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 ?