X|V.
"Let's play shogi (chess)." He says, pushing Naruto off of himself. It was WAY too embarrassing! Especially if it was him and not just with some fangirl of his... "EH?" Naruto blinked, processing the information and then it hit him. He grinned foxily. "Hehe, I'm totally gonna kick your ass! Buh-lieve it, 'tebayo!" He taunted; posing heroically. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he was too idiotic; acting like a knight in shining armor in one of those fairytales...
"I'm just a lot smarter than you, dobe." Sasuke mocked half heartedly. It was way too tempting to poke fun at him. And his reactions were always exaggerated. Small things like that never change; including their dynamics as a duo. "Sure aren't, asshole!" Naruto stuck a tongue out at him, and rocked his body back and forth in anticipation. He couldn't wait to play!
The teme put the chess board between them and placed the pieces on their according sides. Halfway through the game, and hoping for a checkmate, Sasuke saw the Uzumaki drooping. The other player just wasn't, well, playing. "Hn? Isn't it your turn?" He challenged pointedly, eyeing the blonde as he doesn't move for a moment. He seems deep in thought about something. What it is, Sasuke doesn't know.
"Uh...Sas'ke." Naruto began, suddenly finding the floor more interesting than the person right in front of him. "I've never played this before...and, uh…" he says, sounding a bit unsure, "I wanna do somethin' else." The Uchiha furrowed his eyebrow.
"What is it." The blue boy snapped in a murderous tone.
"W - well, it's just that...erm. I wanna read an' all. I mean, if I wanna become hokage, I hafta do it, right? You promised…." Naruto pouted, crossing his arms. He glowered at the other boy with a 'humph!' Sasuke stared at him blankly, and slowly stood up after some serious consideration.
"Wait a minute," he said walking out and then, after a few moments, came back inside with a ton of books in his hands. He then sat down with the blonde and pulled out one for him to see.
"Here," he chucked it at Naruto's head. He shoots...
"H - HEY!" Naruto grumbled.
He SCORES!
"Ow, ow, ouchies! GEEZ! That hurt like hell, you bastard!"
"Damn right it did, you loser," Sasuke teased. "That's for leaving me here and making me worry, " He slipped up, and covered his mouth almost immediately after he said that. But, the damage was already done. Did he really just say what he thought he just said? "I - I'll beat you into a - WHAT?" He tilted his head in confusion. "YOU were worried about ME?" He pointed at him and then at himself. His whole world just took turn of 360. In response, Sasuke nodded, though however reluctant he may be. Which made Naruto blink in disbelief.
"Tch, y-yeah, whatever!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, blushing. "It's not like I wanted to! Y - you were just...You're part of the team. If you had died..." He trails off, grumbling incoherently. "Hehe." Naruto eyes crinkled, smirking deviously. He knew he had hit the jackpot. The teme glared at him with red-filled cheeks. "Bastard. As long as I'm around, no one's dyin'!" In emphasis, he wrapped an arm around Sasuke's neck and beamed.
The Uchiha shivered at the personal touch, not used to such intimate contact from anyone, much less from a fellow teammate. "See? I ain't dead." Naruto teased, cheeks dimpling. Sasuke sighed and shoved him away forcefully, but still looked pretty flustered about it. "W - whatever. Let's look at the hiragana and katakana again, and differentiate the kanji..." Sasuke crosses his fingers, hoping for a distraction by opening the book itself.
"We'll recite the words and sounds together."
"N - NANI!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke bonked him on the head for interrupting his monologue. "Oi, shut up, you doofus. As I was saying, let's just read this together already..." As Sasuke drawled on and on about what fire elements he used in his jutsus, Naruto stifled a yawn and eventually fell asleep. He was unaware that he slumped against his best friend's shoulders.
He was awoken around midday when a foot nudged his sides. There's a comforter wrapped around him, and as he looked up, it was to the face of - what do you know? -the cocky bastard.
"Wake up. You sweat of ramen. Go get a shower." Sasuke commanded in all Uchiha-like fashion. "And a good afternoon to you, too!" The blonde retorted; the hot head about ready to lose it. Naruto obliged after much stubborn thought to walk outside of the room and into the bathroom.
"Man, he was right. I do stink." Naruto sniffed his arm pits, and his face scrunched up at the stench. He tossed aside his clothing until he was completely stripped naked. Stepping into the tub, he turned on the faucet and started up the shower. Steam wavered around the room, as steaming hot water hit his back. His spine arched and he hissed at the sensation. It eventually cooled him and he started cleaning his body from living in the trees for a whole day or two.
'Ahh, that's the spot~.' His eyes rolled to back of his head, as he just stood there with his head to the ceiling.
He sure could get used to this! You know, maybe this wasn't so bad, after all. Living his life with the teme by his side. However insufferable he may be, at the very least he was bearable (unlike the villagers). What could stop him, now? That's right; nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just when he was affirming to himself that maybe staying wasn't such a bad idea, of course, his inner demon had to say otherwise.
"You smell." Kyuubi snorts into his head.
'Thanks a lot, Kurama.' Naruto stormed internally. From here, he was scrubbing himself from top to bottom from any of the excess leaves and the occasional twig in his hair. However! Being nude like this had it's advantages, he could see from his stomach that his black seal was acting up again. And every now and then it would become apparent as the Nine Tails spoke.
'I still can't believe it. The teme's letting me live inside his house. What the hell happened to him, anyways?' He lathers soap all around his body, and watches as bubbles gather around his feet. It still mesmerizes him that the one he hated most of all would actually do this for him. There was still a lot left unsaid, that he wished to talk about.
"Maybe he's had a change of heart." Kurama suggested. 'Whatever it is, something's goin' on with that bastard...I just don't know what to do about it. A - and then...the other day, he...CRAP! What do I say! We fought, and then I left him for good, right? Well, and ever since it's been kinda weird between us. What the heck do I do, Kurama? I'm kinda dyin' here!' Naruto thinks desperately, scrubbing his hair with shampoo. He pouted when he realized he left his towel outside the door. And he was naked...
"Be yourself, Kit. Your boyfriend is just confused, is all. Conflicted about a lotta things, maybe? I dunno. You ask me, kiddo."
'W - WHAT?! I'd never - He's NOT my boyfriend! I don't even like the guy. YUCK! How could you say such a thing, Kurama!' Naruto shrieked internally; angry at the fact the Fox would say something like that. Brushing it off, he turns the knob off and steps out of the tub; dripping wet.
Crossing the room, Naruto opens the door in search of his towel, but then collides into someone and they both crashed to the floor.
Meanwhile...
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked quietly, knocking on the door. "Oi, NARUTO! Are you done, yet?" he hollered, banging on his door impatiently. "Naruto?" He demanded, pressing his ear against the door and hearing something shuffle inside. He picked up his towel from the floor and entered in. He walks in on him naked. And nosebleeds, promptly closing the door without a second thought. Or, that's what he would've done if the door hadn't opened yet again, and to the blonde ramming face to face into him. They both crashed; eyes wide as their mouths collide.
And then, he smushes his lips with Naruto on accident. That second seemed like the longest moment in his life, both looking equally as flustered as they felt. And then they both hacked the kiss out of their mouth. 'D - damn...why did I like it...he's done this with me a lot lately...I don't know what to think anymore.' He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and stares daggers at Naruto.
"W - why is it always with you?" he sneered, looking away with a faint blush adorning his cheeks."AGH! This is the third time! The THIRD time!" Naruto shouted after him. 'Why can't he be a she? It's always me kissing a guy. And Sasuke, no less...' he blushes to himself. 'You know what...' He thinks, feeling Kyuubi take over out of nowhere.
He shoves his mouth back into Sasuke's once again. Naruto moaned, saliva trailing his mouth, as his razor-sharp teeth bit onto his lower lip. The Uchiha wrapped his arms around his neck - hands entwined in his blonde hair - and leaned into the kiss. Naruto wasn't giving up just yet! His tongue licked the outline of the Uchiha's teeth and then they both clashed their tongues together as they made out. Mouth sounds filled the otherwise quiet and empty house as the two engaged in gay sex.
Sasuke, breathless and almost dying, let Naruto smother him with bite marks. His body tensed once he felt fangs dig deep into his flesh. He hissed, as blood trickles down his neck. The blonde licked it for him; tasting metal. "Y - you...isn't this too fast?" The black-haired boy asked weakly; without any energy to fight back."I've felt like this for a long time. Y - you meant so much to me...you were my first friend..." Naruto says in Kurama's voice; his eyes turning into slits. His pupils became a violent shade of red, just like the Nine Tails. "Ever since...we met... and even now..."
Sasuke grunted, and was thrown against the wall haphazardly. The way the blonde swung his hips against him. Did he know how hot he looked at that moment? The Uchiha tried to hide his nosebleed (and his arousal) but it was gradually growing obvious that this was enticing him. 'N - Naruto...if only you knew...that I liked you, too...'
"D - dobe," he says through the pleasure. He places a palm on Naruto's face, gazing at him lovingly with lustful eyes. "I...believe in you." Naruto nodded numbly, and wrapped his arms around him. Tired beyond belief, they eventually stopped as their chakra gradually lessened until there was barely any left.
Both of them, fatigued, slumped against each other. The scent of blood and sweat filled the air. Sasuke struggles to stand up through heavy breathing. Looking down at their lower halves, he sees that Naruto was naked; unlike him. The Uchiha slid against the wall, eyes half lidded as he gave way to sleep. Regaining his senses, Naruto's red eyes turned back to blue.
'Huh?' Clueless, he stares at the body below him. Seeing Sasuke's sprawled out form, he tried shaking him awake. "Hey, Sasuke?" His teammate opens his eyes and glances at him, before slapping him across the face. Sending Naruto a glare, he storms off to the room the two had shared. 'W - what the hell? What was that all about?' Naruto held a hand over his bruised face and stands up; his body feeling numb as he walked back into the bathroom.
The Uzumaki then walked out shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still wet, but he had someone to talk to. Picking up his orange jacket, he zips it up and walks over to the door of their room. Now that it was here in the flesh from his apartment, he would use it to his complete advantage. Following his gut instinct, he presses it ajar to their bedroom where his "boy friend" was waiting.
When he entered inside, Sasuke was STILL giving him the cold shoulder. It was pissing him off, frankly. The way he had sometimes acted like he was "holier than thou" as if he was above him. "Look, it's OK! I don't care if you saw me naked, o-or ANYTHING!" He snapped, crossing his arms."We're roommates, now, yanno? Hit me as many times as you wanna! Just tell me what I did wrong!" He cried desperately. The fact that the Kyuubi was laughing his ass off in the background was unsettling enough.
Actually...his fox demon DID seem a bit strange. He realized, only a moment too late, as visions of what had transpired flashed before his eyes. 'Kurama,' he cursed internally. He should've known. "Oh, I - I kinda overdid on ya." Shame pooled his stomach, he would have never done that to him on normal circumstances. Besides, Sakura-chan was WAY hotter than this teme!
"Hn..." His comrade seemed unfazed . His gaze, instead, seemed focused on something outside their window.
"I want to show you something. Get dressed and follow me."
Around dusk, the duo walked over to the woods where fireflies fluttered all around them. A few trees here and there had wooden targets set up, but most of them molded over with tree moss. 'Whoa, what's this place?' Naruto looked around, eyes wide as he looked high and low. A bird chirped in the clearing and the autumn air breezed past them. It was the perfect day to go out and train.
Naruto ran forward, laughing, but then stopped at one target in particular. "What is THAT?" He pointed a finger and looked back with big, doe eyes.
Sasuke stared at it bemusedly with a hand on his hip.
"Target practice. I haven't used it in a long time. Wanna try?" Sasuke smirked at Naruto beside him, throwing one into his hands. "Of course, that is, if you can manage throwing kunai at all twenty five of them all scattered throughout this area. Unless, that's too much for you, scaredy cat?" The Uchiha mocked, knowing he had the upper hand when he saw the peeved look cross over the blonde's face. The blonde growled and jabbed a finger into the other boy's chest; his competitive nature shining through. "Not if I have a say in it! Your ass is goin' into the ground, dattebayo!" Mildly amused, Sasuke waved a dismissive hand and crossed his legs.
"Go along, now. I'll be waiting here and watching. Once you can show me that you can accomplish such a feat, then maybe you'll surpass me...as a teammate - no - as a friend." The blonde couldn't simply back down now. Why would he? This was his big chance to earn Sakura-chan's affection AND also the admiration of the whole village. If he could overcome this challenge known as Sasuke, then he could do anything! Heck, maybe even become hokage no matter how difficult it may be! Just imagine, the great Uzumaki Naruto battling the sole survivor, Sasuke Uchiha, to the death! It would only be a matter of time before he'd save the day.
With that thought in mind, and a solute, he made a mad dash to the other trees and shrubbery where they were likely to be hidden in the small forested area.
By now, Sasuke had stared off after the blonde to make sure he was completely out of sight until there was just a small dot in the distance, and so he crumbled an orange leaf that floated into his hands with a mad glint in his eyes.
'Itachi...' He glowered. 'I swear that, within every inch of my body, I will kill you with my own hands if I have to! I won't let you live a moment any longer for what you have done to mother and father...' He punched the tree beside him so forcefully that it broke in two and fell down with a bang. Even though he thought that, the words themselves felt empty even to himself. From the very beginning, his only goal in life was to kill him for what he had done. What would he do after that? It's not like he had any ambition in life after his brother's death.
Sasuke only looked up when he heard a splash of water not so far from here nearby, to which he saw Naruto struggling to stay afloat on the river nearby he forgot to mention ahead of time. Using the log beside him, he swiftly ran after him and used it to block the blonde midstream, so that he wouldn't swim away. Using his taijutsu - his aerial jump - he lifted himself into the air to come crashing down to Naruto.
"Careful!" The Uchiha caught him in his arms and promptly jumped back to land. Placing him down carefully, and stepping aside, he sees him struggling to stand up with his clothes soaked. "Ah," His voice came out raspy as he groaned. "Urrrgh."
"You're lucky I caught you in time." Sasuke remarked, bending down to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have been washed ashore to who knows where." He did make a good point. But, Naruto wasn't going to give it up just yet. "H - hey!" The blonde snaps, regaining his breath and choking out water in the process. "You were the one who dropped into the stream, idiot." Sasuke scolds, crossing his arms. "I - Oh, yeah! Guess I did, huh?" Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head self cautiously.
After a moment of silence, Sasuke decided to acknowledge his curiosity. If not for himself, then for the sake of the stupidly adorable and irresistibly lovable idiot."Since you wanted to know so badly, I might as well tell you. My brother and I used to train all the time here, before my parents died. It was our secret hideout, and we used to practice here all the time without them knowing about what we were doing. Our own base, before my whole clan died that day."
"I'm...sorry, Sasuke." Feebly, he looked down and clasped his hands together. "I acted without thinking and I - and I'm sorry. I didn't mean ta hurt ya like that. I understand."
"No, it's fine. It's all in the past; do what you want with it. Besides, now you know." Suddenly, the blonde smirked, and, from behind him, brought out all the wooden boards and tossed it to the other boy. "I ... hah ... caught...the last...hah ... target! I beat your score, Sasuke, by a tenfold! Got all 'o them, easy!" Switching from sad to outright shocked, his best friend looked at it skeptically. 'There's no way! I-I can't believe it...he knocked them out like they were nothing!' The Uchiha marvelled, his jaw dropping. 'It took me years just to master that craft, and yet, he did it all...just like that? Amazing...'
Naruto shivered from the cold, teeth chattering, causing Sasuke to look up, alarmed. "Errr. Y - you, uh, don't happen to have a spare fishnet shirt, do ya? 'Cuz I'm kinda freezin' to death here!" It was then that Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer, with how hilarious the Uzumaki was right now. Letting out a laugh, he admitted defeat.
"Hahah, I surrender. I think that's enough for one day. Let's go home and get you changed."
Naruto nodded affirmative and they both set off to their abode, hand in hand.
"There. You good now?" Sasuke had wrapped a big blanket around him and presented him a glass of lukewarm milk. It was dark by now as they sat together in the middle of their room.
"Heh he. 'Course I am!" He did a thumbs-up and used that trademark grin of his that got the Uchiha every time. He always wondered how he could be so happy, even now. When there was still so many wrong things in this shinobi world. That's why he was going to make things right again. By killing the one who did wrong, he would cleanse the world anew of his sins and start a new one where there was only him, Naruto, and a loving village.
"Now that I think about it, why were you in that river in the first place?"
Like a deer caught in headlights, The Uzumaki stiffened up at the question, and fumbled on the spot. 'Can't just say it all out on the open like this. And I didn't have enough chakra to get across the stream for that one target, either...'
"Well, ya know what they say, Kit! Lyin' is the best medicine. Since the er - since the beginning of time. Trust me on this, kiddo. Ya got this; give it your all!"
'I'm pretty sure that's not the saying. But. Well, here goes nothin'.'
"Ya see, I-I can't swim!" He said a little louder than he meant to. The silence following soon after became so unbearable, that Naruto was dreading every single moment of it. 'Please let this be over already!' He thinks, panicking, his hands shaking.
'Can't swim?' Sasuke echoed in his mind, eyes wide as he looked at his friend in concern. Naruto nodded, and looked at the wall as if recalling the events that unfolded a long time ago. "I remember when they tried to drown me one time. They said I was better off dead." He exhales shakily, trying not to cry as he remembered them trying to suffocate the little boy that he was. By the way his body shrivelled up, it must be a sensitive topic. "If it bothers you, then don't talk about it, dobe," Sasuke reasons logically. "It's for the best."
...
...
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." Naruto beamed at him "I really mean it. If you weren't there for me, I'd have died back there." The Uchiha stared, not expecting that answer. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and cupped his cheek. "...Don't mention it. Now, goodnight." Sasuke blew out the candle beside them and off to sleep they went. 'Sweet dreams...'
"Uchiha..." A familiar voice hissed in his ears one night as they were snuggling into their futon. Sasuke rubbed his eyes, sitting up with a stretch, and looking around on high alert. 'Who's there? Who the hell is this?'
"My name isss Orochimaru...and I will be your guide, if you ssso wisssh." A voice whispers inside his mindscape,
"I am here, in your mind, becaussse I need to be here. Aren't you tired of alwaysss being behind hisss back, watching from afar? Asss he becomes ssstronger, better, than you ever will be?" He nodded, knowing it was all true. As much as he had hated to admit it, Naruto was everything he never was. Always three steps ahead in almost every single way. If he continued on like this, he would only struggle to catch up, in the end. Was it so wrong to give in? And to just...let it all go?
"Enacting your revenge is ssso easssy. I know exactly what you desire, you always wanted to have the sssame eyesss asss your brother. You know what I ssspeak of, the Mangekyou Sssharingan."
Sasuke's eyes widened at the mention of the name. Yes, it is what he had wanted. But, to even become half as powerful as him, he needed to do something which was no easy task.
"Killing his best friend" as he had been told. But, he wasn't like Itachi. If not that, feeling something so out of the ordinary for an Uchiha to feel would awaken his true power. Seeing as he had no emotion, that was deemed almost impossible. So, as a shortcut, could this man really help him? "And yet, you're ssstill weak, even with your ssso-called ssspecial technique. You wisssh to unlock the sssecond tomoe on your eye completely. Doing all you can ssso that one day you will have all three at your disssposssal. All you have to do is sssacrifice your body for mine...that isss all it takesss...kukukuku."
'So, what do I do, now? And what will you do for me in return?' Sasuke questions, intrigued."Sssimple. Leave the village. You are not part of the Leaf, not anymore. To become powerful like me, you mussst do as I sssay. Do I make myssself clear?"
'Perfectly...'
He threw his headband protector to the floor, splitting the metal plate in two.
