A Single Act of Kindness

Family

Rabbit had to be one of Naruto's favorite hunts, because it involved a little bit of creativity.

He and Sasuke had spent the their lessons setting up traps. Although Sasuke was able to learn how to after their first meeting (fishing wasn't that hard after all), it had taken them a bit longer to get the hang of traps, mainly because Sasuke was impatient.

Making a Rabbit Snare Trap was the one Sasuke hated the most—Naruto could tell- because it required waiting longer for the prey. It was a simple design and easier to teach. Set up two tree branches vertically on two ends, place another branch horizontally on top, grab wires and create a loop and tie it to the top branch.

"That's it?" Sasuke asked, looking down at the trap, "How the hell is this suppose to catch anything?"

"It works all the time," Naruto stood up, examining his handy work, "Well, it works only if we place it in the right spot. You have to have luck to get anything, ya know."

"Luck?"

"Yeah, luck," Naruto turned to face Sasuke, "We had to set this trap a little ways away from camp, and hope that the rabbit holes we saw on the way still have rabbits in them. Its best to set up as many traps as we can, then we can go back to the camp site, and check back tomorrow to see if anything caught."

"Tomorrow?"

"Uh-hu," Naruto nodded, "We can't be around these traps, and if there is too much movement the rabbits won't come this way. That's why we set them up far from camp, if we keep coming back to check on it we'd just scare them away."

"Then what's the point of this trap?"

"To eat, duh," Naruto squinted his eyes, "What else would it be for?" Naruto didn't understand Sasuke sometimes, every little thing had to have a reason behind it. Sometimes, he'd get annoyed having to explain simple things to him. Why did they have this trap? To catch the rabbit… How hard was that to understand?

He could feel Sasuke getting annoyed with him again, "What I mean is…" Sasuke took a deep breath, "Why would you use this kind of trap?"

"Well," Naruto thought about this answer for a moment, tapping his finger to his chin, "The best kind of trap for rabbits would be to get one of those cage-thingies, with the spring and the door that shuts on them when you catch them, ya know? …But, it would be kind of hard to carry on a mission, and they cost a lot of money… All you need for this one is some wires and branches…"

"Wouldn't setting up a bunch of rabbit traps during a mission give away our location?" Sasuke argued back.

Naruto hadn't thought of that, still tapping his finger to his chin, he thought about the question for a moment, eyes closed, "Well, I guess that's true, ya know. I'd do this kind of trap after a mission I guess."

"I guess any kind of camping always has the risk of leaving a trail," Sasuke thought out loud, "We'd just have to make sure to bring food as a back up, when the time comes."

"Like ramen!" Naruto opened his eyes, "Ramen is easy to cook, easy to eat, and easy to enjoy! Ramen is the best, ya know."

"Geez, you and ramen Naruto… It's rather annoying."

"Hey!" Naruto growled, "Naruto and ramen are anything but annoying!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him, "Let's just get back to the campsite, I guess we'll just have fish for dinner again."

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto smiled, "I got a better idea, we'll just kill two birds with one kunai, ya know!"

"That's not the expression, it's kill two birds with one stone, not kunai you dumbass. And what are you getting at?"

"No, I mean, lets have bird tonight! We can work on my aim and hunt at the same time!"

Sasuke smirked at this, "Trying to use my training day to your benefit I see," Naruto growled at this remark and was about to speak when Sasuke cut him off, "Let's do it. Whoever catches the most birds wins."

"I got this! I'm gonna beat you, believe it!"

It really wasn't a contest after that.

Although Naruto knew where to find the birds, a dozen or so of them resting on a large oak tree near the river, Sasuke was the one who was actually able to kill the most birds. He had been able to kill them easily, aiming for the top of the neck so they could cook the bodies for dinner. He had been able get five to Naruto's two; and although Naruto had hit each bird, they were sloppy kills, the kunai tearing into their bodies. They could be eaten, but preparing them would be much challenging then the ones that Sasuke had killed.

"Damnit!" Naruto sighed, "I thought I'd beat you this time."

"Two days ago you couldn't even aim right," Sasuke had finished tying the last of his birds on a stick, before lifting the whole stick, five dead birds hanging, and rested the stick on his shoulder, "You think I'd allow you to beat me that easily? I'm your Kunai-sensei, you aren't gonna get me that easily."

Naruto smiled at this, "Well if you're my Kunai-sensei, I'm your Outdoor-Best-Sensei-in-the-World-sensei!"

"That's dumb."

"Hey! Don't talk back to your Outdoor-Best-Sensei-in-the-World-sensei!"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, tying the two birds to his stick, Naruto stood up with his stick slung over his shoulder, "Whatever! Let's just get back to camp, I'm starving ya know!"

"Alright."

The great thing about teaching Sasuke to cook was that Naruto didn't have to do it. He enjoyed cooking of course, and lately it had been nice to eat other things other then ramen (ramen was still the best food ever, don't get it wrong), but he enjoyed his campsite and he enjoyed the company with Sasuke.

He had showed Sasuke how to skin the bird, prepare them for the fire, and now all that there was left to do was to watch the birds until they were done. Naruto's job was to find the berries and maybe some mushrooms that were edible. Finding blueberries were the easiest, there must have been someone long ago who had planted them near by, because blueberries didn't really grow anywhere else around the forest. He had only found them around his campsite. There were a lot of red berries around them, but with small thorns protruded from each side, and Naruto didn't need to be an expert to tell that he needed to stay away from those.

Naruto returned to Sasuke's side with a handful of berries and dropped them to the side, "I found these for us to eat."

Sasuke looked down at the berries, "How do you know they aren't poisonous?"

"I'll have to teach you that next," Naurto declared with a smile, "But don't worry Sasuke, you're sensei knows what's best."

Naruto could see the vein pop out of Sasuke's head and laughed out loud. For some reason it was really funny to pick on Sasuke sometimes.

"Anyway," Naruto sighed after having a good laugh, "Do you want any mushrooms?"

"I think the seven birds will be enough for me tonight," Sasuke leaned over to one of the birds, examining it, "If you want mushroom soup you can cook it yourself."

Naruto could feel a vein pop from the side of his forehead now, "Hey, you're the one who needs to learn how to do this stuff not me! As your Outdoor-Best-Sensei-in-the-World-sensei I can make you do what I want!"

"Hardly," Sasuke smirked, ignoring the huffing and puffing from the blonde, "I think we got another five minutes until we can eat."

Naruto bent down to look at the birds, each bird had a stick through it, stuck on the ground, and leaning into the fire, all placed in an equal circle around the fire, "Maybe for the first four over there, but those ones have about another seven."

Sasuke glanced up, "How can you tell? You haven't even tested them."

Naruto smirked, placing his hands on his hips, "I told you, I'm the Outdoor-Best-Sensei-in-the-World-sensei, and a sensei just knows these things, ya know."

"Just explain it to me and stop gloating, jackass."

"Hey! Stop being so rude and I'll tell you!" Naruto looked back down at the fire, he pointed to the three that were not quite as done, "The flame is leaning a little more toward the other four birds, see," he paused until Sasuke nodded in agreement, "Its not cooking as fast as the rest, ya know. Sometimes you gotta look at the direction of the flame and place all the food on that side it's on. I mean, luckily its not too windy tonight and its all cooking, its just those will take a little bit longer. No big deal, but, something to remember later."

Naruto waved Sasuke off as he walked over towards the edge of their campsite, "If you don't want any mushrooms I'm just gonna be over here, call me when its ready."

Sasuke looked down at the fires and shook his head, it still felt unnatural for Naruto to know these things, and he was such an idiot in class. Yet, Sasuke couldn't deny that the blonde had the kind of smarts they didn't teach them at the Academy. For a brief moment he wondered how the other students would feel once they got out into the field and had to learn this all first hand in the mist of a mission.

It formed a small smile on Sasuke's face, every step he was taking just prepared him even further, pushed him further ahead to become even a better Shinobi then anyone else. It might not be combat, but it was survival, and it was just as important to learn.

If he were truly going to hunt down that person, he'd need to know how to survive out in the wilderness. He had a plan, a goal, but he still didn't know how the road ahead would look.

Sasuke waited a few more minutes for the bird to finish. Naruto had kept some silverware at the campsite, as Sasuke walked over to grab a knife. The knife was old, slightly damaged, and possible picked out of a trashcan.

Knowing Naruto, it most likely was picked out of a trashcan.

The blonde had said a few off handed comments about money, any time Sasuke had asked about supplies or gear, the first thing Naruto would mention was money. He had wondered what the blonde did to survive; he didn't seem to have much. Everything the blonde had at the campsite felt like it was discarded gear. Even his clothes seemed slightly too old and a little too dirty.

Why was he like this? What happened to make Naruto so alone?

Grabbing the knife, Sasuke sliced as small section of the bird's leg cooking alongside the fire. The first four birds he had tested had white coloring, cooked all the way through.

The last three however, were still a little pink.

If he had to guess, the birds would be done in about two more minutes.

He was about to call for Naruto when his ears picked up a faint whistle. He looked in the direction of the noise, seeing the blonde at the edge of their campsite in his garden. Sasuke grabbed the four birds that were done, and made his way to Naruto.

Naruto was always making noise whenever he was around him, but lately, it seemed like he had been whistling less. Now, he only whistled when he was off doing something alone. Sasuke walked up behind him, observing what he was doing. He saw Naruto on his knees pulling out small weeds from the garden.

He knew the flowers were Sunflowers, but he had forgotten the name of the other plant. Naruto had told him once before.

"What's that plant again?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden noise behind him, turning around to look up at Sasuke. He lightly laughed, "Geez, I forgot you were here," Naruto turned back to his garden, lightly touching the yellow circle plant that laid next to the Sunflowers, "They are called Swan Plants."

"They help the Sunflowers grow, right?"

Naruto smiled at this, "You remember! Yes, also butterflies love them! None are here right now though."

"Why do you have a garden out here?"

Naruto turned back to his work, he worked the ground around the flowers, picking an assortment of weeds and placing them to the side, when he finally did answer, his voice seemed softer, "I like gardening, it's relaxing. I have a lot of gardens all over the place. It's fun. I like taking care of them."

Sasuke smirked, "I'm surprised you haven't killed any of them yet."

Naruto paused for a moment, the tension instantly hitting Sasuke. He had said it as a joke, but he could feel that the blonde did not take it that way.

"I—" Naruto's voice was very quiet, his hands clenching under the soil, "I'm not completely useless, ya know."

"I didn't mean it like—" Sasuke knew he should have apologized, but instead he remembered the three birds cooking on the fire, "Crap!" Sasuke ran back towards the fire pit to check on the birds. If he had waited a moment longer, the birds would have been over cooked.

By the time he turned back around, Naruto was walking towards him, whipping the soil off his hands, "I'm starving, lets eat!"

Naruto's sudden mood changes were something that Sasuke couldn't keep up with.

Dinner was really good! Sasuke was starting to become a great cook.

Naruto wasn't sure how much more he could really teach him at this point. There were a few things left, like finding fruits and vegetables on the trail (Sasuke still couldn't figure out what was edible, but learning those things were easy once you knew the signs to look for), or maybe finding a new kind of animal to prepare (Naruto caught a pig once, which was really cool and super tasty), and although Sasuke said he just wanted to learn how to cook, but he didn't know too much about camping either. He didn't know where North was, or how to set up security traps, he didn't know to boil water before drinking it, and he didn't know how to take care of injuries using nothing but the plants around them…

The more things he listed in his head, the better Naruto felt. He could go teaching Sasuke for a long time in fact. That made him feel better, he really didn't know what Sasuke would do once he was done learning from Naruto.

Naruto didn't want to find out.

He really liked the company.

"Naruto, we need more firewood," Sasuke called out towards Naruto, who was preparing the final touches of his tent. It wasn't really a tent, but a sheet he had found on the side of the street. It was sitting next to a sign that had said "free" and Naruto always could use free stuff. Naruto always set up his tent next to his garden, at the edge of the forest, there was a single tree on the side that had a low branch, enough for him to swing the sheet over and tie off the ends on sticks he rigged into the ground.

"Okay!" Naruto shouted, standing up, he was about to turn around to take off towards the forest, but his foot slipped under a rock as he began to run off. Feeling his balance slipping, Naruto reached for the first thing he could grab—the sheet.

The sound of a loud rip echoed around them.

Naruto looked at handful of sheet in his hand, he looked up and over at his make shift tent, grabbing onto the sheet and the fall caused the whole thing to rip down the middle.

He could feel his sweat sliding down the side of his face.

"Oh no," Naruto looked at the tent, and back at his hand, "This sucks!"

He expected Sasuke to laugh at him; he almost didn't want to turn around to see his expression. Sasuke always did know when to poke at him at just the right time.

"You're such an idiot," Sasuke breathed out.

"I didn't put the stupid rock there!" Naruto shouted, turning around to see Sasuke shaking his head at him, he thought laughing would make it worse, but this reaction bothered him more, "It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Sasuke asked, "How do you fix something like that?"

"Um," Naruto blinked, looking down as the rest of his sheet fell off the branch and hit the ground. He had to think of something fast, he didn't want Sasuke to think he'd cave during a challenging moment. Finally, something hit him, "Well, I can use the sheet to help with the fire, ya know, and um… Well," Naruto looked up at the sky, it was night fall, but clear skies, "And I don't need a tent to sleep, it's clear out and all!"

"Annoying," Sasuke shook his head, "What if it rains or something?"

"It's not gonna rain! And even if it does I could lay under a tree or find a cave or something?"

"A cave? Do you even know where one is?"

"… No," Naruto had to think for a moment, "It's not a big deal, ya know, I can sleep outside! I do it all the time!"

"You should just save up some money and get yourself a real tent."

"I don't have money like that, Sasuke!"

"I'll just buy you one then."

"I don't need a tent! Shinobi aren't suppose to care if they are sleeping outside ya know! Shinobi are tough, cooler then cooler, and I'm going to be the coolest!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes; "You can just sleep in my tent tonight, and then tomorrow get yourself some real gear."

"I told you, I can't afford things like—" Naruto paused, realizing what Sasuke had just said, "Wait, you want me to sleep with you?"

Every time they had decided to stay out at the campsite overnight, they had slept in their separate spaces. It never bothered Naruto, he was use to sleeping alone, whether it be in his room or outside, he never knew what it was like to sleep next to someone at night.

What was that like?

"No with me, weirdo," Sasuke breathed, "But, my tent is big enough… So… I guess, it's not that big of a deal if we share this one time."

"Oh, okay." Naruto didn't know what to do, "I guess, I'll just get the fire wood now."

Naruto didn't bother to turn around as he ran into the forest.

With the tent made and the two sleeping bags resting inside, Sasuke and Naruto sat by the fire with a handful of blueberries in each hand. Even with something as small as a blueberry, Naruto had a knack of making a mess of himself, blueberries covering the corners of his mouth.

Sasuke wasn't too hungry after dinner, yet again Naruto always offering more of the bird to him. Sasuke had taken the last bird and cut it in half, offering Naruto an equal slice of the bird. He took it willing, and seemed to be happy to just be eating.

Sasuke had to admit, lately had been feeling just a little less lonely thanks to the blonde. In some aspects that had bothered him, he didn't want the boy to think that they were friends. They weren't friends. He just needed Naruto to teach him these things so he'd just be better prepared in the future.

Still, looking at Naruto he couldn't help to see the boy as puzzle. He was a child with no guardian, no family or clan members. The blonde may be a handful at times, but it still didn't explain the way he was casted away by the rest of the village. They all seemed to hate him.

Sasuke could see these things, and he could see how clearly Naruto just needed someone to keep him company. Naruto was desperate for them to train together. He saw it every time he caught onto their lessons, and the blonde would hurry up and think of something new to teach him. Sasuke didn't mind this because he needed to learn these things.

He didn't mind being there.

This big question mark surrounding the boy was maddening. He didn't know why he cared, but he did.

"Naruto," Sasuke watched as Naruto looked up at him, swallowing the blueberries that were in his mouth.

Naruto whipped his mouth with his hand, "Yeah?"

"Why don't you have a family?"

He knew it was blunt to ask it in such a way, and he could tell by the wide-eyed expression the blonde was giving him. It was unreadable at first, as if his mind was processing the question.

Then he turned away and looked towards the fire, "I don't know."

"No one ever told you?"

Naruto shrugged, as his eyes didn't leave the fire, "Hokage-jiji told me they died when the Nine Tails attacked, but no one seems to know anything. I guess some Shinobi just found me afterwards."

"Maybe they didn't die then?"

Sasuke watched as Naruto curled into himself, pulling his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs. He watched as Naruto thought long and hard about that question. He looked as the flames danced inside the blonde's bright blue eyes, "I don't know what would be worse…" he finally whispered, "If they died… Or if they didn't want me."

There was a pause, lost for words Sasuke took one of the blueberries in his hand and tossed it into the fire.

"What's it like to have a family?"

Sasuke's eyes widen at the question. He didn't like to talk, let alone think about his own family, yet as soon as the blonde asked the question he couldn't help but to form the memory of his family in front of him.

He wished he could say that he remembered them alive, but that wasn't the first thing to came to mind anymore. He knew his mother with her long black hair, soft arms that engulfed him in tight hugs. He knew his father's stern eyes, tall frame, and rough hands when he tossed his hair. He even knew his brother broad back as he leaned against his shoulder during their piggy back rides after their training. His brother had always smelled of oak trees and sweat.

He knew these things. He did. He knew his family had been alive at one time.

Sasuke couldn't picture them like that anymore.

Instead, he could only picture the lump of bodies on the floor. And red. So much red that it creped into the floorboards, stained the rug, drifting towards him. So much blood that moved the same way water did. But it was so thick. It meant so much more to him.

The red wasn't in the floor but it was also in the eyes. Red eyes staring back at him that only revealed a red sky, curling screams, and the images of everyone he knew and loved get cut down in front of him. It was in front of him but it wasn't actually happening then. It was real but what he saw in front of him was also a lie. The Tsukuyomi showed him his parent's death as they were stabbed by his brother's blade. He had seen it. It had happened. He wasn't there but he had witnessed it all.

He had parents, he had a brother, and he had had a family once, hadn't he?

He knew the answer to Naruto's question but he didn't answer it. Instead, he dropped the rest of his blueberries into the fire, "I'm going to bed."

Sasuke turned towards the tent. He heard Naruto yell, "No fair I told you, ya know!" But that didn't matter to him.

He didn't owe Naruto anything.

Naruto had decided to stay by the fire for a little while longer, almost unsure if he should sleep inside the tent with Sasuke. So, instead, he sat by the fire and watched the flames as they burned against the wood. When you concentrated on one thing and just stared into it, it was easy to let you mind draw a blank, and that is what Naruto did.

No one had ever asked him about his family before. He wished he had a better answer to give.

Sometimes he felt like Hokage-jiji knew something, because every time he asked about his parents in the past, the old man had given him a look. He wasn't sure what the look meant, but if he had to describe it, he'd say it would be troubled. He knew when Hokage-jiji gave him that look he wasn't in trouble or anything… But, he was sad about something. Something that no matter how many times Naruto asked before in the past, the Hokage wouldn't budge.

So, Naruto stopped asking, and just accepted the fact that he was alone.

He still wanted to know what it was like though. He saw mothers hugging their children, fathers holding their child's hand, brothers and sisters playing with one another. He had seen families eating meals together, playing in the park, or laughing together. Families did things together, they seem to care about one another, and even protected each other.

Naruto would never know those things, and maybe for that reason, it was better that Sasuke didn't answer him and just went to bed.

When Naruto had a hard time keeping his eyes open, he put out the fire and cleaned up the campsite. When he was finished and walked towards the tent he paused for am moment, debating if he should enter or not. His sleeping bag was in there, and he was tired, and all he wanted to do was to get into bed and sleep… But, something was holding Naruto back from going inside.

He had never slept near someone before. Was there something he was supposed to do? What if he snored too loud and woke Sasuke up? What if he talked in his sleep and said something troublesome?

What was it like to be near someone?

His mind was racing with all different kind of possibilities, but wariness was winning over his worried thoughts, and finally decided to move forward, bending down and going into the tent.

Sasuke had a real tent, not a sheet like he had. It was large enough to fit two people inside, it had a zipper to keep out any unwanted bugs and a tarp to keep out the rain. It almost felt like a house. Once Naruto got inside, he saw a silhouette of Sasuke sleeping inside. He could feel Sasuke's breathing slowly, his back turned away from Naruto's sleeping bag.

Naruto had good vision, so finding where he was suppose to sleep was no problem for him, and he didn't wake up Sasuke as he slipped inside his sleeping bag. Laying down, Naruto stayed very still, sleeping on his side and facing away from Sasuke.

He knew he should go to sleep, but waves of nervousness flew off him. He didn't want to move a muscle, he didn't want to breathe, and he didn't want to wake Sasuke up.

Naruto didn't know how long he stayed tight and unmoving, but after a moment of hearing Sasuke's soft breathing, it had calmed him down to relax just a little bit. Letting the tension fall off his shoulders, he let his muscles relax into his sleeping bag.

Once feeling a little more comfortable, Naruto turned his head slightly towards Sasuke, watching the boy unmoving as he slept next to him.

Naruto didn't know why, but as softly as he could, he scooted over closer to Sasuke. Little by little, he moved his body closer to the sleeping boy until he leaned his back against Sasuke.

He felt Sasuke move slightly, leaning into him, but not waking up, his breathing soft and even against him. Naruto wanted to hold his breath, not really sure why he just felt the urge to just be near someone just then. Naruto had never been near anyone like this before, didn't know what it felt like to have someone lean into him, to feel the warmth of a body against his.

Naruto had been pushed, slapped, punched, pitched, kicked, and pulled before, but he had never been touched before. He'd always wondered what it was like to be gentle with someone.

Naruto matched his breathing with Sasuke, feeling all the tension in his body slip. His eyelids felt heavy, sleep was coming faster then he was expecting. He glanced over at Sasuke, eyes half open, he couldn't help but to smile, this felt nice, "If you want me too, I'll be your family."

Naruto didn't need an answer; he let himself relax against Sasuke's back, and drifted off to sleep.

Sasuke woke up from a whistle coming from outside.

Looking behind him, he saw an empty sleeping bag beside him. Sasuke didn't understand why, but he had slept better then he thought he would have.

Stepping out of his tent, he looked over at Naruto as he was bent over the fire pit, getting ready to light it.

"Hey," Sasuke walked over to Naruto.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, "Morning Sasuke!" Naruto held up a dead rabbit by the ears, "Look what we caught!"

"That trap of yours actually worked?"

"I told you it would! I was trying to make it for you for breakfast, but… You woke up."

"I woke up because of you. You're whistling way too loud as usual."

Naruto chuckled at this, "Sorry."

Sasuke looked down at the fire pit, Naruto had set up the wood and bits of his sheet into the pit, but it was still unlit, "Stand back, I want to try something."

Naruto stood up, stood back behind Sasuke as he put his hands together and preformed the hand seals in quick motions; snake, dragon, rabbit, and tiger as he felt heat in his lungs, bending down towards the fire pit, Sasuke breathed flames out of his mouth. When Sasuke normally preformed his Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, it was a mass ball of fire. Since the first day they meet, Sasuke had been trying to control the size of the technique.

It took a few tries for him to get it just right, but Sasuke was able to make it small enough to catch onto the sheet and start the fire.

"Whoooooooooooa!" Naruto gasped, "How did you do that?"

Sasuke smirked, putting his hand onto his hips, "My Dad taught it to me. Its my Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu."

"But, it was so small, that's a jutsu?" Naruto squinted, bending his head to one side.

"I can do a bigger one than that!" Sasuke yelled, "I just did it small so I didn't burn the whole place down!"

"Oh," Naruto thought about it for a moment, before an idea hit him as his smile grew, "You gotta teach that to me, ya know! I want to shoot fire out of my mouth!"

"Do you even know how to use your charka?"

"I do, I do!" Naruto yelled, "So you gotta teach me that because it would be so cool to shoot fire out of my mouth, ya know!"

"Maybe once you learn how to throw your kunai property, then maybe I'll teach you a Jutsu or two."

"Wow, so cool!"

Naruto's smile was contagious, because Sasuke gave him a faint smile back.

The young Uchiha couldn't help himself, but little by little, the blonde boy in front of him was slowly getting to him.

And it didn't seem so bad.