Sticks and Stones

by lunabasketcase

Bullying goes too far as 3 boys learn the class loser isn't as weak as he appears.When they fail to gain his trust and friendship they are only pulled further into his crazy world.This is a story of five dozen eggs,cage fighters,petitions for gay marriage

12. Sausages vs Tacos

Edited!-thanks angstkitten! Sorry for having a short attention span (don't look at me like that I was right she was on vacation!)

Please check out the newest fanart by s2kiss at deviantart(.) com(/) deviation /55020947/

Ok I get the message pple u guys are sexual deprived monsters that need some steamy hot sex scenes. See I wanted bonding between the boys cuz friendship means more to me then any crappy relationship ive ever been in. Nonetheless I shall grace u mortals with this chapter (do u see what happens when I get too many good reviews?!) It involves Naruto confessing his love to Sasuke/ Sasuke grabbing Naruto's ass/them alone in a bed/and Naruto licking Sasuke nose or Sasuke sniffing Naruto's tongue.

Hahah u guys have no idea how im going to screw around with those concepts!

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Sticks and Stones

Chapter 12- Sausages vs. Tacos

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Holding on to anger

Is like grasping a hot coal with the intent

Of throwing it at someone else;

You are the one who gets burned.

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Shikamaru was not in second period or third period, so Naruto sat alone.

Chouji was not in fourth period, so Naruto did his math alone.

Sasuke was not there between classes, so Naruto walked alone.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sasuke were not in the lunchroom, so when Naruto arrived, he ate alone.

There was no Shikamaru lightly snoring next to him, no Chouji with small, meaningless talk, no Sasuke stalking the hallways for him.

There was no one.

What a strange world we live in, where you can be alone but never feel lonely. The last three years spent at the school Naruto had never felt the need to seek anyone out, he was alone but it didn't bother him one bit. But now, for the first time, he actually had people to talk, fight, and laugh with.

All day long Naruto was uncomfortable, awkward, and fidgety. He couldn't stop looking around the room, half-hoping one of them would turn up. No one came.

The school day passed slowly, the minute hand stretching at an agonizingly slow pace. Each click of the second hand penetrated through the hallways' noisy chatter, through the teachers' long rants, through the silent moments of nothing.

Naruto rested his head on the folds of his arms and cursed softly, never had he felt so absolutely and completely alone.

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Jiraiya downed the rest of his drink before slamming it against the bar. He smacked his lips together and grinned wildly at his amused friends. "I'm telling you, it's foolproof! This will definitely determine Naruto's sexual preference!"

Everyone sighed and waited to hear Jiraiya's newest scheme that would finally prove once and for all that Naruto was straight. However, before the man could unleash his new idea among friends, a sudden slam of the front door and profound cursing brought everyone's attention away from Jiraiya. The drunken man jumped at seeing his opportunity. "Okay, here he is. Watch and be amazed!"

Naruto stormed in walking past everyone, ignoring their usual greetings and headed straight to the bar. He leaped over the counter and started looking though the random knickknacks Tsunade kept under there. The adults watched the boy warily, except for Jiraiya who used the bar counter to maneuver himself over. "Naruto, hey Naruto! What do you want for dinner, sausages or tacos?"

"Not right now, I'm busy!" The blond boy was pulling out random objects you normally won't find in a bar and tossing them on the counter. A growing pile of Chinese throwing stars, along with sharp knifes that didn't seem to be for cutting food. Tsunade glanced over the pile and realized she should get rid of those before the health inspector came by.

Naruto's blunt response did not cease Jiraiya's mission; he leaned across the bar counter to see the boy rummaging inside the cabinets. "No, just tell me which you like better! Tacos or sausages!"

All the adults strained their ears in order to hear the boy's mumbled response. "I don't care; whatever everyone else wants."

This did not please Jiraiya, not in the least. He leaned farther over the counter until he was hanging upside down and glaring at the distracted boy. "No, just choose subconsciously, whatever comes to mind first! Tacos or sausages!"

"Neither, I hate them both!"

Jiraiya leaned back with a confused look on his face and asked out loud, "Does that make him asexual?"

The others ignored Jiraiya and leaned over to see what Naruto had been searching for. He brought a yellow phonebook up onto the countertop and started flipping through it until he reached S. Naruto stopped and blinked before cursing at himself for being so stupid, of course the bastard's number wasn't going to be listed under his first name but the family name. "Dammit, what's his last name!"

"Uchiha."

"Ah, thanks Ibiki." He grinned at the man and slid a finger into the back of the book and flipped the pages. He began idly looking down the columns before pausing and looking back up at Ibiki. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

Everyone turned to stare at the man who answered back unhurriedly, "I did a background check on them."

The room was silent again as they stared at the apathetic man. Finally Naruto broke the silence by shouting, "You what!"

Ibiki seemed a bit shocked by Naruto's outburst. He scrunched his eyes together, not sure what he did wrong. "Just basic information for names, addresses, and criminal records."

Anko snorted and then burst into laughter. Ibiki turned to her, not understanding what was so funny, and Naruto rubbed his forehead "Okay, after this call we're having a long discussion about taking illegal advantage of your occupation, but until then no more talking."

Naruto ran his finger down the page until he landed on the right name; he grabbed the white corded phone hanging off the wall and quickly punched in the numbers. When he looked back up he was startled to see the entire room watching him. He gave them a nasty glare and they quickly looked away and resumed whatever activities they were doing before.

Asuma picked up the knives and throwing stars and thoughtfully glanced at the dartboard, before Iruka snatched them away and started lecturing him about being a role model. In other words, there would be no knife-throwing in the house; that is, except when Iruka wasn't home.

Naruto looked away from the adults and sat with a thump on the floor, the slow ring of the phone twisting his stomach into tight knots. Naruto rubbed his aching head with one hand and stared at the tiled floor. "Damn it, how long does it take to answer a phone?"

The phone clicked and a raspy voice answered. "Hello."

Naruto pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it.

"Hello?" The voice asked again, this time stretching the word out.

"Stupid mouth, say something! Anything! Where's that great speech that took you all day to practice?"

"Uhh…"

'Nice. Good one loser. Way to start the conversation.'

The voice on the other end sighed. "If this is some kind of joke, I'm hanging up right now."

"NO!" Naruto finally yelled causing the adults in the room to muffle their laughter, they all knew that the boy was horrible when it came to talking on the phone, but not this bad. The blond boy cleared his throat and tried again.

"It's, eh Naruto, it's me?" Naruto smacked himself in the head. 'Why the hell did I say that in question form? Okay now, concentrate, find out what you wanted to know and then hang up easy and simple.'

"Where were you today?" Ahh, damn it, that didn't sound right! He was supposed to sound demanding and cold, not like a child who's toys been taken away!

"I'm sick," the voice answered before pulling away to cough. When it returned the boy sounded a little better. "So are Shikamaru and Chouji, I'm surprised you aren't."

With a blank stare Naruto set the phone down carefully and then slammed the back of his head against the bar, three times. The adults all looked up to see the commotion, but Naruto stopped and picked up the phone again.

"Are you ok?" Sasuke voice on the other end sounded confused and worried. Naruto tried not to focus on the thought that Sasuke was worried about him even though he was technically the one who was sick.

"Yeah! I just dropped something heavy…three times."

The line was silent.

Naruto fidgeted on the floor, too wrapped up that he didn't even notice that the adults in the room had long abandoned their activities and now were crouched on the other end of the bar, straining their ears to pick up on the boys' conversation.

Sasuke cleared his voice suddenly and carefully arranged the words he wanted to say. "You can come over and hang out."

Naruto's brain was blank for a moment not understanding what the boy was asking. After a second it clicked; he was being invited over for the first time. "What? Come over?"

There was a shift on the other end of the phone, Sasuke's voice lost its nervousness and grew strong with confidence "Yeah, it's Friday, right? I'm actually feeling a lot better, so come sleep over at my house."

On the other side of the bar the mature adults were silently fighting by pinching and shoving each other in order to get in the closest hearing range of the conversation. At the moment, Tsunade had the best advantage namely because she was in charge of everyone's alcohol rations so no one really wanted to fight her.

Of course Jiraiya had already drunk his fill for today, and possibly the next day, so he had no qualm about fighting Tsunade for a closer spot. "What are they saying?"

"Something about cumming. Now shut up."

Tsunade watched Jiraiya's face go unusually pale and mentally debated whether the man may need medical attention. However, since he became rather quiet she decided to return to listening to Naruto's conversation.

The boy was nodding despite the fact that Sasuke could not see him before realizing what he was doing and then eagerly responding to Sasuke's demand. "Yeah, sure, if you want me to. I'll come over in a little bit. Love you, bye."

Sasuke put the phone on the hook and started yawning and then froze. He stared at the phone in disbelief, wondering if he heard right. Just then the phone rang again. Sasuke hesitated before picking it up. Before he even put the phone against his ear a voice came screaming out. "I don't love you! That's a habit when I get off the phone with Iruka!"

The connection was broken and Sasuke was left staring at the phone, too shocked to hang up.

Back in The Jungle, Naruto was banging his head repetitively against the counter top, while the adults abandoned their post, watching the boy lose more brain cells with every smack against the counter, all while repeating the same word. "Stupid stupid stupid."

The adults sighed in relief when Naruto finally stopped banging his head to look up in disbelief at the phone, before resuming to banging his against the bar.

"Shit! I don't know the directions to his house, how the hell am I supposed to get there?"

Feeling the boy was brain damaged enough, Asuma grabbed his hair and stopped the boy from hitting his head again.

Naruto's head dangled above the counter but refusing to met his family's eyes, knowing they were probably laughing at him. "I am not calling back a third time!"

Fortunately, one member of the grown ups took pity on him and pulled the dejected boy out of Asuma's grip and steered him towards the door. "I'll drive you."

Even knowing the man was much stronger then him, Naruto still resisted as he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. "Haven't you been listening? I don't know how to get there!"

As he pushed the boy closer to the exit, Ibiki's stone face cracked very slightly into what only his close friends knew was his version of a warm smile. "Yes, but I do."

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Sasuke slapped his cheek trying to keep himself awake. Several times since Naruto's call he had drifted in and out of the land of nod. He propped his pillows in awkward positions hoping to make them as uncomfortable as possible but could still feel his eyes slowly lowering, and he settled into his bed and with a deep sigh.

So it was a bit of a surprise when his pillow was abruptly snatched from under his head and then smashed against his face.

Before he could even panic the pillow was lifted and he was greeted with Naruto's bright smile. Sasuke shoved him away scowling, but Naruto just laughed and took half a step back to keep out the boy's hitting range. Of course, that didn't stop Sasuke from trying to launch the pillow at him.

"I never heard the doorbell ring."

Naruto dodged the hit "Didn't use the door, I came in through the window."

Sasuke reached behind and grabbed another pillow to throw at the cheerful boy. "Can't you be normal and use doors like everybody else?"

"Doors are for people with no imagination!" Again Naruto ducked the flying pillow of doom. "Besides I thought if I used the doorbell I'd wake you up or something."

Sasuke paused and looked at the boy before climbing out of his bed and launching a full-out assault on the poor defenseless boy. "So it's okay to smother me with my own pillow but not okay to use the doorbell?"

Naruto threw up his hands as a feeble defense. Sasuke paused and realized Naruto had something clenched tightly in one hand "What's that?"

Naruto glanced down and suddenly remembered he brought the package and tossed it to Sasuke. The boy caught it with ease and, recognizing the package of instant ramen, he looked up skeptically at Naruto.

"Tsunade said when friends get sick you're supposed to bring them soup." Naruto looked away and blushed before uneasily scratching his scared cheek. "But now that I think of it she never does that for Jiraiya, she just hides his porn."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his blushing friend before smirking slightly and then pretending to look over the nutrition facts all while tutting under his breath. "Dobe, ramen's not healthy for a sick person."

Naruto sputtered, completely flabbergasted that someone would dare insult his precious ramen, especially since he had so generously brought it over. "What? But it has no trans-fat!"

He attempted to take back the noodles, but Sasuke held it way over his head with a smirk; he knew this was Naruto's way of extending a hand of friendship, and he'd be damned if he let Naruto try to take it back now.

Sasuke grinned when Naruto started jumping up and down to reach the gift. He leaned over and breathed directly into Naruto's face, causing the boy to wince at the sour smell. "You shouldn't get close, I'll get you sick."

Naruto's face broke into a wide grin that surprised Sasuke. The blond boy poked him in the chest and gloated. "Ha, you can't trick me! I don't get sick that easily, it's almost impossible."

"Why is that?"

Naruto ceased jumping when he heard the seriousness portrayed in Sasuke's voice. He hesitated a little before smiling again and answered brightly, "When I was born I got a bad infection, and it almost killed me."

Sasuke stared at the grinning boy, not sure about this sudden outburst or what it had to do with Naruto never being sick.

Naruto realized he was making a fool of himself and blushed a bit before scratching his head. "Tsunade always explains it better, but I guess the basic understanding is that my white blood cells had to work twice as hard to keep me alive after the infection. So they were pretty strong when I was a baby and I guess as I grew they continued to get even stronger."

Sasuke stared at the boy who was still beaming. With a frown he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly. "An infection."

"Yep!"

"When you were little."

"Right-o!"

Sasuke finally sighed and accepted the fact that Naruto fit into his own special category. "There's nothing normal about you, is there?"

This only seemed to please Naruto. "Give the bastard a prize, he answered correctly! Damn, and here I thought Shikamaru was the smart one."

Tiny clicks of the door stopped Sasuke from responding as both boys glanced up to see his bedroom door slide open to reveal a silent figure.

A tall, slim man stood within the doorway, his dark eyes felt like a heavy weight pushing down on whomever they landed on, and in most cases that person was Sasuke. With cold eyes and a tight, stiff lip the man seemed mature beyond his years and somehow, just by walking in the room, the man could always make Sasuke feel smaller, less significant, and worthless all at once.

"Itachi." Sasuke self-consciously took a step back from Naruto as his brother glanced between the two boys and then finally seemed to settle on Naruto.

"I'm leaving for the night." Though he spoke to Sasuke his eyes never left Naruto. Sasuke could feel the blond boy shift uncomfortably under the cold gaze.

Sasuke didn't have to be a mind reader; he already knew exactly what Itachi was thinking. He watched his brother examine Naruto, starting at his scuffed up sneakers with green grass stains and frayed laces. Farther up the color of Naruto's jeans was fading, his shirt was wrinkled, and his hair looked wild and untamed.

Itachi finally finished his examination and ignored Naruto's presence as he spoke to Sasuke in a patronizing tone. "I think it's wise to remember, little brother, that you should be careful when choosing friends. They may become a negative reflection when more notable people view you." Naruto stared at the man with disbelief and watched him open the door to leave. Just before he stepped out, Itachi turned back and stared coldly at Sasuke. "Just something to think about."

Neither boy moved from their spot as they stared at the door, not able to believe what they had just heard. Sasuke's stomach cramped up painfully and he wondered if he was getting sick again. He bit his lip and turned back to Naruto, trying to come up with the right words that would fix this.

"Okay, well now I'm pissed off." Of course Naruto always did have a way with words.

Sasuke was surprised when Naruto's voice held no malice or anger, but instead he sounded at ease, which only made Sasuke more worried. "Don't listen to him, he's an asshole."

"Ahh, it runs in the family." Naruto nodded as if the world suddenly made sense. He wandered over to the window and watched as Itachi walked down the driveway and towards his car, Naruto proudly gave him the one-finger-salute and yelled "That's right older bastard, keep walking!"

Sasuke hesitated before he joined the boy and watched his brother climb in his car. "I don't think he can hear you through the glass."

"That's kind of the point."

They watched Itachi drive off until his car was nothing more then a spec in the distance, when Naruto finally broke the tension between them. "Okay, enough of that! Come on, up and at 'em!"

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist and started pulling him towards the door, making the boy stumble to keep up with him. "W-what? Where are we going?"

"This means war, Uchiha! To the kitchen!" He pushed Sasuke in front of him, forcing the boy to lead him towards the destination, and Sasuke decided it was best not to ask.

As soon they came within range of the kitchen, Naruto broke away and dove into the refrigerator. Sasuke watched him, slightly amused. "If you want food, you could have asked. It's not like I was going to starve you."

Naruto pulled his head out of the refrigerator and glared impatiently. "Shut up, dude! I'm not eating; I'm devising an evil, immoral scheme!" He stuck his head back inside to rummaged around, and gave a sudden cry of joy. "Sweet, you have tiny ketchup packets!"

"Your evil scheme involves tiny ketchup packets."

Naruto's eyes turned into tiny slits as he grinned at the other boy. "Yes, and salt if you have any." He turned back to rummage the shelves and spotted something in the far corner. "Ah-ha, cream cheese, perfect!"

He carefully placed these items on the kitchen table and asked very politely, "Where do you keep the salt?"

Sasuke was beginning to grow suspicious of the boy's behavior, but pointed above the sink and answered warily, "Top self."

Naruto grabbed a chair and climbed up to reach his desired object. Sasuke was about to protest, seeing as the chair was unbalanced and wobbly, but Naruto quickly shushed him. "Don't worry, I got it!"

Just as his fingers closed around the container of salt, the chair tipped causing Naruto lose his balance and fall backwards. "Whoa!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke automatically reached up to hold the boy tightly so he won't hurt himself.

Both boys froze not daring to move. Finally Naruto turned slightly to squint down at Sasuke and asked, "Did you just grab my ass?"

"NO!" Sasuke yelled loudly and shut his eyes, not wanting to see where his hands had landed in this terrible turn of events.

"Okay, can you let go of my ass then?" Sasuke's blush intensified as he realized that closing his eyes did not mean his hands had retreated. He quickly released Naruto's butt he had been squeezing and took a step back so Naruto could step down from the chair.

Naruto coughed awkwardly when Sasuke refused to meet his eye. Maybe he was new to this whole friendship thing, but in order to fulfill his master plan he needed Sasuke's corporation, and damn it he needed Sasuke to stop blushing because it was making him blush too!

Naruto scooped up the items he had picked out and softly kicked Sasuke in the shins to get his attention. When the boy looked up with an ashamed look Naruto quickly reassured him with a smile. "Step two: Your brother's bathroom."

Sasuke nodded, happy to be distracted, and led his friend to his brother's private bathroom. Naruto shut the door behind them and turned around with an evil smile. For a second Sasuke panicked, thinking that perhaps the boy was going to take revenge on him by sticking his head down the toilet. He was relieved to see Naruto ignore him for the moment and focus all his attention on the three items he had brought from the kitchen.

Naruto plucked Itachi's toothbrush from its holder and placed it carefully so the bristles were delicately hanging by a mere edge on top of the sink. Naruto uncapped the salt and took a small pinch, he glanced over at Sasuke to see if he was watching "You see, we take the salt and go …BAM!" Naruto threw a pinch of salt on the toothbrush and then replaced it in its holders.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, wondering what the poor boy was doing. He watched Naruto move over to the toilet with a small ketchup packet in his hands. Using his teeth Naruto tore a small hole in the packet. He then lifted the seat to the toilet and laid the ketchup packet in the very corner so the open part was directly above the opening of the bowl.

With gentle ease, Naruto replaced the cover of the seat and gave a shout of joy when no ketchup squirted out.

Sasuke had finally had enough. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's called sweet, sweet revenge, my friend."

"With salt and ketchup?"

"Hey, I was a little short on supplies, and obviously they need to be small pranks or your brother will automatically know it was you." Naruto crossed his arms and nodded in an assuring manner. "So I'm doing tiny things like making him gag when he tastes the salt on his toothbrush and having a tiny moment of hysteria when he sits on the toilet and thinks he's shitting blood."

Sasuke's eyes widened, unable to hide the smile that crept on his face at the image of Itachi staring, horrified, down into the toilet bowl.

Sasuke's smile only seemed to encourage Naruto, and as he passed the last item to Sasuke, he grinned wildly. "And last of all we take Mr. Cream Cheese." Naruto checked the drawers and pulled out a deodorant bar, he opened the bottle and indicated that Sasuke should open his container as well.

Naruto lightly scrapped some cream cheese from the container and smeared it on top of the deodorant. To Sasuke's amazement, the combination of food and hygiene product blended perfectly, making it impossible to see the difference.

Sasuke quickly joined Naruto in coating the deodorant lightly with cream cheese while trying to contain a strange giggle threatening to erupt from his tummy. Seemly satisfied, Naruto replaced the cap on the deodorant and carefully replaced it in its original position.

Sasuke found himself mimicking the boy's silent movements as they crept back downstairs and put all the items back, and then silently climbed the stairs, even though no one was home.

When they reached Sasuke's door, it was like a bomb had gone off. Both boys raced inside and slammed the door behind them. Sasuke collapse on his bed but Naruto leaned against his desk panting heavily with a smirk on his lips that eventually turned into a real smile, followed with laughter. Sasuke felt his own lips twitch in a smile and started to snicker as well as he watched the contagious grin grow on his friend. When they had calmed down enough, they looked up at each other and started laughing all over again.

When Sasuke caught his second wind, he looked over to see Naruto fiddling around with some of his earrings and piercing. Naruto examined one loop with interest and then stuck it on his tongue. He turned around and gave Sasuke a Gene Simmons impersonation.

"What do you think?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at him and smirked. "You know, that's a nose ring not a tongue ring, right?"

Naruto quickly pulled out the piercing and held it out at arm length. "Ewww! Does that mean you sniffed my tongue or I licked your nose?"

"Moron," Sasuke chuckled as the boy wiped his tongue repetitively. Naruto glared at the boy before ripping the pillow from beneath Sasuke's head and laid it gently on the floor making sure to fluff it up a bit. He then proceeded to flop on the ground while tossing Sasuke the middle finger.

Sasuke leaned over the edge of his bed and stared down at the boy. "What are you doing?"

"Going to sleep, unless there's some sleepover rule I'm not aware of." Sasuke glanced at the clock and saw it was getting late; he looked back down to see Naruto shift into a more comfortable position.

"You know, there's enough room up here."

Naruto opened one eye before scrunching up his nose. "Hell no, I haven't slept on a bed since," Naruto paused to think about it before settling on, "a long, long time ago, and there's no way I'm going to start now, so goodnight."

Naruto rolled over, feeling the conversation was done, but Sasuke was far from satisfied. "Do you really hate beds that much?"

Naruto groaned out loud. "Dude, I need you to stop trying to seducing me into your bed."

Sasuke reached down and plucked the pillow from under Naruto's head, letting the boy's forehead hit the carpet with a thud. Naruto sat up with a scowl and was about to start protesting when Sasuke spoke again. "I'm not letting my guest be treated like a dog."

Naruto tilted his head and looked upward in the determined of Uchiha and regarded him with blank eyes.

"Actually it's a fox, thank you very much," Naruto stated before climbing up on the bed and under the covers without another word.

They were silent for the first ten minutes as Naruto tried to find a comfortable position and Sasuke tried to avoid their legs from touching as much as possible. Sasuke watched the boy and was amazed at how his scars seemed to grow in the dark, giving him a more feral look. Naruto finally gave up and flopped on his stomach looking at Sasuke, anger clearly blaming the boy for his discomfort.

Sasuke ignored the blazing glare that was even more intimidating in the dark, and settled deeper into his own pillow; only then did he speak. "I was just thinking, do you remember about two years when someone put laundry detergent on the boy's shower room floor?" Naruto instantly stiffened but then quickly tried to relax; a tiny smirk crawled onto Sasuke's face as he continued. "Everyone ran in without noticing and went sliding out of control, and then crashed into the wall."

Naruto remained silent, but was quietly biting his lip. Sasuke took this as a sign to continue his assumptions. "There was this other time where someone poured blue dye in the school's pool and no one noticed until they stepped out covered from head to toe in blue."

Naruto grumbled and turned so he was facing away from Sasuke. "Go to sleep, bastard."

Sasuke smiled and leaned back farther into his pillow. Feeling the exhaustion from today's events finally catching up to him, he yawned and turned sideways, letting his last moments of the conscious world be Naruto's wild, untamed hair.

Naruto on the other hand was silently cursing the bed for its soft comforter. After sleeping on the floor for most of his life, this was a bad transition. Naruto gritted his teeth and stole a glance at the sleeping boy.

There was no way in hell he could spend an entire night on this ridiculous feather soft bed, next to sleeping beauty.

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When Sasuke awoke in the middle of the night feeling strangely cold, he glanced over at the clock to see it was early morning. He yawned and wrapped his arms around his body to conserve heat. Where was his god damn blanket?

Sasuke's eyes snapped open again as he realized something even more important; where did Naruto go?

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered glancing around the room.

"Naruto?"

"Naruto, where the hell did you go?" Sasuke swung his feet over the edge of the bed and noticed his blanket had mysteriously gotten under the bed, well one mystery solved but that didn't explain the missing dobe.

He tried pulling the blanket out, but was surprised to find it stuck. He pulled again and almost fell over when the blanket was tugged from his own hands and then disappeared under the depths of the bed.

Sasuke choked down a yell before kneeling down to the eye level of the bed before peering under it. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Tucked securely in the center of the bed laid a large cocoon in Sasuke's blanket, with a tiny tuft of blond hair peeking out from the end.

"God damn, how the hell did you even get under here?" Sasuke reached to retrieve his stolen blanket but the sleeping boy only mumbled deeply and wrapped it tighter around his body.

Sasuke was forced to flatten his body to the carpet and crawl towards the sleeping bundle. He scrunched up his nose and tried not to sneeze when his face was struck by a cloud of dust.

He finally reached the snoring boy and started roughly shaking him out of a pleasant dream. Naruto opened one eye and then closed it again, mumbling something under his breath. Sasuke growled and was about to shake him again when Naruto shifted and opened a slit in his cocoon blanket. A hand shot out and dragged a bewildered Sasuke into the giant folds of the quilt. The same hand wrapped around Sasuke's waist, hugging him closer and taking in his warmth. Sasuke struggled against the hold, but found it impossible to escape due to the low bed and the layers of blanket that immobilized his arms.

Naruto opened his eyes again to see a very pissed off Sasuke only a few inches away from him. Instead of freaking out, Naruto just closed his eyes apparently ready to fall back asleep. That's why Sasuke was shocked when the boy started to talk in a very relaxed and sleepy tone. "I have a friend, a friendly friend who's not very friendly, but he's my friend."

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply to the weird statement, but a swarm of dust particles launched an attack on his exposed throat, causing him to start coughing.

Naruto frowned as he felt the vibration of the coughs and without opening his eyes spoke again. "You need to get better now."

Sasuke managed to control his coughing fit and glared at the careless boy. "It doesn't work like that dobe; I can't just make myself well again."

Sasuke blushed as the boy pulled him closer so their foreheads were slightly touching. He could feel rise and fall of Naruto chest, brushing his own unstable chest, as well as the warm air that passed over his lips when Naruto answered back. "Well you're going to have to because I don't like being alone anymore."

With that Naruto fell back into a deep sleep, leaving Sasuke with a bright red face and very confused. He tried to shift out of Naruto's hold and managed to roll away from facing Naruto and onto his back. But the disruption of Naruto's sleep caused the boy to growl angrily and pinch Sasuke's back skin. He also wrapped a leg around Sasuke's, making him even more immobilized then he was before.

Sasuke finally gave up as warm feet pushed against his cold ones and he felt Naruto's shallow breath against his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut knowing he was going to have a lot to explain in the morning.

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Sasuke woke up a second time, very confused as to why he was so warm and why the ceiling had been drastically lowered. He closed his eyes and tried to settle back into the unusual warmth; however, someone seemed determined to ruin Sasuke's tiny slice of heaven. A tiny ray of light hit him directly in the face, and the heavy scent of cigarettes crawled into Sasuke nose as voice called out to him. "You alive under there?"

Sasuke reopened his eyes and stared at a slightly familiar face grinning at him. He sorted through his memories and finally placed the face with the name Asuma. Feeling satisfied Sasuke began to close his eyes again, before bolting upward and slamming his face into the metal board of his bed.

A voice grumbled behind him and dragged him deeper into the covers. Sasuke was too frightened to turn around, afraid at what he might see, and instead he looked forward towards the light and the laughing eyes of Asuma.

"He's got a pretty good hold on you." The man grinned slyly, chuckled at the boy's obvious embarrassment, and decided to end the boy's suffering and help him out. "How's this going to work?" He assessed the situation and, taking in Sasuke's mortified face and Naruto's unbreakable hold, he finally decided on the easiest option. "Okay kid, how bout you hold on tight to Naruto, and I'll pull you both out."

Asuma gripped Sasuke's closest limb, which happened to be his leg, and Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto, who sighed in delight and snuggled deeper into the blanket.

"Heave-ho!" With incredible strength Asuma began to pull both boys out, despite Naruto's sleepy attempts to pull Sasuke back in the tug-of-war. Sasuke automatically released Naruto as soon as they were out and scooted away. Naruto grumbled but then curled up on the floor and continued to snooze.

Asuma shook Naruto's shoulder and chuckled when they boy made some unintelligible noise and settled deeper into his slumber.

"This kid never changes." Sasuke couldn't help but notice the pride in the man's voice as he ruffled Naruto's mussed hair.

Sasuke stared down and once again noticed the tiny lines running across Naruto's face. When you really looked at them, they really did make him look like a fox. Maybe that's why he decided to grill the man about a question that's been plaguing his head for a while. "Why does Naruto hate foxes?"

Asuma stiffened and regarded the boy with cautious curiosity. "Who told you that?"

Sasuke responded calmly trying not to show how excited he was to finally be getting some answers. "That guy Ebisu; he called Naruto a fox and then Naruto freaked out."

"Don't ever call him that." Asuma's voice was harsh and he looked steadily into Sasuke's eyes. The boy finally looked away, not able to hold the man's intense gaze, and instead he opted to stare at Naruto who was still sleeping, peacefully unaware of the tension growing above him.

Asuma's eyes darted between Sasuke and Naruto, and abruptly decided to change his vote in Tsunade's bet. He had originally been betting on Shikamaru, but you can't always get what you want. For now at least he could give the confused boy some tips and at the same time get a slight advantage when he switched his vote over to Sasuke.

Asuma drew a cigarette from his pack and placed it in his mouth, but didn't light it because it would have been rude. He folded his legs Indian-style and sighed deeply, knowing this would bring up a painful memory.

"Names are pretty painful, especially when you start to believe in them, but that word is the most painful burden Naruto has to carry, not only because he somewhat believes in it, but other stupid people do as well." Asuma paused and gave a humorless smile. "That included me as well for a long time.

"I wasn't the same person when I first met Naruto, I didn't know him as anything except as a fox demon." Sasuke stopped himself from asking what Asuma meant by 'fox demon' in fear the man might stop talking if he did.

"You know, my son was born the same day as Naruto, same hospital, too, but the difference is my son never left the hospital." Asuma's voice grew heavier and he was no longer looking at Sasuke, but down at Naruto's sleeping form. While the man was distracted Sasuke glanced at Asuma's hand and noticed he didn't have a wedding ring on.

As Asuma withdrew from his memories, the cigarette between his lips was being lightly chewed on as he sucked the nicotine from the paper. "Even though we look nothing alike I like to pretend I'm somewhat responsible for raising him, it makes me feel that my son never really died that day."

Asuma stopped and then looked up at Sasuke. "Not that I blame Naruto, of course!"

Sasuke said nothing, but removed his eyes from Asuma to stare down at Naruto. The man ran a hand through his hair, not knowing where to go from there; he had gone so far off topic. Betting aside, he really did want Naruto to find solace in one of these boys, even if it was for friendship.

He sighed again, realizing Naruto had to be the one to decide. Knowing that, Asuma stood up feeling the creaks of his old bones and with gentle hands he lifted Naruto from the floor and carefully maneuvered the boy so he was hanging off his back. The boy grumbled a bit but held on tightly to Asuma's neck and rested his head against the man's broad shoulder.

To his credit, Sasuke didn't complain when the man completely ignored the door and decided to use the window as an exit. He watched Naruto disappear from his room and be carried off to the parked car that automatically opened up and several hands reached out and carefully drew Naruto in without waking him up.

Watching them drive away Sasuke regretted not asking the new question that had replaced the old one.

Why would he blame Naruto?

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Three years ago

Kakashi was not the sort of man to take revenge.

Blame it on watching too many sappy movies where the final moments involve the evil villain having a moment of enlightenment and realizes that no matter how many people he kills it won't bring back his wife, child, father, etc.

A grudge, however, now that was something else altogether.

His mother thought he had gone crazy when, at the age of twelve, he locked himself inside his room for five days straight mending together broken goggles. During that period of time he would carefully align the broken shards of glass and glue them together so it was impossible to tell they had been crushed in the accident.

He thought it would be worth it in the end when he placed those carefully reassembled goggles next to his friend's grave marker. He thought it would bring closure, giving the sense that the boy was in a better place, one where there was no pain.

But when he stared at the goggles sitting delicately on top of the grave marker, it looked so out of place that he started to laugh. A loud belly-wrenching laugh that shook his entire being as tears poured out of his remaining eye, the other one was covered in a patch that made him resemble a pirate. That only made him laugh harder knowing his friend would have gotten a kick out of it.

He was escorted out of the funeral by relatives of the deceased and asked not to return until he could control himself. He complied with their request and decided to never return again. That is, until he met Iruka.

The first person that didn't flinch when he showed the scar on his eye that he hid from the world. Iruka never apologized when he told him about his friend's death, only asked for Kakashi to describe the boy, to which Kakashi did in great lengths.

Explained how during their time together he did not consider the boy his friend at all, how he had been roped in by his mother to have a walking buddy to school for safety, see how well that had ended?

How he detested the boy's loud manners and disregard for personal space. And no matter what, the boy would always arrive late to their meeting spot with some lame excuse, like helping an old lady with directions or getting lost on the road of life.

Iruka had snorted at this statement and Kakashi found himself smiling as he dove deeper into the memories and slowly the faded picture of his friend grew clearer.

He suddenly remember the orange and black jacket the boy loved to wear, and the dark color of his hair that always seemed unkempt and wild. But it was the goggles; Kakashi remembered the goggles the best.

He spoke about how the boy could cry at the smallest things and how at the time Kakashi would shun him or make a cruel remark calling him a crybaby or wuss.

But the boy was persistent and no matter what Kakashi threw at him, he always bounced back with a smile.

Iruka asked if he could visit his friend's grave, and Kakashi agreed because it was hard to say no to him, especially when Iruka mentioned his parents were buried in the same graveyard.

When they reached the boys grave marker, Kakashi's body went cold when he realized that the goggles that his friend had cherished, the ones he had spent hours mending into perfection were gone. The goggles were gone.

Once again the same bubbling feeling of laughter escaped from his throat. At least this time he wasn't sent away for not being able to control himself. At least this time Iruka was there to pull him into a tight hug and say it was ok.

After that, Iruka became his best friend, actually his first one since the death of the boy. He loved being near the man and would do anything if it would make Iruka smile; everything, that is, except agree to meet Naruto.

Kakashi didn't want to talk to the monster, didn't want to be proven wrong about his assumptions, and most of all didn't want to give up his grudge.

Even when Iruka insisted that the boy wasn't the monster he had created in his mind, Kakashi knew Iruka was too kind-hearted to really hate someone. The boy had probably manipulated the compassionate teacher into thinking he was some angel but Kakashi knew better.

Iruka informed him that the boy snuck out almost every day and waited for Iruka's lessons to finish so he could talk to him, even if it was only for a few measly minutes. Iruka hinted that if Kakashi ever wanted to meet the boy he should come early to sit and chat.

Finally giving into Iruka's subliminal request, he walked into the schoolyard an hour before the kids were released and waited for the boy to arrive. It only took six minutes for the boy to come running down the entranceway towards his waiting spot, only to find it occupied by a bizarre-looking adult.

When the boy came trotting over, wary of the stranger, Kakashi was paralyzed in his seat- sometimes lost items have a way for showing up in the strangest of places, like on top of a blond's head.

Kakashi couldn't look away from the old goggles sitting on the freak's head. He knew it was the same ones, the exact pair he had placed on top of the grave that day so many years ago.

Not saying a word Kakashi reached down and plucked the ridiculous goggles from the monstrosity's greasy hair. He half expected them to fall apart in his hands, just like that day, but to his amazement they stayed intact.

What he did not expect was for the boy to put up a fight for them back.

The boy took a flying leap, trying to retrieve his headgear, only to miss when Kakashi moved away at the last second. "Who the hell do you think you are? Give them back!"

Kakashi glared down at the orphan and held the goggles higher above his head. "They're not yours."

Naruto held on tight to Kakashi's elbow and pushed himself up on his tiptoes, straining to reach them. "Well, they're not yours either!"

Kakashi shoved the boy away from him, hating the feeling of their skin even touching. "You stole them, you're a thief."

Naruto fell heavily to the ground and scrambled back up with a determined look in his eye "Yeah, well you stole them from me, so if I'm a thief that makes you one too!"

Kakashi tensed up as he looked down at the boy. How dare he compare them? How dare he say they were anything alike! Kakashi wanted nothing more then to pull down his mask so he could properly spit in the boy's face.

"Do you know who these really belong to?" Kakashi grabbed the boy by the collar, no longer disgusted by the thought of touching the monster, in fact punching the boy until his face was covered in bruises seemed like a delightful idea. Closing his fist tightly he raised it up highly glad to see a sudden spark of fear in the boy's eyes, who was staring straight at the closed fist. "Do you know who these really belong to!"

"Obito, his name is Obito! Please don't break them!"

The name caused Kakashi to freeze; Obito.

Obito with his sarcastic comebacks.

Obito who wasn't afraid of Kakashi, despite his disease.

Obito who had saved Kakashi's life in favor of his own.

"Please be careful! They're really fragile." The voice brought Kakashi out of his memories, he looked at his clenched fist and realized the goggles were tightly incased in his closed hand. He abruptly let go of both Naruto and the goggles, and watched them fall together.

It was then that he really took a better look at the boy he had hated for the last ten years.

He was dressed in a loud orange and black coat. Kakashi blinked as his thoughts traveled back to Obito's favorite jacket. No matter what the weather may have been, the boy loved to wear that jacket.

The blond's greasy hair had become wild during their fight and was sticking out in odd directions. 'Obito,' Kakashi thought, 'Obito hated combing his hair.'

Kakashi's eye traveled downward until it rested on the boy's eyes, the bright vibrant eyes that were locked on the goggles only a few feet away from Kakashi's foot.

Those eyes, which held back unshed tears.

The boy slowly reached out inching towards the goggles with a frightened look on his face. "Please," Kakashi barely made out the soft plea from the boy as he came closer. "Please don't step on them."

Kakashi swooped down with out a second thought and plucked them from the ground before the boy laid a hand on what once belonged to his precious friend. The boy rocked back on his heels and looked up as Kakashi carefully examined them, looking for any cracks or damage, he was surprised to find them in very good condition, almost exactly as he remembered them.

Only they looked wrong, even though he wanted to hold them tight it just didn't feel right in his hands.

They certainly didn't look right on Obito's grave, to have them rot and decay from the harsh elements.

So where did they belong?

A dirty hand touched the edge of the goggles but this time Kakashi didn't pull away from it in disgust; he looked into the face of someone he had considered a demon for the last ten years. Looked at the ruffled hair, orange jacket, and tear-streaked cheeks.

This boy was not a monster. Kakashi sighed in defeat and reached down to clasp the rubber banding and spread it carefully.

Naruto tensed up as he felt Kakashi's hands go around the back of his head and strap the band so it fit comfortably. He pulled away and looked up at the older man through the safety of the orange tinted goggles before asking quietly "Who are you?"

Kakashi repressed the age-old habit of taking his romance novel from his pocket to avoid awkward situations but forced himself to speak. "My name's Kakashi Hatake. Can I trust you to take care of my friend's goggles for me?"

Naruto's face scrunched up at Kakashi's introduction, trying to remember where he had heard that name before and then it suddenly hit him. "You were the other kid," Kakashi's eye widened as Naruto stared at him with mixed emotions, then he then averted his eyes and mumbled, "from the book."

Somehow Kakashi wasn't that shocked that the kid already knew. He watched the boy touch the edge of the goggles with care; the small boy's eyes were filled with guilt.

Monsters don't feel guilty over what they've done, so if Naruto was not a monster then what was he?

Kakashi was not a man of revenge, he did not want vengeance no matter how much he loved his friend. Obito wouldn't have wanted that.

Besides, they looked right on Naruto's head, like they were made to be there, and in some twist of irony Kakashi realized he had made them for the blond boy.

Naruto was staring up at him taking in all his features as if he were memorizing them. Kakashi shifted awkwardly from the boy's intense stare but did not look away; instead he smiled and said politely, "Let's not tell Iruka we met like this."

Naruto was blown away by Kakashi's sudden change in mood but decided not to question it. He smiled widely turning his eyes into tiny slits and making the scars on his cheeks stretch out. Kakashi squashed the tiny thought that the smile made Naruto look like a fox and pushed it aside to see that beneath the orange goggles and strained smile, Naruto looked like Naruto, and nothing else.

Kakashi was not the sort of man to take revenge; you can blame that on the movies.

And he was learning how to let go of old grudges; you can blame that on Naruto.

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Obito Obito OBITO!!! That was the spoiler by the way and if you don't know who Obito is SHAME ON YOU! That was the first time ive ever broke down and hysterically cried over a manga, i even went out and bought the raw version just so I could have it with me. By the way I'm a true believe of the Obito/Tobi connection, same colors, the single eyehole on his mask. THE GODDAMN NAME! Tobi? Obito? Come on! By the way did anyone crack up in chapter 357 when tobi did his long extended 'Seemmpaiiii!'

That last section was actually the easiest to write (getting Naruto inside that damn house was the hardest!)

Ok sorry must get back to the topic. The ending might have been hard to understand, I mean for me it's easy cuz I know exactly where this story is heading but you don't so here's the hint. Naruto was involved with Obito's death and the accident. He is also connected to the death of Iruka's parents…and many other instance that I'm not about to reveal. The connection will be clear ( I hope!) towards the end. I'm staring to like these flashbacks of mini Naruto …hmmm

Once again sorry for the very slow update (but check it out by far the longest chapter I've ever written) By the way I'm throwing you hints left and right here.

Oh last thing…..if you guys didn't get the sausage and taco joke I recommend you buy theses items and take a good look at them, then think of what it reminds you of.

peace

sam