The rain from the previous night combined with the warmth of the previous few days to create a thick, heavy fog. It hung in the air, softening the edges of buildings and blurring shapes together. Sasuke headed out after packing a bottle of water and a few small snacks for Hikitsuko into a small pack. Hikitsuko perched on his shoulder, his pointed muzzle stretched up and out as he scented the air, his kunai clamped in his jaws. Sasuke was glad he didn't have to hide Hikitsuko anymore. He liked the fox's weight on his shoulder. It felt...right, somehow.
"I wonder where Naruto is," the boy murmured, scratching his head. He was leaned against the wall of an alley, his usual waiting place for Naruto. He had been there for a few minutes and still there was no sign of his friend. "It's not like him to be late like this, especially when we're walking together. Should we start without him, Hikitsuko?"
The fox kit considered this briefly before nodding. Sasuke nodded as well. "All right. Maybe he's already there. Although, I can't understand why he'd go off without me." He started the walk to the arena alone, keeping a steady stream of conversation with his fox friend. "Maybe he had a hard fight yesterday and he's sleeping it off. I bet that's it. He's probably just tired. If that's the case, then he'll be a little late, if he shows up at all. I don't think he could have been hurt that badly."
Hikitsuko listened to the one-sided conversation as best as he could. Every so often, he would hop down to the ground, poke his snout somewhere, then scamper back to Sasuke. The Uchiha youth would obligingly bend down to let his friend back up. The walk to the arena took slightly longer than it usually did, so by the time he saw it, Sasuke knew he had missed the beginning of the first match-up. He broke into a run.
"Naruto!" he panted, smiling slightly when he saw the boy. Naruto turned away from Hyuuga Hinata, who he had been talking with, and smiled as well.
"Sasuke! You made it! Great!"
"Who do we have today?" Sasuke asked, leaning on the railing next to Naruto. The blonde youth laughed out loud.
"You're never going to believe this. It's Hinata's cousin, Neji against that Choji guy on Ino-chan's team!"
"Hyuuga Neji?" Sasuke repeated, staring intently at the sparring figures down below. "You've got to be kidding me. Byakugan Boy versus the Calorie Converter? This'll be over in a few minutes."
He turned his head to the right to look at Naruto. Hinata was there instead. "That was...a really great match yesterday, Sasuke-kun," she murmured softly, turning her pale eyes down to the floor. "You and your little fox fought very well. Although...Kiba-kun is not happy about losing."
"Who would be?"
"Well..." She glanced up, then back down. "I think I should warn you. Kiba-kun...he's a very nice person, don't get me wrong, but he...takes losing very seriously. He may not speak to you for a while to come..." She lifted her eyes and focused them on Hikitsuko. "I was wondering...Could I hold your fox? Please?"
Before Sasuke could open his mouth to tell her he didn't mind, Hikitsuko leapt from his shoulder and onto Hinata's. The girl gave a soft squeak of delight and reached out a tentative hand to stroke the fox's ginger pelt. Hikitsuko licked her cheek and nuzzled her gently. Hinata looked as though she would die of happiness. Sasuke couldn't help a smile of his own. Naruto tapped on his shoulder and motioned him to speak with him away from Hinata.
"Did you remember what you wanted to tell me yesterday?" he asked. Just as Sasuke was stalling for an answer, a loud cheer rang through the arena, causing them both to jump and look. Choji's body had nearly doubled in size, and Neji's blow bounced harmlessly off. Naruto turned back to Sasuke, looking expectant.
"No," Sasuke lied, shaking his head. "It probably wasn't important, though."
"Excuse me." Hinata's soft voice broke in. Both boys turned to look. "Naruto-kun, would you like to watch the rest of the match with me?"
Naruto shook his head. "No thanks, Hinata. Sasuke and I need to talk about something."
Hinata's face fell, and Sasuke stepped in. "Tell you what, Hinata, why don't we trade foxes?" Both she and Naruto gave him curious looks. "What I mean is, would you like to watch the rest of the match with Hikitsuko while I watch with Naruto?"
Hinata's pale eyes lit up as she cradled Hikitsuko closer. "Are you sure? Can I really?" Sasuke nodded. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She scratched behind the tod's black ears. "He's adorable."
"I've been replaced by the furball," Naruto muttered, but he was smiling with the joke. Sasuke nodded.
"I'll keep Naruto nice and safe for you, Hinata," he promised. The Hyuuga girl grinned and buried her face in Hikitsuko's soft fur. Sasuke stared at the opposite wall, leaning back on the rail again. "Naruto, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later today. We can train or whatever you want."
"The Ramen Bar. My treat. We can go right now if you want. This match is as good as won, anyways."
Sasuke turned and looked into those haunting blue eyes. "All right." He glanced back at Hinata, holding Hikitsuko like a baby in her arms as she watched the mock battle. His furry friend would be safe with Hinata. Without a word to anyone, he and Naruto crept out of the arena.
;-:-;-:-;
"Sasuke, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now," Naruto began, fiddling with his chopsticks. Sasuke looked up at him. "I mean, I just can't understand why we never used to get along. Neither of us have parents, and both of us are strong in our own ways."
Sasuke sighed, wishing for all the world that he had Hikitsuko in his lap then and there. "Well...I mean, back then...No one understands me and my past," he muttered. The mere thought of the horrors he'd seen as a child made him shudder. He felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe if you told me, I would understand," he murmured seriously.
The words came out in a rush, almost as if they had been rehearsed every night since the terrible event had taken place. Sasuke felt them flowing out of him in a fluid stream, and felt a strange emptiness when they were out. He'd been holding back and hiding away without ever thinking of letting go. And now, as he gazed into those sympathetic, cerulean eyes, he felt a sort of release, as if he'd spent his whole life waiting to tell the blonde boy sitting across from him. Silence stretched out. Sasuke wondered if he was breathing as loudly as he thought he was. After a time, Naruto gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "I never knew," he whispered hoarsely, his eyes wide and stunned. "I never knew that's what you had to go through, Sasuke..."
"It seems like nobody knows," Sasuke mumbled, his voice thick with barely concealed tears. It had been years since he'd cried—at least, cried in front of someone else. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly opening up so much. Naruto glanced up at a nearby clock, swearing softly when he saw the time. He pulled out a few coins and dropped them on the table between the two bowls of ramen.
"I'm sorry to cut this so short, but we have to get back soon," he said, looking again at the clock as if daring the hands to move any further ahead. "Are you coming back with me?" Sasuke nodded. Hikitsuko was back at the arena with Hinata. He wanted to feel the familiar brush of the young fox's fur against his hands again. Digging through his pockets, he produced a few coins of his own and added them as a tip, then darted after Naruto.
As he ran alongside the youth, he felt the pressure of tears slowly back down from his eyes and the weight of sorrow relived lift from his chest. Naruto looked over his shoulder and flashed him a quick, goofy grin. Sasuke replied with his own trademark smirk. "Race ya!" the Uzumaki boy shouted. "C'mon, Sasuke! You run like a girl!"
"I run like a girl? You run like Lee!" Sasuke put on a spurt of speed, hoping to pass his friend. Naruto stuck out his tongue and laughed. It was he who darted ahead, leaving Sasuke feeling slow and, quite frankly, out of shape.
"Too slow! You run like Ino-chan!"
"You run like a turtle!"
"You run like a bird!"
By the time they reached the arena, both had run out of comparisons and breath, and Sasuke was feeling much better. He barely opened the door when Hikitsuko bounced out and tackled him head-on. Sasuke actually laughed when the fox kit scrabbled the front of his shirt with dusty paws and perched on his shoulder. Hinata appeared a few seconds later, her pale eyes wide. "Oh, Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry he got away from me!" she apologized, then stopped and smiled shyly as Sasuke smiled back at her.
"It's all right, Hinata-chan," he told her. "He knows better than to run anywhere dangerous. Foxes have sharp ears; he probably heard us coming and decided to meet and greet." He scratched behind the fox's ears. "Thanks for watching him for me. Did we miss anything?"
"As you expected, Neji beat Choji without any trouble. After that, it was Lee-kun against Shikamaru-kun," Hinata replied. "Lee-kun won, but just barely." She shrugged. "You lucked out, Naruto-kun. Once again, you weren't chosen when you weren't there."
Sasuke looked from boy to girl, nodding to himself. "Are we about done?" he asked. Hinata shook her head.
"One more match, then Iruka-sensei says we'll call it a day," she answered. She turned to Naruto, her pale eyes warm. "Naruto-kun, if you're not up next, would you like to watch the match with me?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke before nodding. "Sure! Wanna watch with us, Sasuke?"
Sasuke started to refuse, but one look at the two expectant faces made him change his mind then and there. He nodded, smiling along with them. "All right." He gave Hikitsuko a stroke before walking back up to the balcony to wait for the next match-up.
As he watched the names spin, Sasuke thought back to the Ramen Bar and what had happened there. He never thought he would tell anyone, anyone, about what he had seen as a child—and he never thought that if he were to tell anyone, it would be Uzumaki Naruto. And yet...somehow, it didn't feel so wrong. He watched the names spin to a halt, one after the other, and laughed at Naruto's frustration that he was not chosen. The blonde boy cooled his hot temper quickly at the sound of Sasuke's laughter, smiling sheepishly.