Sasuke's POV
"Go to my house!" Sasuke said as soon as they were out of earshot of Sakura and Ino. He shuddered slightly. The voice he had spoken in was Naruto's. He still couldn't get over that. "We can lie low there for a while."
"All right." Naruto nodded. Sasuke shivered again. One thing he didn't like about the Uzumaki boy's Transformation Jitsu Escape Plan was that he had to hear his own voice speaking someone else's words. He started running in the direction of Sasuke's house. Sasuke slapped his forehead. To anyone else, they looked and sounded like each other.
"No, not my house!" he hissed angrily. "I'm you, Naruto, remember?" He turned himself in the other direction, heading for Naruto's house.
"Whoa—wait—what?" Naruto skidded to a halt, scratching his head in confusion. He looked in the direction of Sasuke's house, then his own. "Yours or mine? Actually, that makes no sense. Because your house, while it's your house, is also my house—because you're you and I'm you. So do you mean my house or my house?"
Sasuke stared openmouthed. Naruto was him, Sasuke, but he was also Naruto. That meant that...whoa...Brain overload. He twitched slightly. "Let's see," he began shakily. "Ahm...I think..."
Both of them got the same idea at the same time as they both blurted out, "Your house." There was a few seconds' pause, then the two boys burst out laughing. Hikitsuko wandered confusedly between Sasuke, who looked like Naruto and smelled like Sasuke; and Naruto, who looked like Sasuke and smelled like Naruto. He sat down with a weary whine, looking from boy to boy. He couldn't decide who was who. Every one of his senses told him that they were themselves and the other at the same time.
Sasuke was the first to recover himself. He smirked. "All right, whose house?" he asked. Naruto opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, looking incredibly bewildered. "Should we transform back, you think? Maybe that would make this a little easier."
As he was speaking, Hikitsuko chose Naruto's side and started in the direction of Sasuke's house. The two boys started laughing again, then followed after the fox. Neither realized that as they walked, they walked closer to each other than they had before. It didn't feel wrong, so neither really noticed.
;-:-;-:-;
Sasuke opened the door and stepped aside to let Naruto in. It was a week later, and still signs of Hikitsuko's wild day alone were visible. The walls were still grooved about six inches from the floor where the fox had dragged the kunai along. One hallway's floor was nicked and dented from the fallen box of metal weapons. Naruto seemed to ignore all this. "Kitchen's down the hallway, first room there," Sasuke informed him. The boy nodded and started for the small room. Sasuke held back, scooping up Hikitsuko and a first aid kit on his way.
He heard the thump of Naruto flopping down on a chair at the kitchen table as well as the pop of him transforming back, and hurried ahead. Setting Hikitsuko down on the table atop a towel, he opened the white box and pulled out a few materials. Hikitsuko heaved a soft sigh before settling down on the soft fabric. Sasuke looked up at his fighting partner. "A few cuts and bites," he diagnosed, "but nothing out of my league. All right, let's get started, Hikitsuko."
"Hikitsuko did a great job with Akamaru," Naruto commented, giving the fox a gentle pat. "He's really proud of you for winning, Sasuke. He told me he hopes you're proud of him too. He really tried hard to make you happy."
"Proud?" Sasuke smiled. "I couldn't have done it without him! You saw how Kiba was ready to combine with Akamaru. That could've been nasty if it weren't for him!"
Naruto nodded, then finally turned to look at Sasuke. He burst out laughing. "Change back!" he spluttered, giggling too hard to speak normally. Sasuke studied himself. Oops. Still Naruto. With a pop of his own, he broke the jitsu and became himself again. Hikitsuko snickered.
As he started work on treating Hikitsuko's injuries, Sasuke started thinking back to the match. He realized just how much he'd needed the help of not only the fox, but the boy who spoke his language. If Hikitsuko hadn't distracted Akamaru and lured him away from the fight, Kiba could have been the winner. And if Naruto hadn't gone after the young fox, his hurts could have been beyond Sasuke's basic abilities to heal. I needed them both, he thought, giving a worried smile as Hikitsuko flinched under his gentle touch. Without them both...I might have lost that fight.
Naruto interrupted his train of thought with a soft sigh. "Nice place you have, Sasuke," he murmured. Sasuke looked up into those deep blue eyes and felt a sudden, strong pull towards them. He'd seen those eyes so many times before. Why was he just now noticing them?
"I don't think you've ever been here before, have you?" he asked. Naruto shook his head. "That's a little disappointing. I mean, we've been on the team together for a while now. You'd think we'd have spent time together by now." He returned his attention to Hikitsuko. Naruto laughed.
"Bet you've had Sakura-chan over here a few times, haven't you?" he teased. Sasuke laughed, a little dryly.
"I wouldn't let Sakura-chan within ten miles of my house!" he retorted. "She'd start going on and on about how I let her into my living space—therefore, I'm going out with her." Naruto let out a short cackle of amusement. Sasuke smiled to himself and he tested each of the fox's paws for sore spots. When he found nothing, he took out Hikitsuko's favorite new toy, a kunai he'd picked up that Sasuke had dulled the edges and tip of, and let the fox chew on it. Hikitsuko braced it on the table with one paw and held it up to his mouth with the other. A silence fell. Sasuke wondered why he was finding it so hard to talk to Uzumaki Naruto. He groped around for something else to talk about. "I think he's cutting his adult teeth," Sasuke told Naruto. "He keeps looking for things to gnaw on, and this morning I found this in my bed." He held up a small white fang. Naruto took the tooth.
"Yup. Looks like he's growing up just fine." Both boys smiled like proud parents at the fox kit. The conversation dropped off there; the only sound was that of Hikitsuko's baby teeth rasping against the iron ninja weapon. At first, Sasuke was comfortable with letting the talking stop. Inconspicuously, he glanced from the kit to Naruto, hoping desperately that the other youth wouldn't see him looking. Then the silence became horribly, horribly awkward. He could feel the tension building in the air, making it harder and harder to draw breath.
Finally, Naruto burst. He was clenching his teeth in a strained smile of borderline fear. "I'm gonna go now," he muttered, starting to get out of the chair. Sasuke jumped to his feet.
"Wait!" he burst out suddenly. Naruto stopped and stared curiously.
"Yeah?"
"...I..." Sasuke shook his head. "I dunno. Forget it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah...It'll come to me eventually. Are you heading back to the arena?"
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "I thought I heard Iruka-sensei say to take my name off of the list of people left to match up today, but I can't be sure. I'd better head back and see if I'm up next. Wanna come back with me?"
Sasuke, his stomach heavy with some emotion he couldn't quite understand, shook his head. "Nah. I'm..tired. Think I'll go to bed early today." He glanced over at a nearby clock. It was just past two in the afternoon. "Maybe not now, but...no, I'm just really beat, Naruto. Good luck, though."
Naruto nodded and started out the door. Once he was sure the boy was gone, Sasuke dropped back down heavily into his chair. He heaved a sigh of defeat. "Hikitsuko, why did I do that?" he asked sadly. The fox kit stopped teething and looked up at him, tilting his head to the side and perking up one ear. "I didn't need to tell him anything. I just...I just wanted his company." He put his elbows on the tabletop and rested his head in his hands. "Why do I suddenly want to spend so much time with Naruto?"
Hikitsuko didn't make a single sound as he abandoned his chew-toy and dropped down into Sasuke's lap. He cuddled up close to the boy and licked his chin. His dark eyes seemed to say, It's all right. I'm here. I won't judge you. I'll just be cute and affectionate and let you know someone loves you. Sasuke reached down and cradled his furry friend to his chest, glad for the fox's presence. He needed someone right now, and Hikitsuko was someone. The fox, though a little startled by this sudden need for close contact, did not struggle to be put down. He seemed to sense Sasuke's need for affection. He sighed and relaxed in Sasuke's embrace.
Uchiha Sasuke felt an emotion rise up inside of his heart, something he hadn't felt for years: true sadness. He felt so desolate and alone in the world at that instant, he almost burst into tears. Slowly, slowly, control built up a dam against the tears he felt rising up. He wasn't alone. Naruto hadn't left him forever. He was just back at the arena, waiting to see if he would be fighting to prove himself to Iruka. Besides, Hikitsuko was there with him now. He wasn't alone. A muscle in his left leg twitched, then began to ache painfully. Stupid, he thought. He had forgotten to stretch after his fight. Whenever he woke up the next morning, he would be stiff as a board. It was too late to change it now.
He let his arms relax around Hikitsuko and the fox kit hopped down to the ground in a clatter of black claws. He looked up at Sasuke with adoration, then darted off to stand beside his food bowl, whining expectantly. Sasuke laughed and wiped his eyes, even though they were dry. "All right, you manipulative little furball," he said, sticking out his tongue. "I understand what my purpose in life is now. I'm only here to feed you, isn't that right?" Hikitsuko grinned and swished his tail. Sasuke opened the cabinet to see what he could feed the fox. In a flash of golden red, Hikitsuko was beside him, ears pricked expectantly. Sasuke chuckled and rubbed the fox kit's snow-white belly.
His hand brushed over various cans and boxes as he searched for something quick to give his friend. Now the tiredness from his recent match hit him. Suddenly, curling up in bed for the rest of the day didn't seem like a bad idea. He yawned and grabbed a container of something from the fridge. He dropped it into the fox's dish and yawned again. "I'm sorry, Hikitsuko," he mumbled. "I just can't keep my eyes open. I'll be upstairs if you need me for anything."
Hikitsuko seemed to understand as he wolfed down the food and trotted after Sasuke up the stairs. The Uchiha boy flopped down on his bed without bothering to get changed out of his dayclothes. He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his side. He heard the soft tread of Hikitsuko's black paws on the carpet, a sound that had become familiar to him by now. He didn't feel like telling the young fox to stay out of his bed. Actually, if Hikitsuko wanted to sleep with him, he wouldn't say no. But to his disappointment, the fox kit curled up on the towel that had become his bed. He sighed, not feeling like telling the creature to come into his bed with him.
Sleep did not come immediately to Sasuke. He spent a half-hour shifting from position to position trying to get comfortable. Once he found something decent, he realized he'd forgotten to take off his shoes. He sat up wearily and unstrapped his sandals, letting them fall to the floor with a dull thud. He lay back down again, sighing to himself as he let his eyes fall shut. Finally, he fell asleep.
;-:-;-:-;
Dreams are bizarre workings of the mind, often bringing to light deep wishes that the conscious mind doesn't know of or keeps well hidden. Sasuke wondered about this often after his dream that afternoon. He dreamed that he was back to one of his earliest days with Hikitsuko. The tod was cowering behind Sasuke, quivering in fear of the wooden training dummy. Sasuke turned to see Naruto grinning cockily at him. He took a step towards the blonde boy. "Naruto...?" he breathed. Naruto nodded. "What are you doing here?"
"You wanted to hang out with me more, remember, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side. "I didn't expect to see you here with Sakura-chan, though."
"Sakura..." Sasuke turned just in time to see Hikitsuko become Haruno Sakura. The fox-turned-girl winked at him, then gave him a sharp push. Sasuke stumbled to regain his footing, but not before he collided with Naruto. The blonde boy smirked.
"So you did want to spend time with me," he teased, winking. Then he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and smiled even bigger. Sasuke felt a strange warmth build up inside his chest, a warmth he'd never felt before. He never wanted Naruto to let him go.
Sasuke felt his body give a convulsive twitch and the dream scattered. He struggled to hold onto the warm feeling it had given him. Outside, a cold rain was drumming on the rooftops in the village. The sound of the falling rain dampened the warmth of Sasuke's dream, leaving him feeling cold and alone again. He stared out at the dark, wet night. Why Naruto? he wanted to know. Why did I dream about Naruto? He thought of the blonde prankster longingly. The morning couldn't come soon enough. He wanted nothing more than to be in the boy's company. But...did that mean...?
"No!" he whispered sharply. "No, it's not...I'm not...No!" He shook his head firmly. No, that was wrong. He couldn't. . .Could he? No...it wasn't right. But if it wasn't, why did it feel right?
Why am I so worried about this? he wondered, shaking his head again. It was just a dream, right? Right. None of that actually happened. Dreams are always really screwed up. It was just a dream. It doesn't mean a thing.
Even though he'd slept more than normal, Sasuke was still tired. He needed companionship. Reaching down beside his bed, he grasped Hikitsuko gently. The sleeping fox awoke and blinked up at him with curious, sleep-heavy eyes. "Hikitsuko, tonight, I want you to sleep up here with me," Sasuke murmured. He lay back down, resting a hand on the fox's warm, soft coat. Sleep came quickly this time, and soon both boy and fox were snoring peacefully.