrived. Sasuke had always been good at reading him and the blonde was afraid he might guess his feelings if the two were alone two long. In the end it didn't really matter because Sasuke challenged him to just as he was about to make his exit.

After Kakashi-sensei broke up their not-so-friendly fight Naruto wanted to go home and cry. The only person he'd ever loved would've used and A-class assassination jutsu on him. So that's exactly what he did. Naruto spent the night lazing around his apartment, eating ice cream, screaming at the walls and eventually he fell asleep.

When the sound nin came to Sasuke with their invitation the avenger could honestly say he wasn't tempted in the least, but then they had to do their big power show. Seeing that Sasuke apprehended what kind of ninja there were out there. Shinobi miles beyond his skill level and this Orochimaru could give him the power to protect his dobe (Sasuke's new pet name for the blonde). So that night Sasuke set off with the sound five because he would do anything to keep Naruto safe, and that included selling his soul to the devil.

Sasuke wasn't the least bit surprised to see that Naruto had come after him; the two had been very close. When Naruto had shouted that he thought of Sasuke like a brother the avengers heart shattered. The ebony haired young man had been sorely inclined to return with the blonde boy but then he had opened his mouth. The innocence and naivety shining in Naruto's eyes drove it home to Sasuke how important it was that he protected him. So with regret burning in his veins Uchiha Sasuke turned his back on the only person he ever loved. After all he would do anything to keep the idiot safe even if it meant hurting him in the process.

Naruto fought tooth and nail against Sasuke but he knew that he was only kidding himself. If Sasuke truly wanted to leave than Naruto would let him because he would do anything to see the avenger happy, even if it meant letting him run off to Orochimaru. The jinchuuriki wanted to tell the Uchiha his feelings before he left but the blonde was a coward and chickened out at the last moment. As soon as the words left his mouth Naruto knew it was the wrong thing to say, but that didn't matter. Now Sasuke had no ties to Konoha which would make it easier for him to leave. Because Naruto would do anything to see the avenger happy, even if it meant hurting himself.

People often said that Naruto and Sasuke were complete opposites. The two wished that was the case because opposites attract but even though the blonde and the brunette loved each they were too similar. Because where opposites attract those who are the same are bound to repel.

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My laptop crashed last week (I went into withdrawl) so I started writing in one of my old notebook's and this is what came to mind. Don't know if it's actually any good and I apologize for any spelling errors. Review??