New Promises

Chapter 12

Naruto grimaced at the feel of mud squelching between his toes.

"Kakashi, I still don't understand how clearing away all those weeds and picking up trash in that nasty river is training," Naruto whined, his face a picture of misery. Sasuke and Sakura, their clothing wet and smelly, obviously agreed with Naruto's assessment.

Kakashi, face buried in his favorite chapter, ignored them. He had no plans of telling them the work they had done all afternoon had been a personal favor rather than training. Sometimes, having a trio of gullible children at his mercy was useful.

"Hey! Kakashi! When are we gonna learn cool stuff?" Naruto asked petulantly. Sakura pretended to be uninterested, but her inner self echoed Naruto's question enthusiastically.

'Spending all afternoon covered in river slime isn't going to attract Sasuke-kun!' she thought (quite correctly).

"All Genin start with missions like these. You'll do this until your teamwork improves," Kakashi informed in a monotone. He turned a dog-eared page. It was only their first day of mission work and already Naruto was complaining. Obviously, a year of training with Jiraiya had spoiled him. He was only interested in flashy jutsu and didn't care about his appallingly bad basics.

"My house is this way. What time are we meeting tomorrow?" Sakura asked wearily, already turning towards her home.

"Maa…let's say nine," Kakashi decided off-handedly. Sakura nodded, but her inner voice raged.

'And in his world that means four in the afternoon!' Sakura, and her inner voice, happily left the company of Naruto and Kakashi, eager to get home and change.

"Goodbye, Sasuke-kun!" she called over her shoulder. The dark-haired boy didn't respond.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called enthusiastically, waving like a maniac. Sasuke arched a brow at him, wondering where on earth he found the energy for such a pointless movement. Their day had been full of tedious, back-breaking work.

"Are we going to Tsubaki's house?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"You smell, and we've spent a lot of time over there lately. We'll eat at our place tonight," Kakashi decided. Naruto's big blue eyes narrowed unhappily. He liked sharing a bed with Sasuke, and the teen had been at his house almost every night since they returned to Konoha. Then again, Sasuke was mad at him for flirting with Sakura at their orientation and hadn't wanted to kiss him ever since.

"Hey, Sasuke, wait up a second," Naruto said, hoping Kakashi would get the hint and give them some privacy. The tall Jounin ambled on down the street, seemingly absorbed in his book still.

"What?" Sasuke asked a bit coldly. Naruto scowled, but it looked more like a pout. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away, trying to appear cool. Sasuke just stared at him.

"You…we haven't…ya know…in awhile," Naruto said. Sasuke felt like playing dumb, mostly because he was still highly irritated with the blonde.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, his tone bland. Naruto's face turned a bright, cherry tomato red.

"You haven't wanted to kiss!" he blurted out, causing a passerby to shoot them a strange look. Sasuke shot Naruto an exasperated look.

"I thought it was Sakura you wanted to kiss now," Sasuke replied grumpily. He was glad that Naruto wanted to talk about it, but all he wanted to hear was that Naruto didn't like Sakura. He wished (not for the first time) that Naruto would just read his mind and understand him, but the blonde seemed completely oblivious.

"So are we still going out?" Naruto asked, as if he was merely getting things straight. Sasuke, fuming inside, merely shrugged.

"Whatever," he practically spat.

"Are we still best friends?" Naruto asked, finally starting to show a little concern. Sasuke felt his anger recede at the worry he saw in Naruto's eyes. His eyes dropped to his chest, where he knew a ring Naruto had given him hung on a chain under his shirt. He'd grown used to the feeling of the necklace and ring—he never took it off. He had to think about it to even notice it was there.

"Of course, you idiot," Sasuke finally replied. Naruto relaxed, and his expression turned mischievous.

"So you don't want to kiss me anymore?" Naruto asked.

'Yes,' Sasuke thought, 'more than anything.'

All he said was, "You want to ask out Sakura. I get it. Do what you want and quit asking stupid questions."

"Really?!" Naruto responded. Sasuke felt like Naruto was definitely up to something, but he was tired and he smelled bad and he felt incredibly lonely. He just wanted to go home.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll see you tomorrow," he replied, waving half-heartedly as he trudged after Kakashi. Naruto didn't even say goodbye. Sasuke was lost in depressing thoughts until he was almost home. Kakashi had already let himself in. He sighed hugely, trying to wipe the emotion off his face before he entered. He didn't want Kakashi to ask him about why he was upset.

"Who pissed in your cereal, kiddo? You look like hell, and you smell like it, too," a familiar voice rang out from somewhere above him. Sasuke briefly contemplated just ignoring him, but that never worked with Tenzo. He was just as persistent as Naruto when he wanted something.

Thinking of Naruto made him scowl darkly.

"Go away," Sasuke tried. Tenzo just grinned and dropped down in front of him.

"Go change and I'll take you to a movie," the brunet ninja ordered with a grin. Sasuke sighed.

"I don't feel like it," he muttered, attempting to walk around him. Tenzo stuck out a muscular arm to stop him.

"Yeah, well, start feeling like it. We have to talk." Sasuke glared up at him.

"About what?"

"What's with the interrogation? Let's just go! You're twelve—it's not like you've got a packed social calendar," Tenzo replied, obviously starting to get impatient with him.

"I'm thirteen. You came to the party," Sasuke pointed out dryly.

"Yeah, yeah, streamers, cake, lanterns—a good time was had by all. Let's go already! You want me to write out an invitation or what?"

Realizing he didn't have much of a choice, Sasuke agreed with a nod and trudged up the apartment stairs, leaving Tenzo waiting at the bottom, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously. If Sasuke hadn't been so tired and irritated with the world, he might have thought it strange to see Tenzo so on edge. As it was, he simply dismissed it and continued on to his room.

~*~

Naruto hid himself (poorly) behind a stack of crates outside of a storefront. Walking just ahead of him was Sakura, obliviously dragging herself home. Naruto's eyes were riveted to the way her long hair swayed as she walked, and the dainty hands swinging by her sides. The sight of her had always made his heart race, and being around her so much lately had made his desire to kiss her overwhelming.

It wasn't that he didn't like Sasuke. He liked him a lot, in fact, but Sakura was an unknown. He'd read some of Jiraiya's book (before his dad caught him) and the story made it seem like kissing a pretty girl was just about the best thing a guy could do with his mouth. Apparently, there would be fireworks and music and the girl would realize just how handsome and strong the guy was if he kissed her right.

Jiraiya wouldn't lie about that.

He'd hoped to see the fireworks when he kissed Sasuke, but it had just been a normal kiss. It hadn't even made his muscles ripple or his loins tighten (whatever the heck that meant). The only reason there had been no fireworks, music, rippling muscles, or tightened loins (which he really hoped was some sort of free food) was obviously because Sasuke didn't have girl bits. It was the only logical explanation.

So he had to kiss Sakura, even if it was just once, to see what happened. Then he could go back to kissing Sasuke, even if there weren't any fireworks, because it felt good and he liked the way Sasuke looked after he kissed him—like he was really, really happy.

He'd given it a great deal of thought, and he'd come to the conclusion that Sakura wouldn't want to kiss him. She thought he was annoying. Thus, he'd decided (quite brilliantly) to use the Shadow Clone jutsu that Jiraiya had taught him to turn into Sasuke and then try to get a kiss. He had reservations about the plan, but Sasuke had just absolved him of any guilt. After all, he'd told him to do what he wanted and quit asking questions, hadn't he?

With Sasuke's approval, and his awesome ninja skills, there was no possible way his plan could backfire. In a puff of smoke, he replaced his image with Sasuke's and then hurried down the road after Sakura.

~*~

"I visited Tsubaki at her vegetable stand earlier," Tenzo said, finally getting to the point. Sasuke had insisted on getting popcorn and a box of candy out of Tenzo before he talked about anything. Now they were seated in a deserted movie theater watching a movie about a young ninja who wanted to be the Hokage of his village.

"This is a dumb plot," Sasuke grumbled, staring moodily at the opening scenes. The actor playing the boy wasn't even as good-looking as Naruto.

"Forget about the movie, would you? Iruka said to talk to you about Tsubaki, so talk."

"Kakashi and I already talked about it. Tsunade-sama is going to find a way to heal her. She still has plenty of time," Sasuke said, even though he worried on the inside that the exact opposite was true. Despite his reservations, he began to get sucked into the movie, oblivious to the way Tenzo's hand clenched around the chair armrest. Finally, after a considerable amount of time, his hand relaxed. Speaking as though his mind was miles away, he interrupted the actor's big scene.

"What were you so upset about earlier?"

"Nothing important," Sasuke replied quickly.

"Didn't look like nothing," Tenzo said. His voice sounded distracted, as if he were a million miles away. Sasuke slurped his drink, eyes glued to the screen.

"Shut up. It's a good part."

Tenzo didn't feel much like pursuing the conversation. Instead, he wanted nothing more than to do some snooping at the hospital. Now he had a part of the puzzle, but he still couldn't see the whole picture. What kind of illness did Tsubaki have, and why was she hiding it from him?

As loath as he was to admit it, he owed Iruka for tipping him off. No doubt Tsubaki had asked him not to say anything about it, and he'd risked getting on her bad side to clue him in. Maybe, just maybe, the guy wasn't so bad after all.

~*~

"Sakura, wait!" Naruto called out. His teammate turned in surprise, her green eyes widening.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, obviously happy to see him.

"Yeah…uh…that's me. Err…I've been trying to hide it, but I want to—"

"Yes?" Sakura asked, looking up at him breathlessly. Naruto grinned evilly on the inside. She was falling for it!

"I want to kiss you," he said boldly, his confidence growing. It wasn't as embarrassing when he knew that he didn't look like himself.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, I knew you really did like me. I've saved my first kiss for you! I didn't plan to smell this bad when it happened, but I'm not complaining," A girlish blush covered her pale cheeks as she walked closer to him, glancing around to make sure no one was looking before she leaned towards him, her lips puckered.

Naruto hesitated. Didn't she know to open her mouth? Those kinds of kisses were always better. What if there weren't any fireworks because she did it wrong? She did say it was her first time. Was it even worth it if there weren't going to be fireworks? Where would they even come from? There wasn't anyone hanging around ready to fire them off—that was for sure. Naruto took a quick glance around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There was only Sakura standing in front of him looking like she'd bitten into a lime.

Sasuke looked much better right before a kiss. He'd get that little half-smile, as if he was challenging him to make the kiss better than the last one. He kept his eyes open, and they looked different right before a kiss, brighter somehow, or something.

"Sasuke-kun, aren't you going to kiss me?" Sakura asked, opening one eye curiously. Thinking about Sasuke had made him have a change of heart. Why did he want to mess around with Sakura just for some dumb fireworks? He already had a perfectly good kisser that actually liked him.

Quite suddenly, his interest in Sakura seemed a little dumb. She might not be a bad teammate, but she made a lousy crush. He didn't need to change how he looked to make someone want to kiss him. Sasuke liked him just the way he was.

"I…uh…gotta go to the bathroom! Bye!" He turned and sprinted away, clutching his stomach to make it believable. As he ran, he began to think about what he would do to get back in Sasuke's good graces. He didn't have a clue, so he was going to have to ask someone knowledgeable for advice.

Hopefully, Jiraiya wouldn't be gone on a mission.

~*~

When Naruto finally made it home, his dinner was cold and Hotaru and Tsubaki were already asleep. Iruka ushered him into the kitchen, warning him with a finger over his lips to be quiet. Living with Naruto and a baby in the same house was a constant strain on Iruka and Tsubaki. Naruto had one volume—really, really loud.

"I'm quiet, I get it!" Naruto whispered (loudly). Iruka just smiled and then his nose wrinkled a bit at how badly Naruto smelled. "Want me to go clean up before I can eat?" Naruto asked sadly, as if anticipating the answer would be a yes. Iruka took in the way his son's feet practically dragged, and the exhausted slump of his shoulders.

"Why don't you just come to the kitchen? You look like you need a hot meal," Iruka offered. With a smile, Naruto changed course and plopped down into a kitchen chair. From under his drooping fringe of golden hair, Naruto watched his father move around the kitchen, pulling out a pot.

"There aren't any leftovers from dinner?" Naruto asked. Iruka glanced at him over his shoulder.

"There were some leftovers, but they're cold now. I'll just make you ramen."

"Thanks, Dad," Naruto said with a yawn. Once Iruka had the noodles cooking, he took a seat at the table and looked at his son long and hard.

"We haven't spent much time together since we got back to Konoha," Iruka said. "It was much easier to hang out with each other while we were traveling." Naruto shrugged a little helplessly.

"I'm sorry. I've been busy with ninja stuff," Naruto replied. Iruka smiled.

"I wasn't accusing you—more like I was blaming myself for not making enough time for you. I've let myself get busy and I forget you're going through a lot of new things right now."

"I'm fine, Dad, you don't have to worry about me," Naruto said with a sleepy smile. Iruka returned it, propping his chin on the palm of his hand.

"I still worry, all the same," Iruka said. There was a comfortable silence between them for a few moments and then a thought occurred to Iruka that made him smile. "Do you remember when I used to tell you stories about ninjas?" An almost dreamy smile came over Naruto's face and he nodded.

"Those were the best. I miss your stories. How come you don't tell them anymore?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you're getting a little old for bedtime stories. Besides, Sasuke's spent the night almost every night since we moved in, and I thought you liked his stories better than mine."

Naruto blushed and Iruka just smiled.

"Speaking of Sasuke-kun…how is that going?" Iruka asked, unable to think of a better way to phrase the question.

"We're not going out anymore," Naruto said sadly. Iruka sighed. He really hadn't expected it to last more than a week or so, but it was still depressing. He consoled himself with the thought that there might always be another chance when they were older.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked, wondering how it had ended. Naruto glared at the table, and a blush crept over his cheeks again.

"I tried to find Jiraiya to ask him, but he's on a mission—that's why I got home so late," Naruto said. Confused, Iruka waited for him to explain further. Catching his expression, Naruto sighed. Seeing he needed some time to get his thoughts together, Iruka moved to the stove to take the noodles off the flame.

"What did you need to ask Jiraiya?" Iruka prompted, when Naruto didn't continue. His son had that guilty look on his face that let Iruka know he'd been sneaking junk food or breaking the rules.

"Promise you won't be mad?" Naruto tried. Iruka just grinned.

"You know I won't make that promise, but I will hear you out and help you fix whatever it is that you've done," Iruka replied. Naruto huffed in irritation.

"I knew you'd say that. It's not something I did…well, maybe it is something I did, but first it was something I read."

"Go on," Iruka said.

"Remember when you caught me with Jiraiya's book and you got really mad?"

Iruka's hand tightened around the pot handle. It was a miracle Jiraiya had survived their trip, it really was. Reading Icha Icha Violence had not been how Iruka wanted Naruto to learn about sex.

"Yes, I remember," Iruka replied. If Naruto was about to tell him he'd tried to convince Sasuke to try sex, or something equally adult, Iruka was going to flay him alive and then hunt Jiraiya down and castrate him.

Of course, he knew deep down that it was nobody's fault but his own. He'd been so nervous about talking with Naruto about it—knowing it might mean answering all kinds of awkward questions and revealing unkind truths, that he'd put it off and put it off and now his son was in trouble because of it.

"Well, Jiraiya said in his books that when a guy kisses a girl there are fireworks and music, and your muscles rippled and you eat loins."

"What?!" Iruka half-shouted, only to remember the baby and quickly switch to whispering. "You don't eat…loins…at your age! How do you even know what that means?!"

Naruto looked at him with wide eyes. He held up his hands in a placating manner.

"You look really scary, Dad. Your eye is twitching."

"Answer me!"

"Err…I don't know what it means! The book said that there were tightened loins and I thought it was some kind of free food to go with the fireworks show!"

"…What?" Iruka said, starting to calm down some and understand what was going on.

"I kissed Sasuke on his birthday, and there weren't any fireworks or music or anything, and I figured it was just because he wasn't a girl, so I wanted to try kissing Sakura, but I think I hurt Sasuke's feelings because he thinks I like Sakura more than him, but I really just wanted to see what would happen! Then Sasuke told me he didn't care and that I should just do what I wanted to, so I changed into him with a jutsu and asked Sakura for a kiss, but then I didn't want to because even if there are fireworks when you kiss a girl, I like kissing Sasuke better. Now he's mad at me and probably thinks I kissed Sakura and I don't know what to do!"

Amazingly, Iruka understood what his son was saying. It came from years of translating Naruto-speak. He had to fight very hard not to laugh in Naruto's face.

"Son, there aren't literal fireworks when you kiss a girl, and there isn't music either, unless you've got a radio on. Those were just words Jiraiya used to try and describe the feeling of kissing a girl. It's exciting, like seeing fireworks, and it makes you feel good, just like listening to music. Does that make more sense now?"

Naruto looked completely surprised. Iruka had to turn away and season the noodles so Naruto wouldn't see him snickering.

"So…none of that stuff really happens?" Naruto asked.

"That's right," Iruka managed to say, finally starting to get control of his expression.

"Then I guess it's a really good thing I didn't kiss Sakura, but Sasuke doesn't know that! What should I do, Dad? You're really good at making guys like you. Help me!"

Iruka never, not in a million years, thought he would hear those words from his son. He'd always just assumed Naruto would be straight as a board and if anything, he'd have to hide his own preference from him. He almost wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He brought Naruto his plate of dinner as his mind raced through the possibilities.

Sasuke and Naruto could end up seriously dating, and maybe they'd even adopt a kid someday, and then he'd have an adorable grandson or granddaughter to spoil rotten…

"Dad? Hello? You were gonna give me advice?" Naruto reminded. Snapping out of his reverie, Iruka gave his son a broad grin.

"You should take him on a date, Naruto. I'll give you some money to buy movie tickets or something and you just be gentlemanly."

"But I'm not a gentleman!" Naruto said worriedly. Iruka chuckled.

"That just means you use good manners. You should compliment him and be really nice. Most importantly, though, you should have fun and just enjoy spending time with someone you really care about. That's the point of a date."

"I can do that," Naruto decided, before he tucked into his bowl of ramen. Iruka smiled at him fondly. When Naruto was done, he asked another question. "Have you been on a lot of dates?"

"I've been on a few dates, but only two that really mattered," Iruka replied.

"What made those two special?" Naruto asked. Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair as he stood, deciding it was time for bed.

"They were with Kakashi, and I love him."

"Oh," Naruto said, smiling a bit at his father's sappiness. As his dad was about to leave the kitchen, he stopped him. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Kakashi's really lucky to have you," Naruto said.

"Aww…you're sweet, Naruto, but you still have to take a bath before you get in bed. Nice try, though."

"Dang it."

~*~

When Sasuke finally got home from the movie, he was surprised to see Kakashi heading out—with a picnic basket and two fishing poles, of all things.

"Where are you going with all that?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi smiled broadly under his mask.

"I'm taking Iruka out on a surprise date. Was the movie any good?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke just glared, because the film had reminded him of Naruto and the lead character had ended up with his very bubbly, very female teammate at the end.

"Waste of time," he muttered.

"Well, there's some dinner in the fridge. I don't know when I'll get back in, but we have to pick up missions at the tower tomorrow, so don't stay up too late."

"I could say the same thing to you," Sasuke replied, looking pointedly at the basket. Then his eyes narrowed. "Cleaning up the river bank and fishing out all that trash…that wasn't a real mission, was it? It wasn't even training."

Sasuke had never seen Kakashi jutsu away so fast in his life.

Wondering why his world had to be full of love and romance when things had gone so spectacularly poorly with Naruto, Sasuke trudged to the bathroom for a hot soak. His mind kept tumbling with negative thoughts. Until he'd met Naruto, he'd thought that he would never find anyone that he was attracted to. He certainly didn't like the stupid girls in the village. Unlike Naruto, he noticed things. He saw how difficult it was for Kakashi, Iruka, and Tenzo. Konoha didn't like gay people, and he guessed that was what he was.

Lately, he'd thought less and less about his brother and more and more about Naruto. He was losing sight of his goal, and that troubled him as well. If he was gay, did that mean his clan name would end with him? Would he and Itachi be the last of the Sharingan users?

Sasuke knew that if his father could see him wherever he was, he would never forgive Sasuke for failing to revive the clan. Dejectedly, Sasuke let himself sink under the bath water. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. A memory surfaced lazily—a night from two years ago when he had been left with Naruto for the night while Iruka and Kakashi went out on a date. They'd played with little toy ships in the same tub he was soaking in. It had been the first time he'd ever played with a toy in the bath—first time he'd ever really played with someone else at all.

He lifted himself out of the water again, even though he could have held his breath for longer. He was tired of thinking. He just wanted to get some sleep.

The sheets felt cool against his warm skin, and a fragrant smelling breeze rolled through the open window and tickled at his nose. His bed was new and the mattress didn't have much give to it. It wasn't like Iruka's big, comfortable bed. Of course, the most noticeable difference was the lack of a certain blonde…

His eyes drifted closed and when he opened them again, he was being rained on. He looked down and saw his hands, but they were small and helpless. He looked up sadly, knowing what he would see at the end of the drenched road. Knowing he had to face the grisly scene again, he began to drag his feet in the direction of home. He knew everyone was dead inside—they were always dead.

He wondered if Naruto would be waiting for him at the fountain. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him he would be alone. Naruto was gone.

Through the gates, past the first few houses with corpses spread like welcome mats on the doorways, lay the mouth of the little alley. He knew Itachi would find him in the dream sooner or later, and there was a chance that Naruto would be at the fountain. Sasuke felt himself age as he hurried down the dark space, until he stood at the rear entrance to the shrine. Sasuke tried to remember the name of the place, but the information slipped away.

At first, he thought Naruto wasn't there. He walked forward slowly, studying the fountain intently, wishing Naruto would appear so he would not be alone when Itachi came to kill him.

"Sasuke, in here…" It was Naruto's voice. Feeling overpowering relief, Sasuke hurried to the slightly ajar door of the shrine.

"Naruto, run ahead, he's coming and he'll—"

"It's too late for running, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke froze, hand almost touching the door, because he knew it was over. He saw Naruto's tan fingertips stretch through the gap, searching for his hand, but Sasuke would not pull him into the fight. Resolutely, even though it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, he pushed the door closed and turned to face his brother alone.

Itachi just smirked at him.