SPECIAL CHAPTER (A)
IMP NOTE: Not part of the original plot. It's just a mini story.

The snow fluttered down at Konoha bringing an unbearable chill in the valley. The Great Stone faces overlooked the valley as usual. If one looked closely they would be able to the seals that had been placed in order to make sure the snow didn't bother their mighty faces.

Naruto sat huddled up in his blankets not wanting to wake up. He hated the winter season. It meant that it was too cold to go outside and that he would be even hungrier than usual. He also had to save up his money wisely so that he could eat more and buy a handful of new socks.

It was perhaps the loneliest time of the year.

That was except for New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Eve the village would perform rituals with almost all the shinobi. Naruto barely saw Iruka sensei or any of the jonin. A grand festival was usually held on New Year's Eve and at midnight fireworks would light the skies over the Great Stone faces.

Not that Naruto would actually be able to go to the festival. Still, he enjoyed stealing some of the food, teasing the stall owners and pulling a good number of pranks. Afterwards he would go to the forest to lie back and watch the fireworks in peace.

One might think it would be lonesome. But since Naruto didn't know how most kids spent their New Year he accepted his fate as his normality.

Unwillingly he finally got out of bed and stretched. He looked over at his stash of cup ramens and was disappointed to find that there were none left.
Then he remembered something and made up his mind to go to Ichiraku. He pulled on some warm clothes and headed out.

As he walked through the streets he tried to enjoy himself my marvelling at the snow and staring at the forests in the distance. But no matter how hard he tried there was no way he could shut out the feeling that he was being watched by menacing eyes.

The New Year meant nothing special to Naruto.

Finally he made it to Ichiraku. He noticed a familiar figure as he entered. It was Sasuke.

Naruto was surprised for a moment. Naruto turned towards Sasuke and asked "Hey. What're you doing here?" After all, anyone who knows Sasuke would know he isn't a fan of ramen.

Sasuke looked back at him. "Oh...it's you" he said. His tone was strange, as if he was trying to sound disappointed but glad at the same time.

Then Teuchi, the ramen said "Welcome!" As he looked over from where he was boiling noodles he recognised Naruto. "Oh hey it's you! What do you want today kid?"

Naruto chuckled and from his pockets he took out an old coupon. It was due to expire next year and Naruto had cunningly saved it up till now. "I want something a bit more special today!"
"You got it!" said Teuchi. With that he got to work.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and asked him again "Why'd you come to Ichiraku. I thought you didn't like ramen."
"I don't hate ramen. I just prefer other things. I came here just for a change" he stated blandly.

Though that wasn't it.

In fact, the Uchiha had come because at the back of his mind he had wanted to see someone. His heart just could not help but remember that person's blonde hair, stunning blue eyes and cheery smile. No matter how hard he tried his brain just couldn't suppress those thoughts flowing into them.

Sasuke had not been able to see Naruto throughout winter. Most missions were cancelled and the days leading up to the New Year were usually peaceful anyway. Also Sasuke couldn't come up with a suitable reason to walk up to Naruto's door. Hence, he came to Ichiraku everyday to make it seem as though they had met by chance.

Naruto eyed him curiously for a second. Then he looked away peering over the counter to see if his ramen was ready.

As he waited he started talking "So...what're you doing for The New Year?" he asked Sasuke.

"Nothing special. I might go to the festival" he blandly replied. Then seeing Naruto's annoyed look he added "And you?"

"Oh...just watching the fireworks. Wish I could go to the festival" he said smiling sadly.

Sasuke doesn't need an explanation as to why he can't go.

Even though he doesn't care about the festival, Sasuke has always enjoyed the atmosphere. The festival was a cheerful event to look forward to. (Not to mention the good they sold at discount price) Even though the villagers eyed him with disgusted looks at least he wasn't thrown out.

And yet, this cheerful boy couldn't go and enjoy himself because he was shunned by all for something he couldn't control.

Several emotions surged inside Sasuke. Anger, disbelief, guilt, pity and...

"I'll take you to the festival"

The words came out of his mouth before he realised it. He silently cursed himself.

Naruto looked at him and his eyes lit up. He smiled "Really? Ok!"

At that moment his ramen was served. With a delighted cry he enthusiastically said "Itadakimasu!" and began eating.

The Uzumaki ate so fast that he finished before Sasuke who had already eaten half way through. He slurped down the soup, slammed the bowl down and sighed delightfully.

"Ahhhh! That was really good!" He stood up and said "Thanks old man!" Then he turned towards Sasuke "So when are we going to meet?" he asked eagerly.

"8 o'clock in the evening. I'll come pick you up" Sasuke said calmly.
"Alright. See you then!" said Naruto. He gave a bright smile and hurried off.

Sasuke's heart lifted almost immediately and he also gave a small smile.

The snow kept falling at the valley of Konoha.

For the first time in his life Naruto had something exciting he looked forward to. Celebrating New Year's with someone else was a first and it gave him an indescribable thrill that lit his soul.

Sasuke was also looking forward to spending the New Year with Naruto (even though he denied it). He remembered the days when his brother would take him to the festival and how much he enjoyed it. It had been years since he had decided to go out with someone.

'I am not going out with him!' Sasuke's mind interrupted. Though, for the rest of the day he really did act as though that was the case.

Finally the day of New Year's Eve arrived. The sky was cloudy, but the sun managed to peek through, sending its rays cascading down.

Naruto lazily opened his eyes and was about to go to back to sleep, when he finally remembered.

For the rest of the day he ate his favourite cup ramen, bought some second hand clothes and took off the seals on the Great Stone Faces. This resulted in the faces being covered in snow giving them a ghastly look. Iruka-sensei found him and was about to scold him but didn't.

"It's New Year's Eve so I won't say anything. Go and enjoy yourself but don't get into trouble" he said.

Naruto then went to Ichiraku for some more ramen. He ate four bowls and when Ayame asked why he was so excited he replied "I'm gonna hang out with someone at the festival. I'm looking forward to it a lot". He gave a smile and stared dreamily into the distance, wondering what kinds of food he would eat.

Ayame stared at him. Then a smirk crept upon her face. "Is it perhaps...a date?"

"Wha...NO!" he shouted. Ayame continued to tease him and didn't even hear Naruto saying that the person was a guy.

When Naruto went back home he decided to choose on what he would wear.

He tried on a couple of trousers and jackets while examining in the mirror. He changed into a few different pairs, tried mixing and matching them up and even tried on a few different scarves. After a while he combed through his hair with his fingers.

Still it wasn't enough. An unknown nervousness had crept into his heart. He wondered why he was being so picky. Usually he would just put on whatever he had and didn't care what others thought.

'Well I have to look good' he thought as he looked at the outfit he was wearing.
'It's just Sasuke?!' another part of his mind said.

As Naruto was struggling with his internal dilemma the doorbell rang.

"Ding dong"

'He's here!' thought Naruto. He scrambled over to the door almost tripping over a month old empty ramen cup.

Outside Sasuke stood waiting for the door to open and reveal the smiling blonde.

When it did open he was stunned.

There stood Naruto wearing a fiery red woolly jacket which had a golden collar and cuffs. It was matched with trousers of the same red shade along with a yellow scarf and, he wore black shoes.

Sasuke stared at him and thoughts came rushing into his head. The golden yellow matched with his blonde hair, the red looked so good against his skin and Naruto's head nestled adorably in the fluffy hood of the jacket.

'He looks...cute' he thought, finally settling on a word.
'Wait...why did I use that word?' he backtracked and thought to himself.

Naruto also stared at Sasuke. He was wearing something different than usual. A tight black high collared sweater with some dark blue diamond patterns wrapped around his body, outlining his figure. He wore matching black pants and black boots. Then on his left wrist was a beautiful polished silver watch which had a red strap. All in all, one could say he looked very elaegent.

'Like some high class pretty noble' thought Naruto.

His thoughts were interrupted as Sasuke presented him with a necklace.

Naruto blinked "For me?"he said in disbelief. He looked closely and saw that there was a tiny scroll hanging from it.

"Wear that around your neck" Sasuke instructed. "when you wear it people won't notice you as much. You'll be oblivious as long as you don't attract attention."

"Oh ok thanks" Naruto looked at the necklace curiously before wearing it and tucking it into his shirt.

"Well. Let's go" said Sasuke.

"Right! Lead the way!" said Naruto. He quickly locked the door and followed Sasuke.

They wound through streets and took shortcuts at countless different alleys. After a while Naruto didn't know where in the village they were. He shivered, his breath casting misty smoke in the chilly night. He sighed, as they walked out of another alley. He looked up to see where they were.

Naruto stared in awe.

Lanterns had been strung across the top of every building, lighting up the street. Shops selling dumplings, sushi, barbeque, sweets, candies and all other kinds of food were on the streets. Then more shops selling, dresses, cardigans, jackets, scarves, beautiful jewellery, books and a variety of decorative items.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and his heart cried out.

He had a brilliant gleam in his eyes, his face lit up with excitement and he smiled.
Sasuke could easily tell that his smile was of pure real happiness.

"Hey let's try some of those dumplings!" Naruto said. He fished his pockets for his wallet and then froze.

"Oh man! I left my wallet back home!" he cried. He had completely forgotten about it somehow.

"I'll pay" said Sasuke.
"Huh? "Is that okay?" Naruto said looking at him strangely.
"You owe me" Sasuke quickly added.
"Alright, alright. But since you told me not to attract attention..." Naruto began.

Sasuke went over to the stall and bought the dumplings. He came back and gave them to Naruto who thanked him with a smile and then began devouring them.

Sasuke's heart warmed seeing him happy.

After that they ate fried sausages and barbeque where Naruto dipped his sausage in Sasuke's sauce, since he had finished his. After that they ate lots of sushi and even Sasuke gorged on some fried rice. Then they ate a handful of desserts including sweets buns, cakes, rice pudding and something called chocolate which even Sasuke took a liking to.

The young woman selling the chocolates looked at Sasuke and thought 'My, what a handsome young man'. This young boy brought a smile to her face. 'So adorable'.

So she picked a handful of extra chocolates and gave them to Sasuke. "Here take these as well. It is New Year's Eve after all".
Sasuke thanked her and went to where Naruto was. No one noticed him; it was as if he was a shadow.

Since Sasuke had already eaten enough, he handed the chocolates over to Naruto. He happily took the chocolates and began unwrapping and eating them. After the third one he finally realised that they were heart shaped.
'Huh why would he buy this for me?' he thought. He felt something stuck in his throat and his heart gave a lurch. He looked over at Sasuke and a sudden urge overcame him.

"Hey Sasuke"
"Wha-"

He was cut off as Naruto shoved a heart shaped chocolate into his mouth.
"He heh. That lady gave them to you so you should have some" Naruto giggled.

Sasuke bit off the chocolate. "Dobe. I don't want anymore of this" he said, holding the half eaten chocolate between his fingers. He was about to throw it but Naruto grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Hey! Don't throw it away it would be such a waste" said Naruto.

So he moved his head forwards and ate the chocolate.

Sasuke flinched. The feeling of Naruto's lips on his fingers made his skin jump. He quickly retracted his hand, his skin still tingling.

Naruto happily ate the chocolate and smiled. For some reason eating a half-eaten chocolate was really satisfying.

They walked together for a while further into the heart of the festival until they reached a place that was crowded with people. It seemed there was a performance. Naruto eagerly went forward but it was too crowded. Sasuke grabbed his hand and pointed upwards. They jumped up to an empty rooftop and sat on the ledge just as the performance began.

The first performance was a group of traditional dancers along with some skilful musicians. They began playing a cheery folk tune and the dancers began performing.

Though the music had no lyrics and the dancers did not sing, it was as though they told a thousand stories. Stories of a beautiful sky were the stars smiled, of high mountains where goddesses ruled, of heavenly meadow where all beautiful flowers bloomed, of deep caves where gems glittered and glowed. The dancers, with their fluttering robes of many colours twirled gracefully as if hypnotised by the music.

Finally the performance ended. The crowd applauded and cheered as the dancers bowed and left the stage.

Up on the rooftop, Naruot swung his legs and applauded along with the crowd. "That was amazing!" he remarked.

The second performance was announced and a group filed in. They turned out to be performers from a foreign land. The crowd murmured excitedly. This was apparently something new and unique, different from the usual traditional dancing.

They began acting out a play which they called "Romeo and Juliet".

The crowd watched intently gasping at the right moments and marvelling at the dresses that the actors wore. Most were surprised at the fluent Japanese that they spoke and the story of the play.

At last when Romeo and Juliet died the crowd became silent and others cried their hearts out. The curtains closed and the crowd applauded earnestly.

Naruto sniffled and wiped his tears "I didn't get most of that...but...it was so beautiful!" he cried. "Why'd they have to die..."

From the left a blue patterned handkerchief was given to him. Naruto took it and thanked Sasuke. "I'll wash it and return it" he promised.
"Keep it" said Sasuke.
"Hm...? Okay. Thanks" he replied.
Sasuke saw Naruto and felt his chest expanding and tingling at the same time.

On stage the same performers had now arranged the stage where a whole group of musicians with strange instruments sat on chairs. They began playing a cheery song while the other performers began dancing. They danced strangely, with an arm on the shoulder and hands linked together.

"How are they dancing like that?" wondered Naruto. He looked towards Sasuke who shrugged.

Naruto growled disappointingly "Boring teme..." Then he went towards him and grabbed his hand linking it together. "And...something like this" he said putting his other hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Then what?" he wondered.

Sasuke looked at the blonde and into his eyes. His heart gave a tiny little jump and the curious look on his face gave him a thrilling feeling. He sighed and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Here, this is how you do it" he instructed

It certainly took a while, and Sasuke barely avoided getting his feet stepped on. But surprisingly, they soon got the hang of it.

"Hey this is actually pretty easy" said Naruto. They moved back and looked into each other's eyes. Naruto looked at a handsome face of onyx eyes and soft skin, encircled by beautiful dark locks. His heart skipped a beat and he gave a blushing smile.

Sasuke looked at the captivating blue eyes and felt something bubbling inside of him. A wave of desire that threatened to burst out and engulf his mind. When Naruto blushed and smiled his heart hammered against his chest, the unexplained desire burst like an explosion and his mind stopped working.