All right! After all that tenderness, you would think that that would be my little happy ending. Ah, but there's a slight problem: society. Society hates the gays, which Sasuke and Naruto just realized they are. Hmm...not to mention our friend Kiba. No one forgot about him, right? Tomorrow is a weekday, meaning school...and Kiba. Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?
Sasuke felt lighter when he awoke that morning. The open window testified that he had not been dreaming. Naruto had been in his room last night, and the two of them really had shared that long, wonderful kiss. As he undressed to bathe that morning, Sasuke spoke to Hikitsuko. "You know, people generally don't like guys who make out with other guys," he told the fox. Hikitsuko leapt into the bathtub, splashing Sasuke with the warm water. Sasuke laughed. "But I don't care. That's who I am, Hikitsuko, and I'm not changing to please other people."
The fox barked in agreement, and Sasuke studied him carefully. He remembered the day, not so long ago, when he had given the fox his first real bath. Hikitsuko had been so tiny then, literally a handful to carry around. He was bigger now, and Sasuke realized he must be bigger than wild foxes his age. The golden-red fox was close to his adult height by now, and he wasn't even fully grown. Shelter from the harsh outdoors had given him a chance to surpass his potential.
When he had first appeared in the alley, Hikitsuko had been patchy-furred, flea-bitten, shaky-limbed, and scrawny. He had been gaunt and starving, and incredibly small. Now, after almost a month of living indoors with Sasuke, he had doubled in size—possibly even tripled or quadrupled, for Sasuke didn't bother marking his growth. The fox now stood at around a foot and a half tall. His fluffy coat of baby fur had been shed to make room for a sleek, glossy adult pelt, with rain-shedding guard hairs and more distinct colors. Hikitsuko was as gold as an autumn sunset, with a snowy belly, undermuzzle, and tailtip. Black socks covered his front legs almost entirely, and black backed his scar-traced ears. His tiny milk fangs had been pushed out by longer, sharper, harder adult teeth, which would leave scratches on his kunai chew-toy. In short, he was growing up.
In other words, he's not so much cute and cuddly anymore as he is sleek and beautiful. Sorry, fangirls. (sweatdrops)
"Look at you," Sasuke remarked as the fox made a graceful leap out of the tub. He grabbed a towel and started to dry off. "I can't believe at how much you've changed, Hikitsuko. You're a wonderful creature, you know that?" Hikitsuko smiled up at him.
An hour later, the Uchiha boy was out the door, munching on his breakfast. He and Naruto had agreed the night before not to tell anyone about what had happened. No one else needed to know about them. At least, not yet. They were still young, and they had their whole lives ahead of them to decide whether or not this was what they really wanted. Sasuke knew that, but deep down he had already decided.
Hikitsuko rode on his shoulder, his nose raised proudly. Sasuke smiled and scratched behind his ears. "I'm so glad you don't have to hide anymore," he said. "You're getting too big to fit inside my shirt. Come on, not that much further until we get to the meeting place. We may be a little early today, so you might have some time to poke around the schoolyard."
Naruto raised his hand in greeting as Sasuke approached. The blonde boy grinned cheekily. "Back to another day of boring study under the whip of Iruka-sensei," he joked. Sasuke nodded. "Well, at least I have somewhere new and wonderful for my mind to go, huh?"
"We said we wouldn't talk about it," Sasuke reminded him, glancing from side to side. He wasn't ashamed of the kiss, but that didn't mean everyone in Konoha had to know about it. Naruto brushed it off.
"Oh come off it, Sasuke-kun. There's no one else around to hear. You don't have to worry about anything. I said I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'm not going to." He quirked an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've had second thoughts. I mean, we don't have to start anything because of it if you don't want to, but I'd like to."
"I want to start something, but we've got to keep it between the two of us," Sasuke replied. "Remember, we can't give even the slightest impression at school today. Which means no 'Sasuke-kun', all right?" Naruto nodded, looking sad, and Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blonde boy to comfort him. "Oh, don't give me that look, you feisty little tod! You know just as well as I do what would happen if word got out."
Naruto brightened up at the close contact, and he nodded. "I know. It just...I just want to shout it to the whole world, it feels so good!" He pulled back. "I'm glad you feel the same way I do, Sasuke. Quite frankly, I was starting to wonder if I would do something to make you stop being with me, and I didn't want that to happen at all."
Sasuke dropped his arms to his side, nodding as well. "Come on, I'll race you there!" Naruto's eyes sparked playfully, and before long, the two boys were off. Hikitsuko pounded up behind them, barking and yipping in protest at being thrown from his perch.
;-:-;-:-;
"Oh...Crap..." were the first words out of Uchiha Sasuke's shock-gaping mouth as his startled, dark eyes took in the scene before him.
The walk—or rather, run—to school had been so lighthearted that Sasuke had forgotten everything that could have possibly bothered him. And now, as he looked in horror at the scene in front of the academy, he realized he had forgotten something very important: Inuzuka Kiba.
Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino were huddled together, bawling their eyes out. Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Nara Shikamaru backed away from Sasuke and Naruto as they stepped forwards into the yard. The trio averted their eyes and ignored Naruto's hesitant greeting. The only one acting in character was Hyuuga Hinata. She smiled shyly and waved at the two boys, but Aburame Shino put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head when she turned questioningly to him.
Naruto stepped ahead of Sasuke and made a beeline for the two weeping girls. Sasuke followed him. "Sakura-chan," the dark-haired boy murmured, reaching out, "what's wrong?"
"I...I hate you, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura snapped suddenly, slapping his hand away from her shoulder and bursting into fresh tears. Ino patted the girl's back gently, glaring daggers at Sasuke.
"Really, Sasuke-kun, there are better boys out there than Naruto!" she hissed venomously. Sasuke stepped back from the pair, taken completely aback. He knew instantly that word had gotten out about his kissing Naruto in the tree. How many people had Kiba told? Looking around, Sasuke wondered if it was everyone.
Then he saw Hinata approaching him. The Hyuuga girl's pale eyes were cast downwards, and Sasuke could see a faint blush spreading across her face. "Hinata, what happened?" he asked softly. Hinata made a small nervous noise before she spoke.
"Sasuke-kun...Kiba-kun was here before everyone else. He...he told me, Sakura-chan, and Ino-chan to come close, because he had something he wanted to tell us something." She sighed. "He told us that on Saturday, he saw you kiss another boy outside the village. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan were very upset, and started to cry. 'I bet it was Naruto,' Sakura-chan said. 'Sasuke-kun's been spending so much time with him!' By then, Neji-kun, Lee-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Shino-kun had heard everything, and none of them looked happy. Ino-chan looked up at Kiba-kun. 'Please,' she begged, 'tell me it wasn't that loudmouthed lunk Naruto!' Kiba-kun said he wasn't going to say who it was, but everyone started to think it was Naruto-kun, and Kiba-kun never said it wasn't." She turned to Naruto. "Please...is it true? Was it you, Naruto-kun? But first—did it really happen?"
Naruto sighed as he put his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata-chan, I never lie to you, and I won't lie now," he said. "Yes, it really did happen, and yes, I was the boy Sasuke kissed." Hinata sniffled softly, and Sasuke realized he had never seen the pale-eyed girl cry before.
"Are you...Does that mean...?" Hinata shook her head and started crying. Naruto held her close, returning the dirty look that Shino gave him from behind his dark glasses. "Can we...still be friends, Naruto-kun?" she squeaked. Naruto put both hands on her shoulders and lifted her head to meet his gaze.
"Hinata-chan," he told her, "we will be the best of friends in the whole village. I promise. Nothing will change that, all right?" Hinata nodded, tears streaking down her cheeks. Sasuke saw Naruto's nod and took the sobbing girl into his own arms. Naruto whirled on Kiba.
"You...bastard," the blonde boy hissed furiously. "Why the hell did you do that, Kiba?! Why? Why?!"
Kiba smiled and replied simply, "I have nothing against you, Naruto. It's not your fault. I only did this for Sasuke. Notice how I didn't tell anyone it was you he kissed? Yeah, it wasn't my fault you got involved in this. I never said your name."
"You never denied my name either!!" Naruto shot back hotly. Kiba shrugged.
Hinata clung to Sasuke for a while, then broke away and sat down. Hikitsuko sniffed her face before giving her a few comforting licks. Sasuke heard everything Kiba had said, even though he was a good distance away from the boy. He gave a sharp whistle, summoning Hikitsuko. He was angry. Clapping his hands together, he formed the appropriate signs and focused his chakra. He felt himself fuse with Hikitsuko in both body and mind, and his jitsu took shape.
"Blazing Fire Fox: Uchiha Clan Revenge!!" he yowled, and threw back his head in triumph. He and Hikitsuko stood higher than the school building, a massive, double-headed fox with a pelt of living fire. The first head of the fox snorted smoke and hot embers, while the second head unleashed a spurt of flame from its open mouth. Everyone backed away from the monster rearing its heads. Heat from the fires rolled through the air in heavy, dizzying waves. Black eyes burning with untold rage, the twin heads turned to Kiba, and the great fox started towards him in huge, ground-shaking bounds.
Naruto saw it coming and took a firm stance in front of Kiba, flinging out his arms to protect the Inuzuka youth. "I'm not doing this for you," he muttered, hearing Kiba whisper his thanks. "I'm only doing this to keep Sasuke out of trouble." He turned back to the leaping fox, his eyes narrowed seriously. "Stop!" he ordered. "I won't let you do this! He's not worth it!"
The massive fox stopped, snorting and barking. Naruto shook his head. "No. It's not right." More angry snarls. "I know you won't hurt me. That's why I'm standing here. You're overreacting and you know it. Just stop."
The air was heavy with suffocating heat and crackling tension. Sweat trickled down the back of Naruto's neck as the fire-fox held its ground in a few feet away from him. He was panting, partly from the heat, and partly from anxiety. Finally, there came a pow that rang through the quiet air, and Sasuke stood in front of Naruto with Hikitsuko on his shoulder. Naruto stepped closer to the Uchiha boy and put a hand on his other shoulder. "Let's go, Sasuke-kun," he said simply.
"Where?" Sasuke asked.
"Anywhere but here," Naruto replied. "This isn't our place now."
Sasuke nodded, looking around at those who had arrived early. They had certainly gotten a show that morning, and he was sure Iruka-sensei would hear about it before long. He didn't care. He didn't care what people thought about him and Naruto anymore. It didn't see important to care. He turned his attention back to Naruto, then nodded, and without a word to anyone else, the two boys left.