Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. So sue me!
Chapter Nine: A Gift for Naruto
The next morning, a young blond-haired Genin was stirring from his sleep. Naruto opened his eyes and looked out his window. It was a very beautiful sunrise. I wonder if Sasuke's awake now, seeing this perfect sunrise outside his bedroom window, Naruto asked himself.
Then he got an idea. He hurried and got dressed, then bolted out the door in the direction of Sasuke's house. A few early morning ninja looked oddly at him as Naruto laughed happily as he ran full speed.
"What could that damn fox be so happy about?" asked one.
"No telling," another replied. "Maybe he's getting out of here."
"It's nice wishful thinking," a woman ninja said. "I heard a nasty rumor going around about him and the Uchiha boy."
"What was it?" all the ninja asked as they gathered around her to hear every word that she was going to tell them.
"I heard that those two boys are gay," she said with confidence. "I knew there was something going on with them. I always thought that Haruno girl would be a perfect match for Sasuke, but not the nine-tailed fox!"
"So they're going out?" asked the first one.
The woman nodded. "I'm willing to stake my life on it, I'm so sure," she replied. "I know for a fact that they must be! Why else would that damn kid be so happy and running around early in the morning? He always manages to sleep in and slack off a lot, but he's been starting to do some of his homework and wake up earlier. If you ask me, I think they might get each other in bed after a while."
The ninja looked at her in disbelief. Uchiha Sasuke was gay? Uzumaki Naruto was the prodigy's boyfriend? They couldn't believe what they had heard. Little did they know, a pair of hurt eyes was watching them from an alley. That person was a girl, and she began to cry silently.
Sasuke had just gotten dressed and got his backpack when he heard a knock on his door. He smiled when he peeked through the window and saw Naruto standing there with a grin on his face. He opened the door and came out on the porch.
"Morning, Sasuke!" Naruto greeted cheerfully. "Wanna walk around for a little bit?"
Sasuke nodded, took Naruto's hand and went walking with Naruto into town. Suddenly, Naruto figured out the direction they were heading and stopped, hesitating.
Sasuke stopped with Naruto and looked at him. "What's the matter, love?" he asked the blond.
Naruto appeared to be scared. "I don't want to shame you in front of the other people by having you seen with me," he answered, his voice shaking. "Plus, how would you think they'd react? Not very kindly, I know that much. Everyone thinks that people like us should either get away from everyone or just die. Wouldn't I shame you and your clan if the truth got out?"
Sasuke smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "I've been thinking about that for a long time now," he said. "I've decided on two things. One, they're all gonna find out the truth anyway, so let them see it. Two, I've decided that I don't care what people think about us. However, if it bothers you, we could hide it until you feel comfortable with the way we are."
Naruto listened to what Sasuke had said and he had tears in his eyes. They were tears of joy. He then smiled and replied, "I'm gonna face those people holding your hand in mine, Sasuke. I don't feel ashamed anymore. Let's continue walking, okay?"
Sasuke nodded, kissed Naruto's forehead again, and started to continue walking with Naruto.
As Naruto had predicted, no one really took it well. They began to whisper nasty remarks behind their backs. Most of those nasty remarks were that the nine-tailed fox had tainted the Uchiha prodigy. Naruto found it was easy to ignore the people, but Sasuke was having trouble keeping calm. He had to fight back the urge to knock the shit out of all the villagers that dared to insult his lover any further, but he knew Naruto wouldn't like it.
They came across a gift shop. Sasuke found the perfect opportunity. "Wait over there in the alley," he told the blond. "It's dark in there, so the villagers won't see you if they pass by. I'll be right back, but no looking through the window, okay?"
Naruto hesitated, but nodded and went into the alleyway near the shop. He sat down on the ground waiting for Sasuke when he received a hard kick the arm. The force of the kick was so intense that Naruto went flying into the open and rolled a bit before stopping.
"So, you stole my crush and broke my heart, you damn nine-tailed fox," the voice in the shadows said coldly. "I never thought the rumors would be true about the two of you." (Me: Hey, that rhymes! You: cold glare If you interrupt again, I will make sure you die a slow and painful death. Me: AAH! Sorry!)
Naruto immediately recognized the voice. It was that of his other team mate...
"Is that you, Sakura?" Naruto asked, fear revealed in his shaking voice.
Sakura stepped out of the alley and glared the most evil glare ever made from her. She also showed tears in her eyes.
"How could you do this, Naruto?" Sakura asked bitterly. "Sasuke was supposed to be mine, not yours. Why did you have to be the one he loved? What's so wrong with me?"
Naruto stared at her and said, "He just happened to be gay because he thought that all the girls were annoying. I mean, who could blame him? You girls never leave him alone! I'm glad that I'm gay and don't find girls attractive."
"Yeah, because no girl would ever want to go out with you," Sakura replied. "Everyone hates you. Now they're gonna hate Sasuke. Why do you have to go and mess everything up? Why do you ruin people's lives? Are you proud of all you've done to everyone else?"
With that final sentence, Naruto froze. Her words hurt harder than any physical injury he'd ever received. He watched in shock as Sakura ran off into the distance.
Sasuke then came out of the shop. "Naruto-kun," he said. "Come here. I have a surprise for you."
Naruto walked slowly to Sasuke and watched as his love pulled out a pair of matching necklaces. It was a small stone-like slab. On one side, there was a phoenix and on the other side there was a heart.
Naruto looked at Sasuke in shock. "You got me a necklace?" he asked in surprise.
Sasuke nodded. "In words, the symbols would mean eternal love," he told the blond. "The phoenix lives forever, so it is eternal. The heart means love. Thus, the necklace says eternal love. Do you like it? Put it on. I wanna see if it fits you, but it probably does."
Naruto put one on and, sure enough, it fit perfectly. He started to cry in joy again. Maybe the pain that the villagers inflict on me is worth being with Sasuke for the rest of my life? Naruto found himself thinking. He smiled and hugged Sasuke, who hugged him back.
"I'll always love you, Sasuke," Naruto breathed out softly.
Sasuke smiled and replied, "As will I, my love. I'll always love you, too."
There! I finally got back to Naruto and Sasuke's situation! The next chapter is going to include Shino and a new kunoichi that comes into town claiming to be related to Iruka-sensei! Feedback is greatly appreciated!
On another note, the necklace idea was used from someone else's story that I read a long time before I got an account on here. I don't remember what it was called or who the author was, but you know who you are! I hope you don't mind if I used this idea in my story! If I remembered your name I would've asked first, but my mind went blank and I went with the first thing that popped into my head! Sorry if I'm stealing, but I'm giving credit to the unknown author! Goodnight!