A/N: I said this chapter would be up soon and so it shall! Enjoy, my readers! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Um, I don't really have anything witty or sarcastic prepared so uh, I don't own Naruto?
Chapter Dedication to The gangsta of love for the playdate idea.
Clutching his son's hand in his own Minato looked up at the structure they were standing before. Many dark haired, dark-eyed people walked through the Uchiha compound, many partaking in whispered conversations before noticing he and Naruto and bowing before them respectfully. He nodded in acknowledgment while Naruto waved beside him frantically, yelling greetings at the Uchiha clan while girls giggled at his cuteness. Yep, his son was gonna be quite the ladies' man when he grew up.
"You ready to go in Naru-chan?" He asked his son, pulling him off his feet and placing him on his shoulders. The boy giggled, tapping the top of his father's head with his palms.
"Yeah, Daddy!" He exclaimed, quite loudly in his father's ear, causing the blond haired man to wince slightly. That kid sure had some pipes on him. He nodded in understanding, walking towards the main house. Once he reached it he knocked on the door, playing with his son's feet as he waited for it to be opened.
It had been over a year since Uchiha-san made the proposal of Naruto and Sasuke to meet up for a playdate but it continued to be pushed by other important matters. But thankfully, Minato was finally able to find a break in his schedule to take Naru-chan on this little outing(he wasn't entirely comfortable leaving Naruto alone with others he didn't fully trust yet).
When it was finally opened he smiled at the dark-haired, dark-eyed young man before him. He looked about seven, with a blank that many Uchihas seemed to posses.
"Hello Itachi." The young prodigy nodded his head in awknowledgement, a small smile curving onto his thin lips. He bowed lowly before swinging the door open and gesturing the two in.
"Good afternoon Hokage-sama. I'm honored to have you and your son in my home."
"Thank you." Minato said, ducking his head to make sure Naruto didn't bump against the door frame as they moved into the main house.
"Sasuke is already waiting in the playroom just down the hall first door on the right. I believe Father is waiting for you alond with Mother in the livingroom adjacent to the playroom Hokage-sama. If you will excuse me I have training to attend to." With that being said he bowed respectfully, moving down the opposite hall without another word.
The two blonds watched the dark-haired boy walk away until he disappeared down the corridor, turning and giving each other matching looks.
"He sure is formal huh?" Minato asked his son, moving down the hall to the areas indicated by Itachi.
"Wazzat?" Naruto asked his father, his head at a slight tilt of confusion.
"Stuffy."
"Oooh..." Naruto said, his confusion fading if only a little before returning as he leaned to look into his father's face.
"Wazzat?"
0-0-0
Minato pulled his son from his shoulders and placed him on his feet before him. He kneeled down, placing his hands on his boy's shoulders and looking into his deep blue eyes.
"Okay Naru-chan, I'm just going to be across the hall okay? Right there." He explained pointing to the room adjacent to the one they were currently in.
"You stay here and play with Sasuke okay?" His father asked.
Naruto looked away from his daddy for a moment, taking this time to look around the room he was in. It was painted navy blue with a large red and white fan painted on each of the four surronding walls. It was very neat, with a toy chest placed against the far wall with toys nearly spilling out but not quite. Naruto noticed that next to the toy chest was a boy with the same dark features and pale skin as the boy he'd seen earlier. He was playing absentmindedly with what looked to be a stuffed animal, a crow, but Naruto could see that every so often his eyes flickered up to him and his father. Naruto looked away from the boy, turning back to his dad with a smile.
"Otay Daddy!" He exclaimed, earning a slight wince from Minato from the sheer volume. He got over it though, smiling at his son and giving him a kiss on the head before heading out of the room.
When he was sure his father was gone Naruto turned on his heel slowly, looking over at the boy near the wall with slight curiousity. His daddy did say they were supposed to play together right? What did he say his name was again?
"Hey!" Naruto shouted at the dark-haired boy, who jumped a bit at his volume.
"What?" He asked with a slight glare, as if he was upset about getting interrupted. Naruto mentally shrugged at the thought. What was he gonna do? Throw the crow at him?
"What's your name?" Naruto asked, plopping down on the ground rather roughly, looking at the other boy with clear blue eyes. The other boy's eyes narrowed even farther.
"What's your name?" He demanded back, eyes darting away from Naruto for a moment to dance his crow around before looking back up at him.
"I asked first." Naruto pointed out.
"My house." The dark-haired boy snapped back, earning a glare from the blond boy.
"So?"
"It's my house, you havta do what I say." He explained with a smug smirk curling onto his thin lips, as if he had won the argument.
"You're not the boss of me!" Naruto yelled, hopping to his feet in anger.
"Yeah I am!" The other boy yelled back, hopping to his own feet as well.
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh uh!" Naruto yelled, his cheeks becoming pink with anger. The dark-haired boy glared at him, quickly running towards Naruto full speed with his crow forgotten on the ground. Naruto braced himself, thinking he was going to hit him and becoming shocked when he simply ran past him.
"I'm tellin'!" He yelled back to Naruto, running towards the room across the hall. Naruto's eyes widened as he quickly turned to look at the boy's retreating back. That-that- that tattle!
"No! Don't be a tattletale!" Naruto yelled after him, quickly following the boy into the other room where his father was. He burst through the door just as the other boy ran up to a woman with dark hair and eyes just like him and a man sitting beside her.
Naruto looked to his father, who was sitting on a couch across from the woman and the man, before running up to him and hugging his legs tightly in his childish grasp.
"Whoa, Naruto what's wrong?" Minato asked, placing his tea down on the table and ruffling his son's hair. Naruto looked up at his father with big, blue eyes and a slight pout.
"I hate 'im." Naruto stated before burying his face into his father's pant leg. Minato gave his son a sympathtic laugh, running his hand through the boy's blond spikes. Why was he laughing, Naruto was completly serious!
"Who do you hate Naruto?" Minato asked, rubbing his son's back in soothing circles. Naruto looked up at his father, steeling his ocean blue eyes before pointing across the room at the dark-haired boy.
"Him." Minato followed his son's finger with a puzzled expression.
"Sasuke?" The Yondaime asked with a tilt of his head.
"That's his name?" Minato laughed at that.
"Yes. Sasuke Uchiha."
Naruto nodded slightly as if he understood, looking over at the other boy.
"Sassque Itchyha huh?" Naruto nodded to himself as he watched the other boy, it was a very fitting name. The Hokage stifled a laugh at the boy's pronunciation but he let it go, it might be an interesting story for later.
"I'm sure you don't really hate him Naru-chan." Minato said, trying to reason with his son. Naruto gasped, how could his father not believe him of his undeniable hatred? He nodded enthusiastically, looking at his father incredulously.
"Yeah huh! I do so hate him. I hate him as much I love ramen! Mmm, ramen." He let his mind wander momentarily to heaven in a bowl. Mmm, ramen.
"Can't you at least try to get a long with him?" Minato asked with a sigh, knowing that once his son made up his mind it was nearly impossible to change it. Another trait inherited from his mother.
"No." He deadpanned in a way that shouldn't be possible for a child so young. Minato sighed again, he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"If you get along with him for a few hours you can have ramen for dinner tonight." The blond man bargined shamelessly. Sometimes bribery was a man's best friend. Naruto's blue eyes lit up with joy for a moment before dimming with suspicion.
"Pwomise?"
"Yes."
"Pinky pwomise?" Naruto demanded, holding out his pinky finger out to his father. Pinky promises were fool-proof, they could never be broken and Naruto wasn't going to be nice to that doody-head unless he was getting ramen for sure. His father laughed lightly before hooking his larger pinky with his own.
"I promise Naru-chan." He said sincerely, ruffling his son's hair with his free hand.
"Yay!" Naruto yelled suddenly, surprising the room's other inhabitants as he broke away from his father's legs and pointed to Sasuke.
"Hey Sassque, wace ya!" Naruto yelled, fleeing from the room, giggling all the while. The dark-haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp, shouting something along the lines of 'We can't run in the house!' as he chased Naruto. Minato simply shook his head and took a sip of his tea.
"That's my boy."
0-0-0
Naruto stood on the grass just behind the Uchihas main house, looking around the large expanse of grass covered ground set before him. He judged by the posts around the area that this was some sort of training ground like the kind he and his daddy had at home but he wasn't allowed to use until got older. It was kind of cool.
"Hey!" Naruto shook himself from his thoughts and looked across the field to the dark-haired boy that stood there. He tapped his foot impatiently.
"You gonna kick da ball or what?" He demanded with a sour look on his pale face. Naruto looked at the red ball waiting under his foot, just begging to be kicked in its little ball face.
"Oh, sowwy." With that being said he pulled his chubby little leg back, kicked the ball in as straight a line as he could manage before it reached Sasuke. The other boy stopped the ball with his foot before passing it back to the blond. With a few more passes between the two Sasuke finally decided to break the silence.
"So what's your name?" He asked, kicking the ball back to Naruto though not as straight as he would have hoped. Naruto ran over to retrieve the ball, kicking it back to his original spot before passing it back to the other boy. He grinned at the dark-haired boy, striking the coolest pose he could manage.
"Nawuto Uzumaki Namikaze!" He yelled spectacularly with a win grin. Sasuke watched the other boy with a blank expression.
"Lame." He deadpanned, kicking the ball back to the blond who caught it with his foot.
"You'we lame!" He shouted back, kicking the ball as hard as he could. The two boys watched as the ball soared through the air, over their heads and over the gate of the Uchiha Compound. Sasuke stared at his ball with his mouth agape before turning to the blond who was laughing sheepishly.
"Whoops."
"Look what ya did!" Sasuke yelled, pointing in the direction of where his ball disappeared.
"Sowwy! Geez!" Naruto apoligized, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarressment. That was not his plan at all.
"That was my favowite ball." Sasuke said with a pout, plopping down on the ground with teary eyes. Naruto looked down at the ground guiltily, rubbing the top of his shoe into the ground.
"Don't cry, I'll get your ball okay?" Naruto said, walking over to the boy and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not cryin'." Sasuke sniffled, refusing to meet the other boy's eyes.
"Look, I'm getting the ball. See?" Naruto said, moving away from the older boy and walking towards the gate where the ball had disappeared.
"Wait! We can't go in there!" Sasuke said suddenly, wiping his eyes and running over to the other sighed, did he want the ball back or not?
"How come?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes as if it were obvious,"'Cuz my momma said that it's not safe there. A long time ago some other Uchihas used to live there but there aren't that many any more so no one lives there so it's all broken and stuff."
Naruto gave the older boy a blank stare, "Want da ball or what?"
Sasuke thought for a moment, looking back on the Main house before nodding his head.
"Good. You stay here." Naruto said, running towards the gate full speed in search of the ball.
"Why do I have to stay here?" Sasuke grumbled to himself, watching as the younger boy ran to the abandoned area of the compound. He heard as his stomach gave a ferocious growl and he rubbed his belly silently. Hmm, he was feeling kinda hungry. Maybe Momma made lunch for him, he was really craving rice. With that thought he truned on his heel and walked towards the house, completly forgeting about Naruto and his quest for the red ball.
0-0-0
Naruto was brave, just like his daddy. Of this he was sure. He continued to try and reassure himself as he walked through the darkness of the abandoned portion of the Uchiha Compound. He wasn't scared of bugs, he wasn't scared of the dark. He wasn't afraid of sounds he couldn't explain, and he wasn't afraid of shadows that passed over his small body. He heard something snap behind him and he shrieked, taking off quickly into an abandoned building. Okay. Maybe he was afraid of unexplainable sounds, but none of those other things. As he moved through the dark building he kicked random trash away with his feet, searching the ground for the red ball.
"Where'd it go?" He asked himself, searching the ground with a keen eye. It couldn't have possibly gone this far into the abandoned area right? He didn't kick it that hard. He searched quietly, carefully stepping around rotted holes and over large portions of debris until his eye caught something in the corner. He grinned as he locked onto the red ball he was searching for. He let out a victory whoop, racing over to the ball before he skidded to a halt when he saw the gaping hole seperating him and the ball.
"How did that even happen?" He asked himself, looking for a way to get to the stupid ball.
"That dumb Sassque betta be happy I got his ball." He grumbled lowly as he caught sight of a long section of wood stretching from where the ball lay and a few feet from where he stood. He quickly walked over to the section, placing a foot on its surface and recoiling when he heard it creak under his weight. He took a few soothing breaths. He could do this. He was brave, just like his daddy. With that thought in mind he shut his eyes tight, placing his full weight on the wood and waiting for the worst.
When it didn't come he slowly allowed one eye to crack open and when realizing he was in fact alive he placed his other foot on the wooden plank as well. It creaked under his weight once more but offered no further resistance as he let out a relieved sigh. Now to get that ball.
He slowly sidestepped along the wooden plank, holding his breath as he neared closer to his goal. When reaching his destination he quickly snatched it up and tossed it to the other side of the abandoned room before moving to head back to the other side of the plank. He walked back slowly, ignoring the constant creaking under his feet and the rapid beating of his heart. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stood about a foot from solid ground, taking a rather heavy step on the weak wood and feeling it crack beneath his feet.
He let out an ear-piercing shriek as he tumbled through the air, hand snapping out and grabbing hold of a piece of solid ground to cling to. He breathed heavily, holding himself up by the strength of his childish arm. Oh no, what was Daddy gonna say when he couldn't find him? Man, he was going to be in so much trouble.
"No." He whimpered to himself as he felt his fingers slipping.
"Help! Somebody help please! Somebody! Anybody!" Naruto screamed, trying to ignore the rapid beating of his heart as he felt another of his fingers slip.
"Daddy! Please, help me Daddy!" He screeched, big fat tears streaming down his face as he tried to desperatly hold on with all his might. He let a yelp when he felt his hand finally slip and he was overcome with a strong falling sensation.
Suddenly he was yanked to a stop, something tugging against his cuff of his long sleeved shirt. He blinked the tears out of his eyes as he felt himself being slowly lifted from the dark hole. 'Who...?' He thought as he was pulled up to his chest, placing both hands on the ground as he pulled himself from the hole...and coming face to face with a large auburn colored fox.
He blinked his blue eyes as he stared into the foxes dark eyes, heart skipping a bit at their close proximity.
"Um, thanks ." Naruto said, scooting away from the fox while avoiding the hole behind him. The fox continued to stare at him, its fluffly red tail with a white tip swishing lazily behind it. Then it bowed slowly, its head resting against the ground respectfully.
"It is my honor Kyuubi-sama." With that said the fox quickly righted itself and took off, disappearing through the ruins of the abandoned Uchiha compound. Naruto watched it go in shock, hands slightly shaky from the entire encounter.
"K-Kyuubi-sama?"
0-0-0
Naruto walked back to the Main house, red ball in hand as he smirked triumphantly to hide the thoughts raging through his mind. That fox...why would it save him? Who was this Kyuubi person and why did that fox confuse Naruto for him? He supposed he should be thankful anyway, since he did save his life. He rolled his eyes when he noticed that Sasuke was not waiting for him but he shrugged it off. He was too tired to hate the older boy right now.
He walked through the door, walking into a room that he assumed was the kitchen if Sasuke sitting at the table eating onigiri was any indication. The older boy looked down at the blond boy his seat, smiling a little at his ruffled appearence.
"Wow, you're alive." Naruto scowled at that comment, narrowing his eyes at the dark-haired boy.
"Here's your ball." He said bitingly, chucking the ball at Sasuke and smiling when he nailed him in the face.
"Hey!" The other boy protested, rubbingthe sore spot on his face as Naruto shrugged and snatched a riceball and took a bit. Not as good as ramen but still pretty tasty.
"I don't like you." Sasuke said with a pout.
"So?" Naruto deadpanned.
"You're ugly."
"So?"
"You smell."
"So?"
"You pee the bed."
Naruto simply clucked his tongue,"So?"
"Ew." With that the boys sat in silence, munching calmly on rice. 'If this is what playdates are like,' Naruto thought, 'I'm not doing anymore for all the ramen in the world.'
A/N:This chapter was super long! Hopefully it makes up for the shortness of last chapter. Okay about the little field that Naruto and Sasuke play soccer in I don't think it actually exists on the Uchiha compound. I just took some liberties as a fanfiction writer and made it up because two year olds just don't go around playing in random parks by themselves so I gave the Uchihas a backyard/training ground. Also about the abandoned portion of the Uchiha compound, just used it to move along the story. Pretty sure it doesn't actually exist(well at least not during this time, maybe later on after the Uchiha Massacre). For some reason Naruto's R's sound like W's except for in the word Ramen, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. Don't hate me, I don't know how kids talk! I don't know anything about children! What the heck? This was supposed to be happpy and fluffy. What the frick happened to the fluff?! Ugh, whatever. I promise next xhapter will be so fluffly and sweet it'll be like you're swimming in cotton candy(that sounds uncomfortable)! Thanks for all the reviews favorites and follows you guys! I have 70 follows that's so frickin' awesome! I can't wait til I get to 100, and maybe 100 reviews and favorites as well. If that happened I think I'd explode with happiness. There would be confetti everywhere...anywho next time First Friend! Until next time!
-Watson