Author: Talais
Title: Naruto's Aniki. Chapter 4
Disclaimer: they aren't mine, they belong to their creator, much like this fic belongs to me. He gets to keep his stuff let me keep mine! Don't sue.
Parings: Naruto and Sasuke, and the Kyuubi. No sex yet.
On to the fic
____________________
Sasuke had been swimming for a ten minutes or so, he had even walked back up to the cliff ledge to dive a few more times. Sasuke loved to swim; when he had been younger his parents had called him their little Koi.(1) It was a fond, but painful memory. It hurt that he would never see his parents again, but that hadn't stopped his love of the water and swimming. But today, it brought him no joy. The feel of water sliding along his skin as he swam usually excited him. He loved skinny-dipping. But today, today he could feel that he was alone, truly alone. //Naruto why didn't you come swimming?// It was that thought that stole all the pleasure of swimming and diving, the fact that Naruto wasn't here.
//I don't need him to have fun! I use to have fun before I made friends with him.// Sasuke knew it for a lie though, //I trained, before I met Naruto. Have I ever had fun since that day?// Sasuke stopped thinking about it, it hurt to think about it.
"I can have fun without Naruto!" He said aloud, thinking that speaking it would make it so. All it did was punctuate that he was alone, no one was there to listen to him, it didn't help that a little voice in his head seemed to be laughing at him. //It just isn't as fun as when he's around.//
Sasuke climbed the cliff for the last time and went over to his clothes. He didn't bother to dry off since he wanted to catch up to Naruto. He had only been swimming for a quarter of an hour, shorter than he usually would have if Naruto had been there. //If I run, I bet I can catch him before he even gets back to camp.// Sasuke wiped off the water that was still dripping off his slim body, and pulled on his clothes.
Taking a look around, he smirked as he easily found the path that Naruto had made. //Well that's one difference between us. I leave nothing behind me to say I was ever here, Naruto leaves a path a mile wide.// Sasuke wasn't sure why, but thinking like that made him feel uncomfortable.
Sasuke jumped up into the tree and followed the path of his friend. It still sounded odd, calling Naruto his friend. //I never wanted any friends. Till now that is.// Sasuke smiled. //And now that I want Naruto to notice me he runs off.//
Sasuke jumped easily from tree to tree, he noticed that Naruto had started to head in the wrong direction, going too far to the south to get back to the campsite. //That baka, he's lost and I bet he doesn't even realize it yet.// Sasuke followed the trail and was surprised when he saw it veer back towards the campsite. //He did realize he was lost!// Sasuke was disappointed. //I wanted to rescue him.// Maybe Sakura was right; maybe Naruto was rubbing off on him.
Sasuke stopped again when Naruto's path seemed to go off course again, this time though he could here the boy talking, //Who is Naruto talking to? It isn't Kakashi, is it?// That thought put speed to his feet. He didn't really trust Kakashi; he had seen their sensei watching them spar. His eye always seems to follow him.
*
Naruto looked at Naruto, or the Kyuubi, He could sense the powerful chakra, but only minimally, he was sure that anyone 5 feet away would only confuse which was the real Naruto and which the clone. "Well it worked!" Naruto smiled at the clone of himself, those blood red eyes staring back. "It's nice to finally meet you." Naruto grinned.
"You are truly amazing Naruto, and very trusting." The Kyuubi said. "I could leave here. With this body I could easily break the seal that holds me." Naruto looked down at his toes as the Kyuubi went on, "I could destroy those who betrayed me. The ones I was supposed to trust."
Naruto was now studying his hands. It felt odd not having the Kyuubi's presence in him, empty like a whole part of him was missing. "I know, but you won't." Naruto's voice was soft, this was his Aniki after all, and he didn't have to be afraid of him. He knew that his Aniki would never betray him.
"Why do you say that? I am a demon; I've killed thousands of people. I changed the landscape with my rage." The Kyuubi's voice was quiet, like silk covering sharp steel. "I could destroy you where you stand and no one would know."
Naruto looked up at his Aniki then, meeting his gaze levelly. "You won't, because you promised to behave if it worked, and because I know that my Aniki won't hurt me." Naruto wanted to back away from those eyes; they looked like Sasuke's the same colour at least. Those eyes seemed to burn with a fire that made Naruto realize just how weak he truly was.
Naruto almost jumped when the Kyuubi moved. He would have jumped, except that the speed in which the Kyuubi moved was faster than his reflexes. Naruto felt fear then as those arms encircled him, //No he won't hurt me! He won't!// Naruto thought to himself fiercely. It came as a surprise to the blonde boy when those arms squeezed him gently against his other self, in a warm embrace. "You're right, I will never harm you. My Naruto."
Naruto seemed to sag against his Aniki's arms. He had been hugged before by Iruka-sensei, but for some reason this felt different. Naruto knew that Iruka-sensei looked at him as a student, someone that needed comfort because of similar pasts. //But Aniki is my family.// Naruto wrapped his arms around his Aniki. //So this is what having family feels like!//
Naruto felt Aniki pull out of the embrace, he looked up and smiled at him, "So you wanna go in?" Naruto asked, he had to scrub his face to wipe away a few tears that he hadn't been able to hold back.
The glint in Aniki's eyes made them seem mischievous, "I have wanted to jump in a hot spring for ages." Suiting his own words the Kyuubi shed his clothes and jumped into the hot waters of the spring. Naruto wasn't far behind him. //It's weird seeing my self naked, man I have a nice ass!// the thought made Naruto laugh nervously, //I'm getting turned on by my own body.//
There were ledges worn into the rock of the pool, making smooth benches to relax on, sinking in till only their mouths and noses were above the water Naruto let out a relived sigh. His muscles relaxed and loosened as the warm water seeped into his body.
Sitting back up he started to talk to his Aniki about everything that he could think of. The Kyuubi laughed at the pranks that he had watched Naruto pull and suggested a few more that he might try. Naruto was a little worried though, he wanted to go and get Sasuke. He wanted to have his friend meet his Aniki, but he knew he couldn't, the glow that emanated from his seal was enough to stop him from going back to get the dark haired shinobi.
Naruto stopped thinking about Sasuke; it did funny things to him when he thought of the other boy, things that only had happened when he had thought of Sakura before. //Although she hasn't made that happen in weeks.//
Naruto and the Kyuubi soaked for a few minutes. Both of them sighed, relaxing in the warm waters. "You haven't said anything in five minutes Naruto. That must be a record!" Sasuke's voice seemed to drift quite loudly out of the mist.
//Sasuke's voice! Shit Aniki!// ~~I'm here, I felt his presence a moment ago and undid the jutsu.~~ //Did he see you?// Naruto asked. ~~I don't know. Think he heard anything?~~
Naruto swallowed, if Sasuke had heard him call his clone Aniki there might be some difficult questions. "Sasuke is that you?" Naruto asked, //Maybe he hadn't seen the Kyuubi.// "Look what I found!" //I hope he isn't mad that I didn't go tell him about the hot spring.//
Sasuke came to the edge of the pool so Naruto could see him clearly. If you could have an expression like a rock wall, Sasuke's face looked like it. "It's nice, I didn't mean to interrupt you and your clone's prank conversation." Sasuke turned away from the boy sitting neck deep in the steamy water. "I'll see you back at camp." //Why? Why did he lie about going back to the camp! He can't have known this was here. So why wouldn't he come and tell me, doesn't he want me around?//
//Damn, damn, damn, damn!// Naruto shouted the curses through his mind, "Wait! Sasuke wait, I can explain!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke's back.
"No need I get it, have fun dobe." Sasuke put as mush anger and malice he could into his voice, he had to. His eyes burned with tears.
Naruto heard the anger in his friend's voice, as it faded into the mist. //I can't lose Sasuke now!// Jumping up from the hot spring, the blonde ran after Sasuke, //I can fix this, he just misunderstood.// "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted hoping that the taller boy would answer.
Sasuke heard Naruto call out for him but ignored it. //He doesn't need me; he can talk to his clones.// Sasuke thought savagely. A twig snapped under Sasuke's foot and he cursed himself for being careless. The next instant Sasuke heard the rustle of grass as Naruto launched himself toward the sound of the broken twig.
Sasuke jumped out of the boy's path but not completely, ending up over balanced he tripped over a stone and landed hard on the ground. "Piss off Naruto! What do you need me for; you have yourself to talk too!" Sasuke's voice cracked as he fought emotions that seemed to be choking him.
Sasuke tried to get to his feet but Naruto was faster and tackled him back to the ground. "GET OFF!" Sasuke shouted struggling to kick the blonde off him.
Naruto forced chakra into his hands like he had when he and Sasuke had learned to climb the trees. Pinning both of Sasuke's arms above his head, next he straddled Sasuke's legs so that he could hold the boy still, and explain what was happening. "Sasuke wait!"
Sasuke tried to heave the Naruto off of himself, a very naked and wet Naruto, Sasuke noticed. "GET OFF ME DOBE!" Sasuke shouted, //Good, if I shout my voice sounds normal.//
"No," Naruto replied his voice sounding hurt and desperate. "You don't understand I wasn't trying to ditch you!"
"Then why were you in that pool? Why did you lie and say you were going back to the camp!?" Sasuke's voice shook, //Why does it hurt so much, other people have lied to me, why does it hurt when he does?//
"I didn't lie, I was going back to the camp, but I got lost and then Aniki corrected me and I found the hot spring. I was going to go get you but I couldn't. I thought that I could wait for you here. I figured by then it wouldn't matter. I thought that you would be in swimming for a few hours. It only takes an hour to go away so I though it would be fine. I thought that I could let Aniki out so we could talk." Naruto spoke quickly so that Sasuke wouldn't cut him off. //I can't cry now, he'll think I'm a baby!// The tears came anyway, running off his noise to drip onto Sasuke's face below him. "You're my friend I wouldn't lie to you! I just couldn't let you see..." Naruto realized what he was saying and clamped his hands to his mouth to stop from saying any more.
With his hands free Sasuke sat up, making Naruto sit back on his heels. Now he was face to face with the naked boy sitting in his lap.
//Shit did I just say that out loud?// Naruto thought. ~~Yes~~ the small shinobi groaned, //You don't have to sound amused about it!// He yelled at the Kyuubi.
"What, you don't have a brother! At least not one that I know about, and definitely not in the forest," Sasuke's voice was calm, although it took all his effort to make it that way. He was trying not to look down, //Naruto is sitting on me. Naked.// Sasuke wasn't sure why that thought sounded so happy. Maybe Naruto wouldn't notice.
"Uh, what I meant was," Naruto racked his mind trying to think up an explanation. //Why is Sasuke looking down?// Naruto looked down to see what had caught his friend's attention. Naruto flew off of Sasuke's lap when he realized he was still naked. Worse than that though, he had been using chakra to hold Sasuke down and his seal glowed against his tanned skin.
Sasuke had an amused grin on his face, //I don't think he is any bigger than me.// A sweat dropped formed at the side of Sasuke's forehead, //Why are you thinking about size, you should be asking why he has a seal on his stomach!//
Sasuke stood up and caught Naruto's arm before the boy could run away. "What's that?" Sasuke asked pointing at Naruto's navel.
"Sasuke if you don't know what that is, what the hell have you been doing with yours?" Naruto said, //Maybe he'll think I can't see the seal.//
Sasuke turned an amazing shade of red, "Not that, this!" This time he touched the seal on Naruto's stomach. A stray thought went through his head as he touched the other boy's stomach. //Naruto's in good shape.// It was a thought that Sasuke smothered quickly, he could still feel his face heating up though. //Just cause he trains and his body is all muscle doesn't mean I should start thinking about it!//
Naruto sighed, //Well it was nice having a friend while it lasted.// "It's a seal." Naruto felt lost, he and Sasuke were just starting to get to know each other and now Sasuke was going to hate him. //Oh well I can't blame him, who would want to be friends with the Kyuubi?//
~~You did.~~ Aniki's voice had a reassuring sound to it. ~~He might too.~~
"A seal, it looks really strong, I've never seen one with five elements in it." Sasuke squatted down to get a closer look at it. He stood up again almost instantly. //That's right get down to eye level with it. He's still naked you idiot!// Sasuke wondered idly if his face would ever stop burning. //Well he definitely isn't any bigger than me......... Shut UP!// Sasuke shouted at himself.
Sasuke wanted to ask what it was for, what it was sealing, but Naruto seemed to hunch over. Almost like he was trying to draw in on himself. Sasuke had seen Naruto like this before. When the people of Konoha village shouted at Naruto, when they told the boy he was worthless. Sasuke wanted to know what the seal was but he wanted Naruto for a friend more. //He can tell me what it seals when he wants too.// "Well that's cool I guess, does it always glow like that?"
"I've always had it the...." Naruto's head shot up and he stared at Sasuke. "What did you say?"
"I asked if it always glows?" Sasuke repeated. He had to focus on Naruto's face. When he looked at the seal he could see more that just the odd looking tattoo, and his shorts were feeling a little uncomfortably tight.
"Oh, no it only glows when I use my chakra. Usually it doesn't even show up." Naruto wanted to hug Sasuke for not asking but stopped and decided to look for his clothes instead. "If I work really hard it shows up too, but it doesn't glow. I always thought it was a weird birthmark." //Shut up, lets not make him any more curious that he already is.// Naruto found his boxers and pulled them on. //Where are my pants?//
Sasuke helped Naruto find the rest of his scattered clothes, when the boy was finally dressed Sasuke yawned. "We probably ought to get back; it's getting late."
Naruto nodded, "I bet Sakura thinks I am out here trying to beat you to death." Naruto laughed, and he realized that it was a real laugh. He didn't have to hide that his feelings were hurt by Sakura's accusation, he noticed that he really didn't care what Sakura thought any more.
------------------
1. Koi = a Japanese carp.
Title: Naruto's Aniki. Chapter 4
Disclaimer: they aren't mine, they belong to their creator, much like this fic belongs to me. He gets to keep his stuff let me keep mine! Don't sue.
Parings: Naruto and Sasuke, and the Kyuubi. No sex yet.
On to the fic
____________________
Sasuke had been swimming for a ten minutes or so, he had even walked back up to the cliff ledge to dive a few more times. Sasuke loved to swim; when he had been younger his parents had called him their little Koi.(1) It was a fond, but painful memory. It hurt that he would never see his parents again, but that hadn't stopped his love of the water and swimming. But today, it brought him no joy. The feel of water sliding along his skin as he swam usually excited him. He loved skinny-dipping. But today, today he could feel that he was alone, truly alone. //Naruto why didn't you come swimming?// It was that thought that stole all the pleasure of swimming and diving, the fact that Naruto wasn't here.
//I don't need him to have fun! I use to have fun before I made friends with him.// Sasuke knew it for a lie though, //I trained, before I met Naruto. Have I ever had fun since that day?// Sasuke stopped thinking about it, it hurt to think about it.
"I can have fun without Naruto!" He said aloud, thinking that speaking it would make it so. All it did was punctuate that he was alone, no one was there to listen to him, it didn't help that a little voice in his head seemed to be laughing at him. //It just isn't as fun as when he's around.//
Sasuke climbed the cliff for the last time and went over to his clothes. He didn't bother to dry off since he wanted to catch up to Naruto. He had only been swimming for a quarter of an hour, shorter than he usually would have if Naruto had been there. //If I run, I bet I can catch him before he even gets back to camp.// Sasuke wiped off the water that was still dripping off his slim body, and pulled on his clothes.
Taking a look around, he smirked as he easily found the path that Naruto had made. //Well that's one difference between us. I leave nothing behind me to say I was ever here, Naruto leaves a path a mile wide.// Sasuke wasn't sure why, but thinking like that made him feel uncomfortable.
Sasuke jumped up into the tree and followed the path of his friend. It still sounded odd, calling Naruto his friend. //I never wanted any friends. Till now that is.// Sasuke smiled. //And now that I want Naruto to notice me he runs off.//
Sasuke jumped easily from tree to tree, he noticed that Naruto had started to head in the wrong direction, going too far to the south to get back to the campsite. //That baka, he's lost and I bet he doesn't even realize it yet.// Sasuke followed the trail and was surprised when he saw it veer back towards the campsite. //He did realize he was lost!// Sasuke was disappointed. //I wanted to rescue him.// Maybe Sakura was right; maybe Naruto was rubbing off on him.
Sasuke stopped again when Naruto's path seemed to go off course again, this time though he could here the boy talking, //Who is Naruto talking to? It isn't Kakashi, is it?// That thought put speed to his feet. He didn't really trust Kakashi; he had seen their sensei watching them spar. His eye always seems to follow him.
*
Naruto looked at Naruto, or the Kyuubi, He could sense the powerful chakra, but only minimally, he was sure that anyone 5 feet away would only confuse which was the real Naruto and which the clone. "Well it worked!" Naruto smiled at the clone of himself, those blood red eyes staring back. "It's nice to finally meet you." Naruto grinned.
"You are truly amazing Naruto, and very trusting." The Kyuubi said. "I could leave here. With this body I could easily break the seal that holds me." Naruto looked down at his toes as the Kyuubi went on, "I could destroy those who betrayed me. The ones I was supposed to trust."
Naruto was now studying his hands. It felt odd not having the Kyuubi's presence in him, empty like a whole part of him was missing. "I know, but you won't." Naruto's voice was soft, this was his Aniki after all, and he didn't have to be afraid of him. He knew that his Aniki would never betray him.
"Why do you say that? I am a demon; I've killed thousands of people. I changed the landscape with my rage." The Kyuubi's voice was quiet, like silk covering sharp steel. "I could destroy you where you stand and no one would know."
Naruto looked up at his Aniki then, meeting his gaze levelly. "You won't, because you promised to behave if it worked, and because I know that my Aniki won't hurt me." Naruto wanted to back away from those eyes; they looked like Sasuke's the same colour at least. Those eyes seemed to burn with a fire that made Naruto realize just how weak he truly was.
Naruto almost jumped when the Kyuubi moved. He would have jumped, except that the speed in which the Kyuubi moved was faster than his reflexes. Naruto felt fear then as those arms encircled him, //No he won't hurt me! He won't!// Naruto thought to himself fiercely. It came as a surprise to the blonde boy when those arms squeezed him gently against his other self, in a warm embrace. "You're right, I will never harm you. My Naruto."
Naruto seemed to sag against his Aniki's arms. He had been hugged before by Iruka-sensei, but for some reason this felt different. Naruto knew that Iruka-sensei looked at him as a student, someone that needed comfort because of similar pasts. //But Aniki is my family.// Naruto wrapped his arms around his Aniki. //So this is what having family feels like!//
Naruto felt Aniki pull out of the embrace, he looked up and smiled at him, "So you wanna go in?" Naruto asked, he had to scrub his face to wipe away a few tears that he hadn't been able to hold back.
The glint in Aniki's eyes made them seem mischievous, "I have wanted to jump in a hot spring for ages." Suiting his own words the Kyuubi shed his clothes and jumped into the hot waters of the spring. Naruto wasn't far behind him. //It's weird seeing my self naked, man I have a nice ass!// the thought made Naruto laugh nervously, //I'm getting turned on by my own body.//
There were ledges worn into the rock of the pool, making smooth benches to relax on, sinking in till only their mouths and noses were above the water Naruto let out a relived sigh. His muscles relaxed and loosened as the warm water seeped into his body.
Sitting back up he started to talk to his Aniki about everything that he could think of. The Kyuubi laughed at the pranks that he had watched Naruto pull and suggested a few more that he might try. Naruto was a little worried though, he wanted to go and get Sasuke. He wanted to have his friend meet his Aniki, but he knew he couldn't, the glow that emanated from his seal was enough to stop him from going back to get the dark haired shinobi.
Naruto stopped thinking about Sasuke; it did funny things to him when he thought of the other boy, things that only had happened when he had thought of Sakura before. //Although she hasn't made that happen in weeks.//
Naruto and the Kyuubi soaked for a few minutes. Both of them sighed, relaxing in the warm waters. "You haven't said anything in five minutes Naruto. That must be a record!" Sasuke's voice seemed to drift quite loudly out of the mist.
//Sasuke's voice! Shit Aniki!// ~~I'm here, I felt his presence a moment ago and undid the jutsu.~~ //Did he see you?// Naruto asked. ~~I don't know. Think he heard anything?~~
Naruto swallowed, if Sasuke had heard him call his clone Aniki there might be some difficult questions. "Sasuke is that you?" Naruto asked, //Maybe he hadn't seen the Kyuubi.// "Look what I found!" //I hope he isn't mad that I didn't go tell him about the hot spring.//
Sasuke came to the edge of the pool so Naruto could see him clearly. If you could have an expression like a rock wall, Sasuke's face looked like it. "It's nice, I didn't mean to interrupt you and your clone's prank conversation." Sasuke turned away from the boy sitting neck deep in the steamy water. "I'll see you back at camp." //Why? Why did he lie about going back to the camp! He can't have known this was here. So why wouldn't he come and tell me, doesn't he want me around?//
//Damn, damn, damn, damn!// Naruto shouted the curses through his mind, "Wait! Sasuke wait, I can explain!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke's back.
"No need I get it, have fun dobe." Sasuke put as mush anger and malice he could into his voice, he had to. His eyes burned with tears.
Naruto heard the anger in his friend's voice, as it faded into the mist. //I can't lose Sasuke now!// Jumping up from the hot spring, the blonde ran after Sasuke, //I can fix this, he just misunderstood.// "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted hoping that the taller boy would answer.
Sasuke heard Naruto call out for him but ignored it. //He doesn't need me; he can talk to his clones.// Sasuke thought savagely. A twig snapped under Sasuke's foot and he cursed himself for being careless. The next instant Sasuke heard the rustle of grass as Naruto launched himself toward the sound of the broken twig.
Sasuke jumped out of the boy's path but not completely, ending up over balanced he tripped over a stone and landed hard on the ground. "Piss off Naruto! What do you need me for; you have yourself to talk too!" Sasuke's voice cracked as he fought emotions that seemed to be choking him.
Sasuke tried to get to his feet but Naruto was faster and tackled him back to the ground. "GET OFF!" Sasuke shouted struggling to kick the blonde off him.
Naruto forced chakra into his hands like he had when he and Sasuke had learned to climb the trees. Pinning both of Sasuke's arms above his head, next he straddled Sasuke's legs so that he could hold the boy still, and explain what was happening. "Sasuke wait!"
Sasuke tried to heave the Naruto off of himself, a very naked and wet Naruto, Sasuke noticed. "GET OFF ME DOBE!" Sasuke shouted, //Good, if I shout my voice sounds normal.//
"No," Naruto replied his voice sounding hurt and desperate. "You don't understand I wasn't trying to ditch you!"
"Then why were you in that pool? Why did you lie and say you were going back to the camp!?" Sasuke's voice shook, //Why does it hurt so much, other people have lied to me, why does it hurt when he does?//
"I didn't lie, I was going back to the camp, but I got lost and then Aniki corrected me and I found the hot spring. I was going to go get you but I couldn't. I thought that I could wait for you here. I figured by then it wouldn't matter. I thought that you would be in swimming for a few hours. It only takes an hour to go away so I though it would be fine. I thought that I could let Aniki out so we could talk." Naruto spoke quickly so that Sasuke wouldn't cut him off. //I can't cry now, he'll think I'm a baby!// The tears came anyway, running off his noise to drip onto Sasuke's face below him. "You're my friend I wouldn't lie to you! I just couldn't let you see..." Naruto realized what he was saying and clamped his hands to his mouth to stop from saying any more.
With his hands free Sasuke sat up, making Naruto sit back on his heels. Now he was face to face with the naked boy sitting in his lap.
//Shit did I just say that out loud?// Naruto thought. ~~Yes~~ the small shinobi groaned, //You don't have to sound amused about it!// He yelled at the Kyuubi.
"What, you don't have a brother! At least not one that I know about, and definitely not in the forest," Sasuke's voice was calm, although it took all his effort to make it that way. He was trying not to look down, //Naruto is sitting on me. Naked.// Sasuke wasn't sure why that thought sounded so happy. Maybe Naruto wouldn't notice.
"Uh, what I meant was," Naruto racked his mind trying to think up an explanation. //Why is Sasuke looking down?// Naruto looked down to see what had caught his friend's attention. Naruto flew off of Sasuke's lap when he realized he was still naked. Worse than that though, he had been using chakra to hold Sasuke down and his seal glowed against his tanned skin.
Sasuke had an amused grin on his face, //I don't think he is any bigger than me.// A sweat dropped formed at the side of Sasuke's forehead, //Why are you thinking about size, you should be asking why he has a seal on his stomach!//
Sasuke stood up and caught Naruto's arm before the boy could run away. "What's that?" Sasuke asked pointing at Naruto's navel.
"Sasuke if you don't know what that is, what the hell have you been doing with yours?" Naruto said, //Maybe he'll think I can't see the seal.//
Sasuke turned an amazing shade of red, "Not that, this!" This time he touched the seal on Naruto's stomach. A stray thought went through his head as he touched the other boy's stomach. //Naruto's in good shape.// It was a thought that Sasuke smothered quickly, he could still feel his face heating up though. //Just cause he trains and his body is all muscle doesn't mean I should start thinking about it!//
Naruto sighed, //Well it was nice having a friend while it lasted.// "It's a seal." Naruto felt lost, he and Sasuke were just starting to get to know each other and now Sasuke was going to hate him. //Oh well I can't blame him, who would want to be friends with the Kyuubi?//
~~You did.~~ Aniki's voice had a reassuring sound to it. ~~He might too.~~
"A seal, it looks really strong, I've never seen one with five elements in it." Sasuke squatted down to get a closer look at it. He stood up again almost instantly. //That's right get down to eye level with it. He's still naked you idiot!// Sasuke wondered idly if his face would ever stop burning. //Well he definitely isn't any bigger than me......... Shut UP!// Sasuke shouted at himself.
Sasuke wanted to ask what it was for, what it was sealing, but Naruto seemed to hunch over. Almost like he was trying to draw in on himself. Sasuke had seen Naruto like this before. When the people of Konoha village shouted at Naruto, when they told the boy he was worthless. Sasuke wanted to know what the seal was but he wanted Naruto for a friend more. //He can tell me what it seals when he wants too.// "Well that's cool I guess, does it always glow like that?"
"I've always had it the...." Naruto's head shot up and he stared at Sasuke. "What did you say?"
"I asked if it always glows?" Sasuke repeated. He had to focus on Naruto's face. When he looked at the seal he could see more that just the odd looking tattoo, and his shorts were feeling a little uncomfortably tight.
"Oh, no it only glows when I use my chakra. Usually it doesn't even show up." Naruto wanted to hug Sasuke for not asking but stopped and decided to look for his clothes instead. "If I work really hard it shows up too, but it doesn't glow. I always thought it was a weird birthmark." //Shut up, lets not make him any more curious that he already is.// Naruto found his boxers and pulled them on. //Where are my pants?//
Sasuke helped Naruto find the rest of his scattered clothes, when the boy was finally dressed Sasuke yawned. "We probably ought to get back; it's getting late."
Naruto nodded, "I bet Sakura thinks I am out here trying to beat you to death." Naruto laughed, and he realized that it was a real laugh. He didn't have to hide that his feelings were hurt by Sakura's accusation, he noticed that he really didn't care what Sakura thought any more.
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1. Koi = a Japanese carp.