Itachi, Suigetsu and Me: WE'RE BACK! ^_^
Me: Exams were a pain in the rear end but now it's finally over!
Suigetsu: We're back with a brand new chapter. Sorry we kept you guys waiting!
Itachi: This one is all about Naruto and Sasuke. –Chuckles evilly-
Sasuke: -twitch- Not funny, Itachi!
Me: Non-yaoi, by the way.
Sasuke: -sighs with relief-
Suigetsu: And don't worry; we'll try to update ASAP! :D
CHAPTER 12-My Best Friend; Uzumaki Naruto
The rays of the morning sun peeped through the curtains of Sakura's windows. Sasuke woke up and stretched as he yawned. The clock on the bed-side table on his side read 8:15 a.m. Then he realized that Sakura wasn't there. He looked around the room but she wasn't there. His clothes were neatly folded on the edge of the bed and had her house keys and a note on top.
Sasuke opened the note and read what Sakura had written, "I'm sorry."
Sasuke shook his head and sighed. He showered in Sakura's bathroom and put on his clothes. Sakura had left the house. He locked the door and hid the keys under a flower pot outside her door. As he drove home, he couldn't help but think about Sakura. She was acting differently; like she was never going to see him again.
A cold fist closed over Sasuke's heart. What if Sakura left to investigate on her own? What if she was in danger? Sasuke slammed his fist on the steering wheel and glared at the road in front of him.
After he pulled up in front of his house, he noticed that both his father's and Itachi's cars were not there. That would mean he would be home alone with his mother. Sasuke tried to open the door but it was locked. He groaned. Great; his mom was out too and now he was locked outside his own house.
His cell phone started to buzz; it was Naruto.
"Hn." Sasuke said monotonously as he answered the phone.
"Yo teme," Naruto yelled. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Stop being so loud Dobe." Sasuke replied, annoyed.
"Listen," said Naruto. "As your best friend I'm concerned about you."
Sasuke scoffed, "How nice."
"I'm serious," Naruto said in a serious tone; all the hyper-activeness in his voice was gone. "You've been acting very weird lately and I know it's something related to Sakura-chan. I'm not forcing you to tell me but just . . . stop holding back. Talk to me about it if you want. I don't like seeing you like this, man. Tell you what; how about you come over to my place right now?"
Sasuke sighed, "Fine. My mom's gone and I'm locked out any ways."
Naruto laughed at this, "Poor teme! Oh and bring some ramen when you come!" And with that, he hung up. Sasuke shook his head; Naruto has to use the word ramen at least once when he talks. Sasuke often asked himself why Naruto was his best friend.
Sasuke drove to the Namikaze household after buying two ramen cups from a nearby grocery store. It was the same with Naruto's folks; they weren't home.
Sasuke was about to knock but the door opened itself, revealing Naruto with his 4 year old cousin, Konohamaru, sleeping on his back. Naruto was wearing black boxers and a pale yellow t-shirt that had a picture of a ramen bowl on it.
Naruto grinned, "Hey teme. Let's go to my room."
Sasuke nodded and the two of them headed upstairs.
"Your folks are out too huh?" said Sasuke.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah. The presidents are having another meeting and my mom's out for shopping; probably with your mom."
Naruto tucked Konohamaru in his parents' bedroom and the two went to Naruto's room.
It was orange in color and had many pictures of bands, basketball players and ramen bowls. It consisted of a bed (with ramen bed sheets), a shelf full of basketball, football, table tennis and ramen-eating contest trophies, a dressing mirror, a window with orange and black curtains, a big closet and a study table with a laptop on it.
Sasuke had been to Naruto's place many times so he was familiar with the place. He smirked, "For someone as gross and immature as you, I must say you've learned to keep clean."
Naruto pouted, "Shut up! It's not my fault my mom's so darn scary. Damn it! Don't tell her I said that or else I'm toast."
"Hn." Sasuke said as he sat on the chair. "Hinata must have taught you a thing or two as well." Naruto and Hinata were finally going out after Naruto got the guts to ask her out. At first, Neji was totally against it but eventually he was okay with it as he wanted to see his beloved cousin happy.
Naruto grinned sheepishly, "You could say that."
He opened his closet and pulled out a black track pant and a navy blue one. He held them up to Sasuke, "Which one do you think I should wear?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "What are you, a girl? Just put on any one of them. It's not that you won't be a Dobe, whatever you wear."
"Shut up teme!" Naruto yelled.
Konohamaru opened the door of Naruto's room. He rubbed his eyes, "Naruto-nii, you're so loud."
"The kid's right, you know." Sasuke muttered.
Naruto gave Sasuke a glare and went to pick up Konohamaru, "Sorry Konohamaru. Tell you what; you back to sleep and when you wake up, we'll go out for ice cream."
"Ice cream," Konohamaru said with a lazy grin. He yawned and laid his head on Naruto's shoulder. "Nii-san's treat . . . Cookies and cream . . . "
Naruto left the room to put Konohamaru back into bed in his parents' room. When he came back, he put on his black track pant and put his blue one back after folding it neatly.
Sasuke raised an eye brow at Naruto, "Since when do you fold your clothes? You usually throw them in."
"Mom." He said glumly as he closed the closet door.
Naruto sat cross legged on the bed, "So . . . what's up teme?"
"The ceiling." Sasuke said flatly.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke, "That's not what I meant! I mean . . . what's been bothering you lately?"
Sasuke sighed as he opened the ramen cups and poured some hot water from a small boiler in Naruto's room ("For emergency ramen needs." He had said.) Naruto held up his hands defensively, "Look, if you don't want to talk about it . . . "
"Things have been complicated," Sasuke replied. Naruto stared at his best friend. "I just . . . I don't know what to do anymore."
"Well," Naruto started to say. "Why don't you tell Sakura how you feel?"
"I can't Naruto," Sasuke said as he handed Naruto a ramen cup. "She's already got tons of . . . 'stuff' going on. I don't want to burden her anymore."
After a brief silence, Naruto spoke.
"Don't be selfish teme," said Naruto. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. Naruto slurped his ramen. "If she has a lot of 'stuff' going on, why aren't you helping her? It may seem like you're holding back for her own good but from my point of view, it seems like you enjoy watching her carry the burden on her own. I thought you were better than this, man."
Sasuke looked at Naruto, baffled. Sakura was going through a lot and all he was doing was pulling away when he knew somewhere deep down, that as strong as she may be, she needed help; his help. He stirred his ramen as he looked out of Naruto's window, "I didn't realize . . . "
"Well now you do," Naruto said with a grin. "And I think it's about time you did something about it. Tell her, teme. It will be for the best."
"What if she isn't ready?" Sasuke asked as he looked into Naruto's cerulean eyes.
"Then she never will be," Naruto replied. He put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "That's your cue to move on."
"But I don't want to," Sasuke said stubbornly. "I don't want to let her go or move on."
Naruto sighed, "You're right; it is complicated, what you're going through. But the best thing to do right now is to tell her how you feel; for better or for worst. And remember Sasuke, I'm always here to watch your back." Sasuke nodded in thanks.
"So teme," said Naruto. "You weren't home last night, right? So where were you?"
"I was at Sakura's." Sasuke replied.
"And?" Naruto prompted.
"We did . . . stuff together." Sasuke said slowly.
"What kind of stuff?" Naruto said as he gave Sasuke a suspicious look.
"Well . . . we . . . why should I tell you?" Sasuke said as he gave Naruto a glare. This was getting more and more awkward by the minute.
Naruto gasped dramatically and fell off the bed. He stood up and looked at Sasuke, "You guys did it?"
"So what if we did?" Sasuke replied as he looked away, trying to hide the blush that was slowly creeping up on his cheeks.
"But if you guys did it," said Naruto. "Doesn't that mean you guys are a couple? Who initiated it anyway?"
"She did." Sasuke replied.
"And did you ask her why?" Naruto asked Sasuke.
Sasuke was silent. Naruto shook his head in disbelief, "So that's it? You just let her walk away? Man, teme, and I thought I was the stupid one!"
"She left okay!" Sasuke snapped as he stood up from the chair. Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke sighed as he ran his hand through his raven locks. "I wanted to ask her about . . . our relationship but she wasn't there in the morning. She left a note saying she was sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke shook his head, "I don't know, Naruto. And it's going to give me a major migraine.
Naruto stood up from the bed and walked over to Sasuke, "Sasuke, she might be gone forever. You have to find her and tell her. Like I said; it's for better or for worst but you have to take the risk."
"I'm . . . I feel . . ." Sasuke struggled for words.
Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Listen, it's okay to be scared. But you have to face your fears sooner or later. Nobody's perfect; not even you, Uchiha Sasuke!" Naruto gave Sasuke a toothy smile and Sasuke gave a smirk which was close to a smile.
The two shared a guy hug. It was brief but had meaning. This was the reason Sasuke and Naruto were best friends; the two shared an unbreakable bond and understood each other perfectly. They were complete opposites, yet no one knew them better them each other.
Naruto pulled away and gave a cheeky grin, "Don't tell anyone about that, teme; God knows what will happen if people found out I . . . hugged you!" Naruto shivered at the thought.
Sasuke smirked, "Wasn't planning on it. I'd die if anyone found out I hugged a Dobe." He winced when he said 'hugged.'
For the next few hours, the two played video games and listened to music. After Konohamaru woke up, they all went out for ice cream. They took Sasuke's car and they were on their way. Naruto, who was in the front seat with Konohamaru on his lap, was singing.
"I scream, you scream. We all scream for ice cream!" They sang in union.
Sasuke groaned, "Will you to shut up for five minutes?"
"Only if you treat us!" Konohamaru said mischievously. Naruto hooted and high-fived his cousin; the kid was a miniature Naruto with black hair and eyes.
"Fine," Sasuke muttered. "Just be quiet." The two quieted down and after about two minutes, Naruto broke the silence and suddenly screamed.
"Stop the car!" He yelled. Sasuke stomped on the breaks and they all jerked forward. Sasuke glared at Naruto, "What the hell, Dobe?"
Naruto opened the door and Sasuke and Konohamaru watched as Naruto ran . . . towards Hinata who was walking down the street.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he hugged his blushing girlfriend. "Let's go out for ice cream!"
Sasuke and Konohamaru sweat-dropped at Naruto's behavior. Konohamaru sighed, "Nii-san can be very weird sometimes."
Sasuke couldn't agree more. But he wouldn't have it any other way. He smirked as Naruto dragged Hinata over to the car.
'Thank you, Naruto.' Sasuke thought to himself.
Me: What do you think?
Naruto: HORRIBLE! DAMN IT, YOU MADE ME HUG TEME!
Sasuke: Why the hell does everything have to be with Dobe?
Naruto: That's my line, teme!
Me: -snaps my finger and the two of them shuts up-
Itachi: Hmmm . . . not too short-
Suigetsu: But not too long either. I say the length is okay.
Itachi: Agreed.
Me: Well, we'll try to make the next chapter longer. Please leave a feedback.
Ita, Sui and Me: PLEASE REVIEW! ^_^