Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters in this story.

Before the story begins, I'd just like to say thank you to all the people who reviewed and I'm glad you all liked the last chapter. I honestly thought you guys wouldn't, but you proved me wrong. Thanks again for all of those that reviewed and enjoy the rest of the story. One more thing, if you guys actually wanna see a picture of Sakumo Hatake, here's how:

Go to Google , click on images, type in Sakumo Hatake, and click search. It's the first picture.

More Than Just Comrades

Chapter 37

If there was one thing Sasuke Uchiha could appreciate, it was a long hot shower. As the streams of hot water rand down his body and hair, Sasuke couldn't help but sigh in response to the soothing feeling. It was the morning after Ino and Sakura's "make up" session, and Sasuke was currently taking a well needed shower after his own activites with Naruto that same night. If there was anyone who could run out his stamina, it was his kitsune. The blonde had him going for hours on end, effectively wearing both of them out by the time they were finally done. Hell, they were so exhausted, they didn't bother even getting under the covers. After being up for nearly the entire night, his body had become cramped once he'd finally woken up. Fortunately, the shower was fixing all that.

On the bright side though, Sasuke really didn't mind the sex. For the past few weeks, both he and Naruto had trained vigorously for the final round of the Chunin Exams with Kakashi, and also with Jiraiya who would show up from time to time and help train Naruto. The two would train for nearly the entire day, getting home by the time it was almost completely dark out. This cut into the time that Naruto and Sasuke used to spend with each other, resulting in the two coming to cherish every second they could spend together.

Anyway, after finally getting out of the shower, Sasuke dried himself off and slipped on his new set of clean clothes, which consisted of his usual white long-sleeved shirt which was open at the torso, but with a smaller version of the Uchiha crest on his collar, along with his pair of black pants with the blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees that was held in place by a purple rope tied into a bow. After sporting his clean clothes, Sasuke did the usual routine of brushing his hair and teeth before finally stepping out of the bathroom.

Upon walking into the living room, Sasuke stopped and raised an eyebrow when he saw Naruto sitting cross legged on his couch, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants, with his eyes closed, his set of clean clothes beside him and neatly folded. He appeared to be completely calm with his arms folded in his lap, making it look as though he were holding his belly, and his long, golden hair glowed from the sunlight coming in from the sliding-glass door across from him, who's blinds were wide open. At first glance, one would believe Naruto to be sleeping, though in actuality, he was meditating. Walking up to the boy, Sasuke took a moment to congratulate the boy's perfect posture before slapping him across the head, waking him up instantly.

"OW! Sasuke, you insensitive motherfucker! Why you can't just shake me awake like everyone else you condescending asshole?" Naruto demanded while rubbing his sore head.

"I would shake you awake, but this way is a lot more fun. Secondly, what the hell were you doing anyway?" Sasuke asked with an impassive look. It was just so much fun to mess with Naruto this way, just to watch him over-react.

"I was practicing drawing in Nature Energy in my spare time to get the hang of Sage Mode, like Pervy Sage told me. At least, I was before you interrupted me." Naruto explained angrily. Honestly, sometimes Sasuke could be such an annoying ass.

"Whatever. Anyway, the bathroom's open now, so go take care of your business." Sasuke instructed before turning to walk to the sliding screen door.

"Took your slow ass long enough." Naruto muttered as he stood and grabbed his clothes before beginning to make his way to the bathroom.

"I love you too usuratonkachi!" Sasuke hollered down the hallway.

"Kiss my ass!" Naruto hollered back before slamming the bathroom door.

Sasuke gave his usual smirk before walking over to the sliding-screen door and slipping outside onto the the terrace. Upon stepping outside, Sasuke stretched and breathed in a lungful of fresh air. It was a cloudless day and the sun was beaming full blast on the Earth below, forcing Sasuke to shield his eyes a little as he sat down on the stone bench in the middle of the terrace, enjoying the feel of the warm concrete beneath his bare feet.

For a while, Sasuke merely stared out at the village, watching everyone go about their busy day and enjoying the peacefulness while he still could. A moment later, Naruto joined him on the bench, wearing his usual black t-shirt and orange pants, and tying his hair into a long, shaggy ponytail as he sat down.

"What're you doing out here?" Naruto asked as he joined his boyfriend on the stone bench.

"Nothing. I just felt like sitting outside." Sasuke replied impassively while staring straight ahead.

Naruto shrugged and laid his head on Sasuke's shoulder as a moment of silence passed between them. Both seemed to get lost in their own little world.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sasuke said in a questioning tone, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"...What's it like being a jinchuriki?"

For a moment, Naruto didn't answer. No one had ever asked him that question before, and he'd never really thought about it until now.

"Well...it doesn't really feel all that much different from being normal, except...you can't help but feel like you stick out from everyone else since there's a demon inside of you. You often at times find yourself being secretive about everything because you don't want people to know. Once people find out, it's not much fun at all. You feel discriminated against and alienated, and you become lonely, cold, cruel, and cynical to almost everyone around you. Basically, it can feel like the entire world sees you differently. It's no wonder why some jinchuriki almost hate living. It feels like you're very existence is a curse that you can't escape from, and the glares people give you can sometimes be unbearable. The perks are okay, but most of the time, the negatives outweigh the downsides. Long story short, it's no fun at all." Naruto explained solemnly.

Sasuke nodded in understanding and pulled Naruto closer to him. For the next 10 minutes, the two simply sat there and basked in the closeness of the other.

"Come on, dobe. We have go meet Kakashi and Sakura at the training fields." Sasuke informed as he stood up, causing Naruto to groan.

"Do we have to?" Naruto complained.

"Yes, we do. Besides, we're supposed to be training with Squad 10 today anyway. Also on the plus side, this will be the perfect time to test out some of our new techniques." Sasuke replied with a confident smirk.

"Well can we at least stop and get some ramen on the way there?" Naruto asked as his stomach let out a loud growl.

Sasuke sighed. "Fine."

With a shout of glee, Naruto hopped up off the stone bench and followed Sasuke into the apartment where they put on their headbands and shinobi sandals before heading out the door.

After stopping at Ichiraku's and letting Naruto eat his fill of ramen (10 bowls), Sasuke and his blonde-haired lover finally arrived at the training fields, not surprised to see that all but Kakashi was already there.

"Naruto-kun! You're finally here!" Ino exclaimed as she ran over and captured Naruto in a hug. Just like all the times before, Naruto twirled her around, earning him a giggle from the blonde-haired girl before he set her back down.

Surprisingly though, Sakura didn't get mad like she usually did, which completely threw Naruto off. Instead, she simply smiled warmly.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, how come you're not getting mad? Naruto asked. "Usually you'd be biting Ino-chan's head off by now."

"Well, me and Ino finally worked out our differences. So we're cool now." Sakura replied while blushing slightly, which only deepened when Ino winked at her seductively.

Sasuke noticed this, but did not say anything. Instead, he settled for merely raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh, well that's good to hear. Maybe now you guys won't fight as often." Naruto said happily.

Not too far away from the reunion, Asuma, Choji, and Shikamaru watched the scene with mild interest from underneath the shade of a large oak tree.

"Well, it looks like Ino finally told Sakura how she felt. Glad to see it all worked out." Asuma said before taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Yeah, but how long is that going to last? You're forgetting that Ino has a short fuse. When she gets pissed, she becomes an even bigger pain in the ass than even my mom." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Oh c'mon Shikamaru, don't be so negative. I think Ino and Sakura can really pull it off." Choji said before stuffing another handful of barbecue-flavored chips into his mouth and swallowing them whole.

"Whatever. It's all just a drag if you ask me." Shikamaru said lazily from his spot on one of the thick tree branches. He then looked up at the sky and began to cloud gaze, something he enjoyed doing in his spare time since he was a small child.

20 minutes after Naruto and Sasuke arrived, Kakashi decided to finally show up in a swirl of leaves.

"Sorry I'm late everyone. I had to to teach tone-deaf orphans how to sing and-"

"LIAR!" both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed angrily while shaking a fist, cutting Kakashi off in midsentence.

The silver-haired Jonin sweat-dropped and put his hands up in defense as he was bombarded by his subordinates. He'd been at the Memorial Stone, visiting the grave of his former teammates like he always did when he'd lost track of time...again.

'Heh, vintage Kakashi.' Asuma thought with a smirk. 'He shows up late and then makes up some ridiculous excuse that nobody would believe in a million years. (chuckles). It never gets old.'

"Okay, okay. I apologize for being late." Kakashi said in mock surrender as Naruto and Sakura continued to shout furiously at him.

"You should be sorry! Don't you know it's not polite to keep a lady waiting, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked angrily with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah! You oughta be ashamed of yourself, having us wait this long!" Naruto agreed.

"You're right, sensei is sorry. I'm here now, so we can finally get started, okay?." Kakashi said with a cheerful smile, evidenced by his visible eye curling up.

Naruto and Sakura frowned, but begrudgedly agreed to begin training for the day. After Naruto and Sakura had calmed down a bit, Kakashi called Asuma, Shikamaru, and Choji over and began to explain how the day's training would work.

As it turned out, that day's training would be a two on two match: Naruto and Sasuke vs Shikamaru and Choji. At first, Choji wasn't really all that thrilled about goin up against the #1 Rookie of his class, or against the Rinnegan for that matter. Fortunately though, Asuma promised to treat Choji to all-you-can-eat barbecue at their favorite restaurant if he at least gave it his best shot. Of course, with the promise of food, Choji spontaneously gained newfound confidence and charged into battle before Kakashi could even say "you may begin when ready". As for Shikamaru...well...he didn't really care who he had to fight. He just wanted to get it over with so he could go home and take a nice nap.

Both teams gave it their best, but in the end, Shikamaru and Choji took the victory. Although, Naruto and Sasuke had actually managed to work in perfect synchronization with each other for once, following up each other's moves and coming in to help when needed. In fact, neither Naruto nor Sasuke used the Lightning Release Armor or the Rinnegan, just to keep it fair. However, despite their outstanding teamwork, all it took was one slip up for them to get caught in Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu. With the opposing team trapped, Choji then used his Human Boulder Technique, thereby delivering the final blow that flattened both Naruto and Sasuke into the ground. Thankfully, neither one was seriously injured in any way.

Of course, Naruto and Sasuke had their usual arguement, blaming the other for their own screw ups. Or rather, Naruto mostly did the arguing. Sasuke, on the other hand, just stood there looking bored and putting his two cents in every now and then. Arguing with Naruto was the least favorite part of his day.

The sun was at least halfway below the horizon by the time Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Choji had gotten done with their sparring match. Both teams panted in exhaustion as they sat on a nearby hill under a tall tree with the other members of their team, allowing Sakura to tend to their minor injuries.

"Good job, all 4 of you." Kakashi congratulated while smiling with his eye. "You all did wonderfully."

"Well if Sasuke hadn't of slipped on his end, our team could've actually won!" Naruto commented.

"Me? You're the one who fucked up. That last technique was a complete joke and you know it. Learn how to use your jutsu more properly before you try and get in my ass about something." Sasuke argued back with a slightly edgy tone.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Naruto shot back. "If you hadn't gotten in the way with your damn Chidori, maybe my attack would've hit its mark. But no, you had to come and try and save the day like the macho asshole you are! You're also a dick, and lousy teammate!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his blonde-haired boyfriend, who only growled low in his throat as a show of opposition, sounding just like a dog.

"Both you of take it easy." Kakashi said, sensing the tension begin to rise between the two. Kakashi had hoped that with the two being a couple, they would fight less often. So much for that. If anything, they were fighting even more.

"Listen, both of you did your part well. This whole excercise wasn't even about winning in the first place. The whole point was to improve your teamwork and become stronger along the way. You two did just that. In fact, you two worked even better than you did during the bell test I gave you before the Chunin Exams even started. That's all that really matters here, not winning or losing. Now, both of you aplogize to each other."

Begrudgedly, Naruto and Sasuke turned to look each other in the eye.

"Hn." Sasuke said before sharply looking straight ahead.

"Whatever, bastard." Naruto said, muttering the last part under his breath.

Exasperated, Kakashi slapped a hand to his face, earning him a chuckle from Asuma, who was reclining up against the tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

'Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with these two.' Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at his two hot-headed students. At least Sakura seemed to be the most cool-headed one among the three of them. Kakashi considered that a blessing. In his eyes, it was one less headche to deal with.

"Asuma-sensei, can we get that barbecue now? I'm starving." Choji said while rubbing his belly, which had begun to growl loudly.

Asuma chuckled again.

"Sounds good to me Choji. C'mon everyone, time for some well deserved grub."

"Yes! Last one there has to pay!" Choji exclaimed happily as he took off running with amazing speed despite his weight, leaving the rest of his team in his dust.

"Well, at least something motivates him." Ino said with a sweat drop.

After getting Naruto and Sasuke to finally apologize and make-up, Kakashi allowed his team to leave the training grounds. Afterwards, he'd immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke. He had a date with Iruka tonight and training had gone on longer than he had anticipated, making him 15 minutes late to pick up his beloved Ninja Academy instructor. Iruka was sure to chastise him for that, which he did when the silver-haired Jonin finally arrived.

Meanwhile, after escorting Sakura to Ino's house, Naruto and Sasuke were now wandering through the village on their way back to their own home. Halfway there though, Naruto couldn't hold back the question that had been nagging him since they had gotten done at the training field.

"Hey Sasuke, what's going on between Sakura-chan and Ino-chan?" Naruto asked. "I'm still surprised that Sakura-chan didn't get mad when Ino-chan hugged me."

Sasuke gave Naruto a sideways glance and kept walking instead of answering right away. He was deciding on whether or not he should actually tell his blonde kitsune about Ino and Sakura's relationship, as there was no telling how Naruto would take it. Though, there was actually nothing to lose, so...

"Sakura and Ino are going out now, Naruto" Sasuke said after a moment.

Just as he'd figured, Naruto stopped walking and his jaw nearly hit the ground. Time to seemed to freeze as Naruto let the information slowly sink in. Giving Naruto a weird look, Sasuke waved his hand in front of his boyfriend's face, though the blonde didn't so much as even blink.

"...Naruto? You okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura-chan and Ino-chan are dating?" How is that even possible? They fight more than we do!" Naruto finally said in disbelief, causing Sasuke to jerk his hand away.

"Yes, they are. I know it seems crazy to believe, but Ino has apparently felt an attraction toward Sakura for sometime now. It turns out, Sakura ended their friendship on the same day Ino was going to reveal how she felt, thus starting their feud. A few weeks ago at the park, Sakura asked Ino why she hated her so much, Ino finally told her, Sakura realized she felt the same way a few weeks later, and the two had sex that same night." Sasuke explained nonchalantly.

"Say what? Sakura-chan and Ino-chan actually..." Naruto let his voice trail off as he pictured Sakura and Ino making love. "But...how do you know all of this?"

"Because Sakura called me this morning before I got in the shower. You were deep in concentration, so you didn't hear it."

With nothing else to say, Sasuke turned and continued walking home. Shaking his head, Naruto ran to cath up with his stoic lover.

"But I still don't get how Sakura-chan is going to tell her parents about this. I mean, her parents don't exactly take too kind to same sex relationships."

"Actually, Sakura's parents don't know about their daughter's relationship and Sakura plans to keep it that way. They aren't ready to know just yet, so don't tell anyone. Honestly, I wasn't even supposed to tell you, so keep it yourself." Sasuke revealed while staring straight ahead with that impassive expression.

"Oh." was all Naruto could say.

For the rest of the way, the two remained silent. Neither really had anything else to say, so they just kept quiet. Every now and then, Sasuke would see some of the villagers glaring at Naruto. Naruto himself, however, was too lost in thought to even notice them. If he did notice them, he wasn't showing it, probably because he was used to it by now. Being the protective dominant that he was, Sasuke scared off anyone who glared at Naruto with a glare of his own. Nobody dared to actually attack the blonde for fear of getting their ass kicked by Sasuke. So long as the "demon vessel" was with the Uchiha, they would leave him be and simply glare at him when the chance presented itself. Other's, however, simply ignored the blonde and hoped that he'd just go away some day and never return.

As they reached the apartment building, Sasuke suddenly realized something: they still had plenty of time left. The sun was still only halfway below the horizon and they nothing better to do. So, why not make it worth while.

"Hey, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped walking and looked up at Sasuke.

"Since there's still plenty of time left, do you wanna go on a date?"

Naruto's eyes lit up eagerly at the offer and he quickly nodded. It had been a while since the two had really had time for themselves and now was a perfect opportunity.

"Sure, that sounds great!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "In fact, I know the perfect place we can go!"

It only took one try to guess where Naruto wanted to go for their date. Yep, good ol' Inchiraku Ramen. Fortunately for Naruto, Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, was having an all-you-can eat special for Customer Appreciation Day. For Naruto, it was like one of his prayers had been answered. Hell, even Sasuke was happy since he didn't have to pay! Upon sitting down at the bar and being given their first bowls, the boys went to town.

Naruto scarfed down bowl after bowl without pause, even the other people that were there stopped to look at the Ramen-Eating Machine. It seemed as though Naruto's stomach literally had no end, as he had already wolfed down 15 bowls in only 10 minutes. For Naruto, ramen was his bread and water. No matter how much of it he ate, he just couldn't get enough! By the time he was finished, Naruto had 3 stacked rows of empty ramen bowls. While Sasuke, on the other hand, had only eaten 10 bowls. He didn't live on ramen like his boyfriend did.

"That was excellent! I'm about ready to pop!" Naruto said after he and Sasuke had left Ichiraku.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to pay for it." Sasuke said. "By the way, how do you eat so much ramen anyway? It's not natural."

"Heh, what can I say, it's all I eat. Though it's probably because of the Nine Tailed Fox, considering it has a real monstrous appetite." Naruto replied. "Luckily, it burns off any fat I gain, so I can eat as much as I want and not gain weight. Otherwise, I'd be the size of Choji by now. I guess you could say it's one of the perks of being a jinchuriki."

"Hn. Anyway, are you ready to go home now?" Sasuke asked.

"Not yet. There's still one more place I want to go." Naruto said.

Sasuke raised an eyeborw.

"Where?" he asked.

"You'll see." Naruto replied as he grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and took off.

Half and hour later, Sasuke was sitting beside Naruto from ontop of the Hokage Monument, or to be more specific, from ontop of the 4th Hokage's head. The Hokage Monument is a huge mountain located in Konohagakure and is the village's most distinguishing feature. What's so special about it is that it has the faces of all of Konoha's previous Hokage carved into it. The faces include Hashirama Senju (First Hokage), Tobirama Senju (Second Hokage), Hiruzen Sarutobi (Third Hokage), and Minato Namikaze (4th Hokage and Naruto's father). The monument towered directly above the Hokage mansion and the rest of the entire village. While ontop of it, one could literally see for miles and it offered a beautiful view of the sunset, which Sasuke and Naruto were currently enjoying.

"It's nice up here." Sasuke commented after he'd pulled Naruto into his lap.

"I know. Breath-taking isn't it? I used to always come up here whenever I wanted to be alone. It was the only other place I could go if I wanted some time to myself, but didn't feel like going home. I don't know why, but the sunset always used to calm me down for some reason and this place is the perfect spot. Plus, it's really quiet up here." Naruto said.

Even though he wouldn't admit it outright, Sasuke decided to himself that he would come here a lot more often. The view and the serenity of the place was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It was the perfect place to clear his mind. Without even realizing it, Sasuke had pulled Naruto tighter against his chest, causing Naruto to begin to softly purr at the warmness that surrounded him.

For what seemed like hours, Naruto laid there enjoying the view from within Sasuke's embrace and purring happily.

"So, Sasuke, is there any place you'd like to go?" Naruto asked.

It was a few minutes after Naruto and Sasuke had climbed down from the Hokage Monument and the two were again making their way aimlessly through town. It still wasn't really that dark yet and they still had time for at least one more place to go. Naruto was fresh out of ideas, and so far, they'd only gone to the places Naruto had wanted to visit. So the blonde figured he'd ask Sasuke where their next stop would be.

Though to be honest, Sasuke really couldn't think of anywhere to go either. All sorts of location flashed through his mind almost all at once until he finally decided that there was at least one special place he wanted to go. He hadn't been there since that night, but he wanted to show it to Naruto. After all, Naruto had shown Sasuke his special, so Sasuke figured he should do the same.

"...I know a place we can go. Follow me." Sasuke replied before grabbing Naruto by the hand and leading him the direction of the Uchiha Compound.

Minutes later, Naruto was walking with Sasuke through what looked like a ghost town. All of the houses and shops were either completely rundown or boarded up. The windows were cracked and covered with a thick layer of dust and the paint had all but completely peeled off. Long story short, the entire complex was beyond dead. What really got to Naruto was the deafening silence. The only sounds were made by the wind and the sound of Naruto and Sasuke's sandals as they walked. Slightly creeped out, Naruto moved closer beside Sasuke.

"What is this place? It's completely deserted." Naruto said as he followed closely behind Sasuke, not wanting to let the Uchiha out of his sight.

"This is the Uchiha Compound, Naruto. This is where I used to live when I was a kid." Sasuke informed him.

After they had continued walking a little more, Sasuke pointed to what looked like a mansion. It was twice the size of any of the other buildings in the compound, though the windows and doorway were all boarded-up, preventing anyone from going inside. Most of the paint had peeled off, some of the wood had rotted and turned a nasty brown color, and some of the boards hung loose, showing dark, dusty windows. Even though it wasn't completely dark out, the house still looked creepy, and one would believe it to be haunted at first glance.

"That house there...is my old house." Sauske told Naruto. "My father was the head of the clan, and therefore had the largest home."

"I'll say! Look at it, it's huge!" Naruto exclaimed. "Didn't you ever get lost?"

"...Maybe once or twice when I was little." Sasuke admitted. "Though I was eventually able to find my way around after a while. By the way, this is only the first thing I wanted to show you."

"There's more?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, this way." was all Sasuke said before continuing on.

After showing Naruto his old house, Sasuke led Naruto into the woods in the backyard of his old home. There, they followed a path into a clearing dotted here and there with bullseye targets, inlcuding one that was hidden behind a large boulder.

"What's this place?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke took a moment before answering. Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind all at once. Or more specifically, memories of...him. Feeling that familiar anger start to resurface, Sasuke clenched his fists.

"This, Naruto, is where Itachi and I used to train before I met you and Sakura at the Ninja Academy." Sasuke said, spitting out his brother's name as though it were the most disgusting word in existance.

"Itachi? Oh, you're older brother!" Naruto replied enthusiastically as realization hit him. Though he immediately piped down when he remembered that Itachi wasn't exactly a pleasant memory for Sasuke. "So then...I take it that was before he went rogue."

Sasuke nodded.

"Itachi was praised by all as the best mind of his generation. He graduated from the Ninja Academy after only one year at the age of 7, and at the top of his class at that. Then he mastered the Sharingan at age 8, became a Chunin at age 10, and became an ANBU captain at age 13. The entire clan praised him and he was next in line as the Uchiha Clan leader. I spent my childhood in his shadow. All my life, peopel expected so much out me. They expected me to one day fill my brother's shoes. So that's what I aimed for. He was the one person in life I ever looked up to." Ssuake explained.

"But I still don't understand. If all that is true, then why did he kill everyone? Didn't he show signs that something was wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, he did. He began to act hostile to the other clan members, he stopped attending clan meetings, and he actually began to speak out against the clan. There had even been a rumor that Itachi had something to do with the death of Shisui Uchiha, his closest friend. That rumor turned out to be true. Itachi drowned Shisui in the Nakano River and staged the murder as a suicide by forging a fake suicide note in Shisui's handwriting by using the Sharingan. I later found out that the Uchiha Clan had grown weary of Itachi's behavior as well, and had sent Shisui to spy on him. When that happened, everyone knew something was up with Itachi and they turned on him, even father deemed Itachi as a lost cause. As far as anyone knows, Itachi turned against his own flesh and blood because he wanted to prove how strong he was. And what better way than by killing his entire family, an elite ninja clan. Something in his head went horribly wrong, and he snapped. That's how I look at it."

A moment of silence passed between them before Sasuke began to speak again.

"That night is the reason this place is so special to me. It's a reminder of what I must do, a reminder of why I exist. I'm an avenger, Naruto. I have to avenge my clan and make that bastard pay for what he did. Hatred is the only other thing that connects me to him other than my blood. It's only a matter of time before I meet him again. And when that day comes, I want to be ready."

Another moment of silence passed before Sasuke let out a sigh.

"C'mon Naruto. Let's go home." Sasuke said before turning and walking back down the path.

Without needing to be told twice, Naruto quickly hurried behind Sasuke, not wanting to be left behind by himself.

At Naruto's request, the pair decided to take the long way home and enjoy more of their time together. So, by the time, they finally did return home, it had gotten kind of late and both were exhausted from walking.

"Ahhh, that was the best date ever!" Naruto said as he laid across his bed, his legs dangling over the side. "We should go on dates more often!"

"Yeah, if we ever have more time." Sasuke said after he'd slipped on the sweat pants he usually wore to bed. "Now move dobe, you're hogging the bed."

Naruto stuck his tongue out, but made room for Sasuke anyway. As he was about to slip into the covers beside his blonde significant other, Sasuke was stopped in mid action by Naruto's next question.

"Hey Sasuke, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what exactly does Itachi look like?" Naruto asked a little hesitantly. He didn't really want to ask since he knew Itachi was a sensitive subject for Sasuke, but he simply had to know.

Instead of getting mad like Naruto had anticipated, Sasuke stared at him for a moment before turning and picking up his discarded black pants. After fishing around in the pockets for a minute, Sasuke finally pulled out what he was looking for and handed the object to Naruto. The blonde-haired jinchuriki looked at it for a minute before finally taking it from Sasuke's hand an examining it.

It was a family portrait of Sasuke and his immediate family. On the left was a tall man with short, brown hair and onyx eyes. There were also creases under his eyes, which more prononced since he had a stern, serious look with his arms crossed over his chest. His attire consisted of a simple black robe with gray pants. To the right of the man was one of the most beautiful women Sasuke had ever seen. She had long hair with a slight bluish tint to it. Her eyes were onyx, like her husbands, though they had a warm look to them. The woman was basically what Sasuke would like if he had of been born a girl. To the right of her was Sasuke when he was 7 years old. His eyes were much more vibrant back then and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Despite the innocent family portrait, the boy on the far right was the one whom interested him the most. The boy's hair was the same length and color as his mother's, though it was tied up with the hair tie stopping directly below his head. His hair itself dropped down to frame both sides of his face. He looked to be around 17 and he had the same pitch-black eyes as everyone else in the picture, though his face betrayed no emotion. His most distinguishing features were the pronounce creases under his eyes, making him appear much older than he actually was. Even still, the resemblance to Sasuke was still obvious.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say the boy on the far right is Itachi." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded instead of replying verbally.

"You probably used to get this a lot, but you and him look almost exactly alike." Naruto pointed out.

"Yes, I know. And I hate it when people say that. Me and him may look alike, but we're far different, very different." Sasuke replied bitterly.

Seeing that Sasuke was getting agitated, Naruto decided to change the subject.

"Is that your dad? He looks so serious." Naruto commented.

"Actually, that's his normal facial expression. He rarely ever smiled back then, not even for a picture. He only used to smile at Itachi though." Sasuke said with a little resentment. 'Father always did like him better anyway.'

"And your mom looks prettier than my mom did! And I can see where you got your looks from too!" Naruto pointed out also. "She kind of looks like a feminine you."

Sasuke blushed slightly at that one and quickly took the picture from Naruto. He then laid it on the dresser and climbed into bed beside Naruto before turning out the lamp on the nightstand.

"Go to sleep Naruto."

Naruto shrugged and laid down with Sasuke pressed up against his back. For the next few minutes, the two simply laid there against each other in a comfortable silence until...

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"What is now, Naruto?" Sasuke replied, a bit agitated. He really just wanted to sleep now.

"Pervy Sage told me that he knew both of our mothers when they were alive."

"...So."

"And he told me that they were pregnant with us at the same time, except my mom had a later due date! Not only that, our moms were friends too! Then, years later, we became friends! Isn't that great?"

A moment of deafening silence.

"...Just shut-up and go to sleep Naruto."

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review. Also, I'd like to say thank you to NaKita since she gave me the idea for this chapter. Otherwise, it would've been a lot shorter. Peace out and stay tuned for the next chapter. The month long break is about over and the final round of the Chunin Exams should start in the next chapter if not the one after.