I drew a pic of FoxyNaru and HoundogSasu! Here (you have to remove the spaces): http://ashersthedragon. deviantart. com/ art/ sasunaru-Fox-and-Hound-64513725

Sorry it took so long to update. But, look, it's really long!!! Enjoy!

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Naruto frowned, staring blankly at a tree in front of him. Swishing his tail idly, he tried not to feel nervous or rejected. Why was he like this? Because it had been a long time since he arrived at the pond, where Sasuke was supposed to meet him today. And so far, his friend was no where to be seen.

'Did he...forget about me...?'

As quickly as the brief thought came, Naruto shook his head, ashamed for thinking like that. Sasuke was so eager to be his best friend, why would he suddenly forget about him?! It was a ridiculous thing to think of. No, something must be wrong. Perhaps he was sick? Or injured? The whiskered boy stood up, brushing off the back of his pants. Well, he'd just have to find the raven and see why he was missing.

Good thing yesterday the Uchiha had been teaching him how to use his nose 'properly', or else he'd have no clue on how to search. While he wasn't that good at it, after a few sniffs he could pick up the slightest hint of rain and jasmine that was left behind. Sasuke's scent. And so, following it ever so slowly, in case he accidentally messed up or went the wrong way, he followed the path that the other took everyday to get home.

Even though he forced himself to stay positive, there still was that nagging worry in the back of his head...

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Sasuke curled up on the grass, sitting indian style and crossing his arms in a definite pout. A collar, glowing with dull blue chakra, was attached to his neck. A matching chain kept him where he was, unable to move around that much. As much as he minded the...'family' he had, there had never been any other time where he was more angry at his caretaker.

"Sasuke."

The young hound glanced up from where he was staring at. "Yes...Oorochimaru-sama?"

The almost white snake looking man frowned, tilting his head. "I warned you the other day about going off into the woods."

"Hai, master."

"And what did you do yesterday?"

Sasuke did not like the tone that the older man was using on him...as if scorning a young child who was ignorant and stupid. "I went into the woods, master."

The man let out a 'tsk', opening the metal collar he had been holding during their conversation. "I suppose some dogs have to learn the hard way, ne?"

Rubbing irritably at the collar that chaffed his neck, he glared at his sleeping brother, curled up underneath a sakura tree. Though he had warned him, all he did was sit there and smirk knowingly while the man humiliated him with such a device.

Maybe he should pour a bucket of water on him or something...

"Pst.."

Sasuke frowned at the tiny noise, tilting his head towards the bush it came from, startled to see two gleaming blue eyes peering out at him. "What the.."

"Hey, Sasuke, it's me." Naruto said quietly, eyeing the older male not too far away from them both.

Recognizing his obnoxious voice, the raven's heart jumped a little, and he couldn't help but smile for a split second. "Idiot, what are you doing here?"

Poking his head out and glancing around, the young fox quietly walked over, looking ashamed and bashful. "I just wanted to know if you were all right, that's all." Turning his attention to the collar, he almost gasped, but turned it into a quiet intake of breath. "They're chaining you up?"

"...Yeah," after a moments hesitation, "I'm not allowed to go wander off into the woods anymore. It's no fun..."

The blond tilted his head, pouting slightly. "Meanies...well, if you can't come to me, then I'll just come to you!"

Though Sasuke knew that probably wasn't a wise idea, the selfish part of his mind jumped at the thought that Naruto would actually take his time to come visit. Then the reasonable side took over. "It's not like I don't want you to...it's just that, I really don't want you to get in trouble."

Ignoring the statement, curious blue eyes shifted over to the sleeping figure. "So who's he?"

Sasuke frowned, glancing at what held Naruto's attention. "That's my brother, Itachi."

Bravely, yet stealthily walking over to the unmoving figure, the blond peered into his face, ignoring Sasuke's look of horror. "He looks just like you!"

"Naruto!!" Sasuke tried to quietly hiss, "Get away from him!"

Said fox cast a look over his shoulder. "Why? He's sleeping."

Sasuke tried to grab the boy's sleeve and drag him away, but the chain only let him go so far. "Moron, just get over here where it's safe."

The other snorted quietly, turning to analyze the elder Uchiha again. "What are you talking about, it's perfectly-" Red eyes were now peering at him. Yelping, the surprised Naruto fell back, staring owlishly up at the figure peering angrily down at him. "...U..uh..."

Then, a low growl escaped, and suddenly he came face to face with sharp poised claws.

Barely having any time to react, the fox cried out as he stumbled back too late, one of the claws creating a small gash on his nose. Shivering, the blond pulled himself up and watched the other warily as the figure stood up.

"Naruto, don't stand there, run!" Sasuke's voice called to him.

And at the sound of another deep throaty growl, Naruto did run. He turned and suddenly started sprinting in the direction he came from. Though he was off their land now, he didn't stop his fast pace. But now that he got off the property, the other wouldn't chase him down...right?

Or so he thought, as he heard heavy running footsteps, and the sound of his friend screaming, "LEAVE HIM ALONE, ITACHI!"

Fear crawled into the young boy's heart. And he ran as fast as he could, dreading as the brother continued his quick pursuit.

Though Itachi was well trained and had excellent skills, as a fox Naruto would always be naturally more cunning and maneuverable. And instincts kicked in as suddenly Naruto leapt at a tree branch and continued to do so in a zig zag pattern, not only getting closer to the farm but gaining altitude up from the hound so hell bent on catching him.

Though he'd only been running fourteen minutes now, the heavy exert on his young body was starting to take effect. It was a good thing that the house was coming up, or he might not of made it.

Revlieved that the sounds of his pursuer ceased slowly, he ran and ran until he reached front door, where he pulled it open and quickly slammed it behind him, ignoring Tsunade's angry and surprised shout as he locked the door.

"Naruto, what-" she stopped as she noted the sweaty, terror stricken and shivering pup, bleeding quite well on the nose. Calming down not to rouse him any further she walked over and hugged the boy gently, rubbing his hair as she felt tears and blood hit her old cotton shirt.

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"That hurts, baa-chan!" Naruto whined as she rubbed disinfectant into the cut on his nose. She replied with an, "Oh, suck it up," and slapped a band-aid on as the final touch.

Now settled down, the young boy was curled up in his mother's lap, clutching a cup of hot cocoa and snuggling softly into her side, quietly retelling her the incident at the Uchihas.

After a couple of minutes, Tsunade finally spoke. "Naruto...I don't want you visiting that boy anymore."

Naruto frowned, obviously not happy. "But mama, he's my friend...and he did nothing wrong..."

"I know...but, you have to understand that...well, don't worry about it tonight. You'll learn about it soon enough. For now, get some rest."

Naruto nodded, feeling tired from his 'adventure'. So, he decided not to argue as she lifted him up and carried him into his room, placing him into bed.

He could ask her tomorrow, anyways.

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Naruto was fed up.

It had been a week since he last saw his friend. Like it or not, Naruto was going to go see him.

Though the boy seemed a bit naive at the time, he wasn't stupid. And in his free time he had come up with ways to outfox that older brother of Sasuke's...

And he decided today was the perfect day. Why? Because the wind was blowing Southward, and the Uchiha complex was North from his own. There was no way that any of them could pick up his scent. But that also meant Sasuke couldn't, as well.

But Naruto hadn't been planning on talking to Sasuke. He simply just...wanted to see how the other was doing.

And so he was greatly surprised when he poked his head out from behind the tree to find a strange sight. Sasuke, Itachi, and a man he could only guess was their master, were packing things up into an old pick-up truck. And by the looks of things they were going away for a long time. How long, though?

"What are you doing, Naruto?" A quiet voice came from behind him.

Jumping and turning around, he came face to face with his silver haired mask wearing teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei?...I was just seeing how Sasuke was doing...he's going on a trip."

"I can see that." The old crow observed the scene carefully.

"Why are they taking so many guns?" Naruto never seen so many. Tsunade only had one, and that was for emergancy protection. But she had shown it to him, in case he needed it for some reason.

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, they are going on a hunting trip. And once they'll be back, Sasuke will be nothing but an exact copy of his brother. In fact, he may even hunt you."

Naruto stared unbelievingly at his sensei. "Sasuke? Hunt me? He'd never, we're friends!"

The masked man just sighed, idly scratching one of his feathery ears. "Well, he'll definitely be a trained hunter. And hutning isn't a game, Naruto. If you're hunted, you'll end up killed."

Naruto gulped, surprised but not doubting his teacher on the subject of hunting.

The roar of the engine caught their attention again. Itachi and the snake man were sitting in the car, while Sasuke was in the bed of the truck, resting his head on his arms, which were supported by the back of the truck. As the car slowly started up, Naruto took the chance, seeing as Sasuke would be the only one to see him, to pop his head out and give a small wave goodbye.

The wave caught the raven's attention, ears perking up from their slumped position. After a brief second, the Uchiha smiled at him, wiggling his fingers goodbye as the car drove off down the road, disappearing from sight.

As Naruto stared at where Sasuke once had been, he wondered when they'd be back. And he also wondered if Sasuke was really going to be a cold blooded killer...

And he also wondered why Sasuke's smile was so sad and heartbroken.

----TBC----

Aaah, I finally added some Kakashi!!! Yay! Ooo, things are getting good!!! R/R!!!