Sorry it's so late!!!

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Naruto usually found himself visiting the Uchiha complex every week, just to see if the hound had returned from his trip. But he always ended up disappointed, because there were no signs of life at the elegant temple.

Weeks turned to months, and after a while Naruto decided that Sasuke just wasn't coming back. The day he realized this, he had sat down and cried his heart out, wanting his friend to return.

But, sadly enough, he didn't return. And Naruto decided not to think about it, or else it would just hurt him emotionally. So he spent his days with Kakashi, training and sharpening his mind. Though the old crow was sometimes lazy, he surprisingly was a good teacher, especially for a fox.

Though the boy still held his childish look, at the age of 10 he certainly had a growth spurt. And he lost even more of his baby fat, creating a thin, lanky figure. Surprisingly his hair grew the most. In fact, at the moment it was almost shoulder length. Tsunade kept bothering him about cutting it, but he kinda enjoyed it long. It gave him a feral, yet elegant look.

He sighed, staring at his half inch long claws. He often found himself daydreaming. If he had grown so much, how much had the hound grown? Was he taller than him? Shorter? Longer hair like his brothers? It was hard to picture, since all he could think of was the young, chubby and mild version of him.

"Sulking won't do you any good."

Naruto jumped at the voice. "Ah, Kakashi!" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't sense you there."

The silver haired crow merely smiled, twitching a feathery ear. "Well, I doubt you could sense anything, with all that daydreaming."

The boy's tan cheeks flushed heavily. "I...I wasn't daydreaming." Pouting, he tried to change the subject. "What are we doing today, sensei?"

"You," he corrected with a grin (Naruto couldn't see because of the face mask, but he always knew anyway), "are going to go meditate."

"Eh?! Meditate again?!"

"Yes," The other said casually. "It will help your focus. So, try not to let your mind wander off too much. Spend at least two hours meditating, then you can go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto merely grumbled, trotting off towards his secret spot. Kakashi smiled, thinking, 'you are so full of surprises, Naruto. Though I always knew there was something different about you.'

And so that's how the fox found himself sitting in nothing but a towel, water cascading onto his shoulders as he stared with a relaxed look on his face. It was hard to find himself not thinking about anything, but once he got into it, all he really had to do was enjoy the scenery. It was quite a beautiful spot, after all. He found it while exploring one day, and it was his favorite place to hang out.

The water was so relaxing, and it seemed to melt away all his nostalgic sorrows. As much as he'd rather be actually training, this was nice too. Perhaps it was good to have days to 'relax'.

Perhaps this meditation thing was paying off. Suddenly his ears perked at the sound of rustling in a bush. Tensing up, he wondered vaguely if it was an animal, or it was someone paying him a visit...

Suddenly, a red toad jumped from the bushes and scurried next to him on the rock. It peered up expectantly at him, as if analyzing judgmentally.

Naruto merely grumbled. The toad lived in this lake, and naturally he saw him here every time. So, he adopted him as a pet and had been so kind to name him 'Boss Toad', since the toad always stared at him as if giving him orders. "Are you the one disturbing my peace, Boss Toad?"

The little amphibian just croaked, hopping onto the young fox's knee and sitting comfortably.

Naruto merely silenced himself, shifting ever so slightly as his leg grew tense with numbness. He had supposed to be freeing his thoughts, not debating with a frog.

'Some things never change..' he told himself, his last thought as he let his mind go blank.

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Naruto sometimes went into such deep meditation, he'd actually fall asleep. And so when he cracked his eyes slightly and saw an orange sky, he cursed himself for dozing off.

But then he froze, as he realized that someone was...petting his hair?

He frowned, taking a second to wake up and see if maybe he was just delirious. no, someone was definitely running fingers through his hair, making him softly purr at the feel. Opening his eyes more, he glanced over tat the figure sitting leisurely next to him.

"Hello Naruto." Sasuke said, still petting the fox.

At first the blond couldn't register the sight before him. Then suddenly, snapping from the trance, he turned his body towards his friend, eyes widening with surprise, happiness and longing. "S...Sasuke...? Is that you?"

The raven smirked, but even with the dimmer light his eyes could be clearly seen swimming with happiness. "Of course, stupid."

Naruto sat up, now fully awake and realizing all he had on was his towel. Blushing slightly, his mind was still trying to cope with the fact that the Uchiha had returned from his trip. "What are you doing here so late?"

The fingers stopped running themselves through, and instead, almost shyfully, tugged on a lock of hair. "I...came back about an hour ago. I just...wanted to see you," The other admitted softly, staring into those deep blue eyes he missed so much. It was a wonderful mood...

...Only to be broken as Naruto suddenly pinched his own arm and let out a yelp.

Confused at the action, the hound warily asked, "What...are you doing?"

The young fox winced, but smiled afterwards. "Checking to see if this was a dream..." he said with awe. Not caring if he was barely clothed or not, the fox launched himself at the other and hugged him tightly, almost never wanting to let go as pale arms wrapped around his back.

Yes, it had been a good day, after all.

----TBC----

Aaah, I finally added some Kakashi!!! Yay! Ooo, things are getting good!!! R/R!!!