"It's so pretty. Can I keep it?" He said in a gentle voice.
"NO!"
Naruto lunged up at him, but Sasuke stepped to the side and Naruto landed painfully on the ground.
Sasuke snickered watching the 12 year old get up and try to make an intimidating face.
"Why are you so mean Sasuke?" he yelled punching Sasuke's knee.
Naruto pulled his hand back still faking anger and cradled it. It looked like he was more hurt than Sasuke. Naruto felt the tears in the back of his head begin to form. Even though he was a bully he never made him cry he had come close many times though.
Sasuke bent down to Naruto's height clutching the necklace in his right hand. He placed his left hand behind his back. He was having so much fun he had trouble not laughing. His huge eyes devoured the image of Naruto like a monster.
"Guess which hand it's in and you can have it." Naruto made a confused sound, similar to a pigeon. He trusted Sasuke, Sasuke bullied him, mocked him, but never lied to him.
The sun's rays crept in warmly through a long parade of clouds in the sky.
Naruto bit the end of his finger nervously in concentration. He saw that he had the necklace in his right hand, and there was nothing in his left when he hid it. Naruto shook his head in confusion.
"This isn't how the game is supposed to go! Your supposed to hide both your hands, and than cheat by switching it." He yelled.
Sasuke held his right fist up to Naruto's face and shook it. The child's eyes' focused on it like an animal on food just out of it's reach.
"Than I'm being fair. Even a dobe like you should be able to win now!"
Naruto covered his eyes and shook his head more causing his hair to flop around and become messy and uneven.
"Left Hand!" He said still hiding his eyes.
It had to be a trick! He said to himself.
Sasuke slowly pulled his left hand towards Naruto's face and forcing his smile down. Naruto lowered his hands in confusion and anticipation Sasuke's rose up towards Naruto's wide eye'd face and crept up towards his tiny forehead.
"You lose." Sasuke said pushing his fingers against Naruto's forehead.
Sasuke smiled again and stood up opening his right hand.
"I get to keep your necklace." He said as the precious item glittered in the sunlight.
Naruto placed a hand over his forehead, not to comfort his head but to hide his face. His whole body shook, trying to control his eyes
"No, I can't cry in front of Sasuke. I'll look weak." Sasuke had never made Naruto cry before, because he always knew what Naruto's limit was.
Naruto's panting blew his hot breath onto his open palm, which caused it to spread back over his face, tickling the tears in front of his eyes.
"It doesn't count as crying if none of them come out. If I don't move they won't come out."
He didn't bother to hide to his panting. Sasuke looked down at Naruto.
The black haired boy felt a wave of guilt spread through his veins. He couldn't control himself either. His smile died. Had Naruto removed his hand and looked at Sasuke he would have seen an indecisive hand hovering over him. Sasuke bit the end of his tongue and reminded himself to stick to the plan.
"Naruto?"
Naruto didn't answer.
"Since you gave me something of yours. I'll give you something of mine."
"THAT NECKLACE IS IMPORTANT"
"I'll give it back soon. I promise. Let's just play a little game first."
Naruto removed his head and looked up at Sasuke with giant eye's that glittered with the hints of vanquished tears in the corners. Sasuke never lies to me thought Naruto.
The wind blew Sasuke's presence closer to Naruto.
"I'll wear your necklace till I see you again in exchange you have to wear something of mine."
"And you'll give me it thing back when I see you again!" Naruto said, slowly lowering his tone with each word.
Sasuke shook his head to confirm it.
"What do I have to wear?"
"This."
"But!" He said embarrassed "I'll look stupid!"
"I don't think you'll look stupid"
Naruto grabbed the item and looked it at from several different angles, he didn't like it but he'd have wear. Naruto put it on and lowered his head in shame at this point faking looking tough was pointless. Even if Sasuke didn't think it was stupid, everyone else would.
Sasuke smiled down at Naruto as he put on the necklace.
"It's on backwards silly."
He said turning the fuzzy object on Naruto's head the right way. Naruto pushed tossed his hair up and down with his hands trying to hide it, but of course it didn't work and he just ended up looking even more ridiculous with messed up fluffy hair pooping up over his head like weeds. He looked up at Sasuke wearing his necklace and told himself he'd kick his ass some day.
"We won't take each other's things off till we see each other, ok?"
Naruto didn't say anything.
"Promise me ok?"
"Fuck you!"
Sasuke stroked the crystal several times "Promise me or I'll keep it for ever."
Sasuke's emotions confused Naruto, he acted like he was doing something really nice whenever he did stuff like this.
"Fine" Naruto said crossing his arms. "I promise I'll wear the stupid fox ears!"
"Good!" Sasuke bent down to Naruto's height again.
Seeing an opening, Naruto flung his hand forward towards the stolen crystal. Sasuke shielded the crystal with his palm, and felt Naruto's fingers cushion against his flesh.
Sasuke looked at him directly. Naruto felt his willpower empty away and be replaced by an ocean of calmness.
Sasuke removed his hand from the crystal and starting pulling something out from his pocket. Naruto reached out mentally and took the necklace
but his body remanded obediently still. All he could focus on was the blackness in Sasuke's eyes.
Naruto felt Sasuke place his hand inside his pockets, it's edged pushed against the edge of his pants and the thin white lining of his pockets was the only thing keeping the hand away from his thigh. Sasuke dropped something into his pocket and retracted his hand
"Now you be a good boy and keep your promise." Sasuke said stand over Naruto.
Naruto nodded his head obediently.
As his eye's grew farther away Naruto felt his body go back under his control and his frustration return. "Well..." Naruto tried to think of something sound like he hadn't just gotten humiliated. Sasuke had already started walking away.
A gust of wind blew across Naruto's back and tossed his hair in the wind, his ears wiggled around and he placed his hand on his chest the necklace wasn't there anymore. He conjured up images of punching the crap of Sasuke, but than scolded himself for it. Sasuke didn't do anything wrong. He told himself.
"um"
Sasuke was already out of reach of his hearing
"I guess they're kinda cool."
Later Naruto was eating ramen with Iruka.
"nd sho ea grave me dez earz"
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
Naruto slurped up the last bit of the noodles with smacking sounds.
Iruka was still only half way done with is bowl. The more he watched how Naruto ate the less hungry he became.
"Why are you still wearing those things than? You could just take them off right now?"
Naruto slammed down his bowl and talked with ramen juices pooling out his mouth .
"Because!" He lifted his head up and the wind blew his hair back and tickled his fox ears, covered in sticky brown juices he made a face like
he was posing for his face to be put on the wall of hokages.
"I told Sasuke I would wear these ears till I saw him again. I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"
"Keep it down!" Yelled the ramen shop owner.
Iruka lifted a spoonful of ramen to his face and than dropped it back into the bowl "You're weird Naruto."
"Huh?"
"I mean the way you act towards that Sasuke boy. You act like he's your friend but all he does bully you. Honestly, I think he's trying to take advantage of you. A true friend is someone who..."
"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, louder than his last statement. He whipped his face with his sleeve "Don't talk about Sasuke like he's a bad person! He's cool!"
Iruka turned to Naruto and licked his thumb than rubbed off parts of Naruto's face that were still sticky with ramen juices. Naruto squirmed in annoyance which only made it more uncomfortable and take longer. Iruka fondled one of the fox ears with a concerned face. He considered asking Naruto to at least remove the price tag from the ears, but decided it wasn't worth the effort
"Sasuke isn't always mean to me." Naruto said turning away, grabbing his bowl and looking down into it's deep empty bottom.
"Sometimes he talks to me."
"What does he talk to you about?"
"Usually whatever I want. Whenever I ask him something about himself he doesn't answer."
Iruka distrusted the stamen and reached out into his wallet to pay for today's meals. "Your the type of person who wants to belive everyone is good. People who act cold and uncaring towards other people lack self esteem. I don't know what he's told you about himself, but you need to hold people responsible for their actions. Everyone has a sad story to tell, but they don't have a right to use that as an excuse to cause more suffering."
"At least he doesn't ignore me..." Naruto wasn't sure if he had said that out loud or to himself.
He continued speaking, this time he knew it was in his mind. "No one else really talks to me apart from you, and your an adult..."
Naruto pulled a bag of candy from his pocket and dropped it onto the table. Iruka glanced it the bag.
"Why'd you buy that type of candy?"
Naruto unwrapped a large ball the size of his eye and put it into his mouth. He closed his eye's, grunted and shook his body. "That type of candy is really sore! It's not the type of thing you like." Iruka grabbed the bag from Naruto, the entire bag must have weighed half a pound. "Sasuke gave you this didn't he?" He was about to lecture Naruto more but realized the candy would talk for him.
"Naruto doesn't really have any friends." He reminded himself "That's probably why he's so clingy with that Sasuke boy. I guess giving Naruto candy he'd hate is Sasuke's idea of a joke."
Naruto wiggled, moaning increasingly louder with each wiggle. He nodded his head up and down, to answer the question. Iruka pulled at Naruto's hand signing. "Come on Naruto. I'll take you home."
The sunset on the two, creating dark shadows on shining, orange dirt. Naruto was still struggling, and losing the battle with his candy.
"Why are you still eating that?"
Naruto squirming and moaning suddenly stopped, breathed out once, giggled and started to smile.
"It's sweet on the inside. You need to get through the bad parts first."
Iruka was distracted by thoughts as Naruto bounced up and down trying to reach for another candy. One of his ears bent backwards and Iruka finally took notice. He pulled out a large blue ball and gave it to Naruto.
"If I keep eating this eventually the sour parts won't bother me, and than I'll only have the good parts." He said dropping the deep blue piece into his mouth.
"I think" Naruto said again not sure if it was in his mind or out loud "Sasuke is like the candy."
Later that night....
The midnight moon crept shined down onto Sasuke's bed and onto his bear back like the groping tendrils of a gay perverted moon god. He sat up in bed holding the crystal as it lay wedged between two fleshy lumps in his hand looking at it intensely.
It sparkled from a thousand different angles in every shade of green. "This is a piece of Naruto." Wind gushed in through the open window. Sasuke smiled and it was reflected back at him in a thousand different angles.
In this moment he felt like he held a piece of Naruto in his hands. A piece of Naruto smiling at him.
A piece that couldn't talk, hear, or even see him. When he walked Naruto would walk with him. When he slept Naruto would sleep onto of him and
listen to his heart beat. Now he could say anything he wanted to Naruto without consequence or responses. This way was lonely but safe.
He spoke came out with the speed and grace of a cough as he looked deep into the glowing light in his hand. "Naruto, I...the thing is when I'm with you I feel...I..."
He stopped and dropped the crystal. It fell back on to his chest and hugged him.
He ran a single finger across it's slick edges and pushed his skin into the tip at the end. "I love you Naruto!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please give a me review saying how this story should develop in later chapters. I will not make the content rating above Teen.
