Disclaimer: Once again, Naruto does not belong to me, though I wish it did...yaoi...
Wooh hoo I'm back again. Not too long of a wait eh? Unfortunately, I'm not sure just how I
will be able to update for now on…a rocky time right now. I know that there is no smut for
you yaoi lovers HOWEVER stick with the story and you'll get what you asked for.
Sasuke woke in a sweat, nothing unusual about that. Damn memories. On shaky legs he
crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, glancing at the small mirror above
the sink. He was paler than usual, despite all of his time out in the sun. His dark eyes
seemed sunken and the circles underneath darker. Hello me, Sasuke thought sarcastically.
He hated waking up in the mornings, even more so when he was left with that dream…
that memory. The last time he had seen Naruto. What was it, five years ago? Yeah, they
were only twelve back then. Today marked his seventeenth birthday. As if anyone cared.
Out here they didn't keep track of those things. The door swung open to let Kakashi-
sensei in, the mask on his face despite having just woken up. Sasuke had grown used to
that. "Good morning Sasuke." He said before he yawned, his jaw cracking. Sasuke ignored
him like usual and started running some water to splash on his face. Same routine every
morning. In a few minutes Kakashi-sensei would start the shower and soon after that
Iruka-sensei would come in to join him. Sasuke dried his face and made way for Iruka-
sensei who was shyly scooting into the already crowded bathroom. "Hello, Sasuke." He
said cheerfully, his cheeks painted red. Sasuke rolled his eyes and left the two of them
alone in the bathroom. Jiraiya-sama would be outside waiting for him. Despite the fact that
the guy was lazy, he was dedicated to Sasuke's training. Sasuke went to his small corner
of the "hut" –the thing was more like a large house- he donned his waiting clothes. Loose
wide legged pants in a dark shade of blue and a loose white top, almost like the top half of
a robe. You look good in blue Sasuke…Sasuke shook his dark head and glowered. The
blonde still haunted him, even in his waking moments. Walking to the entrance he slipped
on his sandals and walked outside, wincing as the sun glared into his fragile black orbs.
"Good morning Sasuke!" A voice bellowed from in front of him. Sasuke slowly opened his
lids allowing them to adjust to the bright morning sunshine. Before him stood an old man
with long silver hair and green robes with a reddish vest on. And of course the guy had
that large scroll on his back. Sasuke knew what the scroll was, hell his name was on it and
had been since he was thirteen. The list of people who were allowed and taught to
summon the giant frogs. Sasuke wasn't particularly fond of them. "Come on my boy, it's off
to the village today. Time to stock up on the grub." Jiraiya-sama slapped his belly and
laughed. Sasuke sighed and began walking, falling into step beside Jiraiya. He should have
seen the town visit coming, after all, they had both seen the posters of the traveling act
that would be there today, consisting solely of girls. Of course Jiraiya would be there, the
old perv. They walked in silence through the sunlight, underneath the green budding
trees. Spring had made its way to them. In Konoha it would have been green year-round,
the sun always shining despite the slight chill in the air. Here the trees had been bare and
the snow had drifted down heavily. It was nice to see some green again. Sasuke looked
up at the sky and sucked in a harsh breath. It was a vibrant blue the likes of which he
hadn't seen in a while, the blue of a blonde boy's eyes. Sasuke quickly took his eyes from
the sky and looked straight ahead. The trek to the nearest village wasn't far, and his long
legs made the distance seem shorter. Soon they were at the edge of the small town
whose people were already milling about in the streets. Jiraiya slipped a purse of money
into Sasuke's hand and grinned. "How about you go get us some stuff to eat huh? I've got
some research to do." He wiggled his fat white brows and took off, presumably towards
the giant tent where the act would take place. Sasuke sighed and glowered, staring
around at the place. Of course he'd be stuck getting the supplies. All for the sake of my
books! Sasuke had heard that so many times when they had first gotten here. Sasuke's
mind flashed back to that time.
"Where the hell are we going?" Sasuke demanded, his mind stilled on the frizz after
Naruto had taken off like that. He had wanted to follow, hell he had tried. Kakashi had held
him back. Somehow the old bastard had also talked Sasuke into leaving, something about
protecting Naruto. Why the hell had he listened to him? "Somewhere safe where we can
stay until the Hokage calls us back." Kakashi said impatiently. Sasuke growled and glared
at the white-haired man's back. Iruka turned and smiled at him. "We're going to stay with
a legendary ninja, one of the san-nin to be exact. He agreed to take us on and train you.
It's really an honor Sasuke." He said patiently, those brown eyes warm. Man Sasuke
couldn't stand the guy. And judging from Kakashi's intolerant sigh, neither could his
"teacher". Of course Sasuke had heard of the three san-nin, especially of Jiraiya. He had
been the Fourth's teacher and he wrote those dirty books that Kakashi-sensei loved so
much. Even now the guy had his nose in the pages, giggling at something written down.
Remember it's for Naruto, Sasuke reminded himself mentally. "You know Sasuke, not
everyone can train with a san-nin, the last person to train with Jiraiya-sama ended up
becoming Hokage. Maybe you could too." Iruka grinned at him. Sasuke growled loudly.
Naruto was going to become Hokage, even if Sasuke had to put him there himself. It was
the blonde's only dream and he'd be damned if it didn't happen. The bare trees waved in
the wind, the dry branches crashing against each other with an irritating sound. Up ahead
and house loomed, seemingly swallowed in fog. "Well there it is." Kakashi said as he put
away his book. An old man was waiting out front, his arms crossed his chest. "Ho ho
Kakashi! Long time no see eh!" The old man shouted out. Sasuke frowned and looked the
man over. "Who is that old geezer?" He asked. Like hell that was a legendary ninja.
"That's Jiraiya-sama Sasuke and you will show him the respect he deserves." Iruka said in
his teacher voice. As if. "Where are the ladies?" The man called out, shielding his eyes from
non-existent sunlight. "Well, I assume they have all run away." Kakashi said in that
irritating voice of his. Jiraiya laughed and met them at the clearing entrance. "Haha, good
one Kakashi. Well, welcome to my place! What do ya think? Who's the kid?" He asked
suddenly, bending down to press his face close to Sasuke's, the man reeked of booze.
"This is Uchiha Sasuke, the one we told you about." Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's
shoulder, prompting him to pull away angrily. "Feisty ho-ho!" Jiraiya said in that laughing
voice as he straightened. "Come on kid, let's get started." Sasuke groaned and looked
back at the path longingly.
Five years ago that had been. Sasuke sighed and made his way to the vegetable stall,
looking over the pathetic greens as an old woman smiled at him toothlessly. "Welcome
back Kisho. I've kept the best waiting for you." She winked and pulled out a basket of
slightly better looking carrots and cabbage. Sasuke smiled softly and thanked her, giving
her an extra coin more than what she asked. Greetings were called out to him by the
villagers, all saying good morning to Kisho. He had taken on the name on the advice of
Jiraiya-sama, who unfortunately wisely said that still going by Sasuke would lead whoever
had been following him back to them. Sasuke nodded at those who greeted him and kept
that warm smile on his face. Part of it was an act, the other part was his tribute to Naruto.
As boys Naruto had always told him to smile more, to be more open. Well he was trying
now. For you, Naruto. Sasuke once again looked up at the sky. He could envision Naruto
the way he used to be, grinning like an idiot in his favorite orange outfit. Sasuke sighed
again and walked towards the meat man's shop, keeping a wary eye out for anything
unusual in town. Despite a somewhat peaceful five years, Sasuke couldn't let his guard
down. "Kisho! Kisho!" A small group of children giggled, running to tackle his legs. Sasuke
laughed and patted some on the head, smiling down at their glowing faces. This wasn't an
act. The young kids reminded him of Naruto in their eagerness and their total innocence.
"Kisho, when are you going to take us out again?" One asked eagerly. Sasuke smiled
down at a dirty blonde haired boy who reminded him so much of Naruto. He was his
favorite. "Maybe later Haru." Sasuke said gently. The boy stuck out his bottom lip
momentarily before lighting up. "Oh yeah! Hey Kisho! Come meet this guy we found! He
was all beat up and stuff so mom took him in but he's all better now. Come on Kisho!" The
boy grabbed onto his hand and began to pull him. Sasuke laughed and allowed himself to
be dragged amidst the laughing group. Sasuke smiled at Haru's mother as they came to
his small house. She smiled back continued to put clothes out on the line. "Come on Kisho,
he's just inside." The boy slid open the door and rushed in, letting go of Sasuke's hand.
Sasuke smiled and slipped his sandals off, shivering as his feet touched the cold wood
floor. "Kisho this way!" Haru said excitedly, the group of kids babbling outside the door.
Sasuke followed Haru through the entrance and into the dining room.
He had been here many times at the request of Haru and had spent many meals with the
small family. At the small low table a blonde man sat hunched over a bowl of soup,
bandages on his cheeks. He wore a black and orange outfit and had bright blonde spikes
sticking up around his head band. The head rose so blue eyes clashed into black ones.
Sasuke froze, his eyes wide. No…possible…way. The guy choked on his soup and fell back
coughing. Yeah, that was him. "You can't choke on soup idiot." Sasuke said softly, looking
the man over. The blonde stood and glared at him, wiping the corner of his mouth with his
sleeve. He was just a little shorter than Sasuke and looked a bit more muscular than
Sasuke remembered. Other than that, he looked exactly the same as before. "I just did
bastard." The blonde growled. Sasuke dropped his basket of vegetables and was clutching
Naruto against him in a flash, inhaling his unique scent deeply. Good, he still smelled the
same. "Uh, Sasuke?" Naruto said nervously, his arms trapped by Sasuke's powerful
embrace. "Kisho, you know this guy. Hey, who's Sasuke?" Haru asked, full of all of that
young curiosity. Sasuke smiled and subtly wiped his eyes on Naruto's jacket. Of course
that wasn't tears. "Yeah, I know the guy Haru. Sasuke was…an old acquaintance of ours."
He said, hesitating only slightly. He hated lying to the small kid. Naruto looked at him
curiously before straightening his jacket. "So you've been here this whole time huh?"
There was something dark in Naruto's voice. Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "I travel
around a lot with Jiraiya-sama, one of the san-nin. He kinda took us in and took over my
training. How…how have you been Naruto?" Sasuke asked gently. He had been wrong
earlier about the way Naruto looked. There was a hardness about him that hadn't been
there years before. "Peachy. Hey Haru, tell your mom I said thanks for everything and
there's a bag of money on the bed for her troubles. I've got to go." Naruto said coldly. No
way, not again. Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed onto Naruto's wrist. "Naruto, I'm
sorry! It wasn't my choice to leave! Hell, you left me first!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto turned
those blue eyes on him and easily took his wrist back with a strength that surprised
Sasuke. "I left the fight, you left your life." He said coldly.
Those blue eyes were ice, something Sasuke had never seen before. Even when the boy had
been mad his eyes had always been like blue fire, showing the burning desire inside. Whether
it was for justice, for revenge, or for him that one night together it didn't matter. "Naruto
please, we have to talk about this." Sasuke said, trying to keep his voice from pleading.
Meeting the boy now had been fate and he'd be damned if he let the blonde slip through his
fingers again. The blonde shook his head and straightened his clothes, turning to Haru. "I'll
see ya around sometime okay kid?" Naruto reached out and ruffled the little boy's blonde hair.
"Naruto, enough! At least let me explain!" Sasuke growled, desperately screaming inside. Naruto
turned those cold eyes back to him. "There's nothing to explain…Kisho." Naruto curled his
lips, another thing that was new. What had gone so wrong in Naruto's life that he had
turned out like this? Sasuke quickly moved in front of the door as Naruto started towards
it, arms out flung. "You're not getting past me." Sasuke said. No matter how the boy he
once knew had changed over the years, Sasuke was willing to bet he was still the
stronger of the two. Naruto glared at him and walked to stand in front of him. "Move Kisho
or I'll be forced to make you move. You're standing in the way of my mission." Naruto
growled. Sasuke remained steady, letting that old mask slide back up. It had been so long
since he had to use it. Naruto smirked and shook his head. "You asked for it." He raised a
hand and brought his thumb and middle finger together. What was he going to do, flick
him? Sasuke smirked and laughed inside. So Naruto still had his old sense of humor.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he crashed through the rice papers of the walls until he skidded
on the ground, slamming into a nearby house. His forehead hurt like you wouldn't believe
and he felt blood trickle down around his nose from the pain that was his forehead. What
the hell happened? Naruto stepped out of the rubble that had been the wall and passed a
fat purse to Haru's horrified mother. "This should pay for the damages 'mam and there is
another one for the trouble I put you through. Thank you for taking me in." Naruto smiled
warmly at her and glared at Sasuke. No way had Naruto only flicked him. Where the hell
had he gotten strength like that?
A/N: Okay my lil duckies, I will leave you there for today. Can ya guess where he learned
it ?
