Days sped by until finally, the weekend was reached. The practice matches proved to be an interesting way to spend the day for Sasuke. He watch every match, eagerly waiting for someone to produce a jitsu he could copy and use alongside Hikitsuko. So far, nothing good had turned up, although his disappointment was alleviated as he watched Naruto tackle the girl Tenten bravely and come out the winner. Hikitsuko got his fair share of watching as well. Sasuke carried the fox proudly on his shoulder now, for all to see and comment on. It was much better than trying to hide the growing creature in his shirt—something he doubted he'd be able to pull off now. Everyone was impressed by Hikitsuko's sleek pelt, lively eyes, and playful disposition.
Except for Kiba.
Kiba's respect for his classmate had all but disappeared. Sasuke could not pass by the Inuzuka boy without receiving some kind of evil glare or angry comment. Akamaru joined in his partner's bad attitude, snapping and puffing up his fur at the sight of Hikitsuko. Hinata hadn't been kidding when she said Kiba was vindictive. Sasuke and Hikitsuko tried their best to ignore it, but it wasn't always easy.
That was why Sasuke was grateful for the weekend. Without school to keep them under the same roof for hours, he could be as far away from Kiba as he wanted to. He spent most of that time roaming the streets of Konoha with the young tod on his shoulder, partly because he needed to, and partly because he could. It was something he had come to enjoy. Every time he passed by an alley, he couldn't help thinking back to the day he had met Hikitsuko and just how much had happened in the short time they had been together.
He noticed something else starting to change: his loyalties. Normally, he would have spent the weekend alone. Now, he found himself hooking up with Naruto, and sometimes Hinata, and just hanging out with them. It was a wonderful three-way friendship, and it filled a lot of what Sasuke felt he had been missing in his life. He couldn't recall ever going anywhere in particular with anyone unless he was forced to. When he was with them, Hikitsuko and Naruto brought laughter, and Hinata brought calm insight and the occasional quiet joke. He decided he liked being with the three of them, especially with Naruto.
As the days passed, he found himself growing closer to the blonde prankster and becoming incredibly comfortable around him. He no longer held his worries in; he knew Naruto was always there with a sympathetic ear to listen and understand. It was nice, he realized, to have someone to be close to. Girls could be catty sometimes, and with Naruto he could feel free to be himself. They were together every day, whether it was walking through the village with Hinata or finding a place outside the village to talk and be together away from everyone else.
"Personally? I'd have to say that Sharingan beats Byakugan every time—and I'm not just saying that because I have the Sharingan eyes. Sure, with Byakugan, you can see all around you and into things, but with Sharingan, you can copy everything an opponent does."
"Really? I'd choose Byakugan. That way, I wouldn't have to sneak my way into certain places. I could stand outside and look in! Know what I'm saying?"
Sasuke sighed. "I'm thinking about fighting. You're thinking about naked women. Something is definitely wrong here."
He and Naruto were perched on a high, wide tree limb just outside the village, discussing anything that came to mind. Right now, it was choosing kekkei genkai—Byakugan versus Sharingan. The sun was starting to set, turning the land shades of gold and blood red combined. Sasuke let the conversation fall and looked down and around at the panoramic view. The tree had been Naruto's idea of a place to sit and talk in privacy, and Sasuke had to agree that it was a good one. He smiled faintly, then looked up.
He still couldn't get over Naruto's eyes. Every time he stared into them, he felt incredibly self-conscious and jerked his head away. And for just such a reason, he happened to look down and spot Inuzuka Kiba making his way back to Konoha, looking incredibly tired. Akamaru limped rather than walked beside him. Sasuke's black eyes hardened into stone at the sight of his new bully. Naruto followed his look of hatred downwards and smirked mischievously. Pulling a slingshot from the back pocket of his jumpsuit, he grabbed a green nut from one of the smaller branches and opened fire on Kiba.
The gray-coated boy gave a loud yelp as the nut connected squarely with his head. He tore back his hood and glared up at the two boys. "You'll pay for that one, Naruto!" he shouted, rubbing his head.
"Geez, Kib, you're cranky!" Naruto shot back haughtily. "What's been eating you? Don't tell me you're still sore over Sasuke kicking your doggy butt! Have you been losing sleep over one lost match?"
"Let it go, Naruto," Sasuke murmured, but Naruto didn't hear him.
"For your information, I've been training all day with Akamaru!" Kiba yelled. He grabbed the tawny pup and deposited him inside his coat, just in case Naruto turned the slingshot on the dog instead. "But what would you know about training? You just spend all your time with Sasuke and Hinata! And come to think of it, why are you spending all your time with him? I thought you hated Sasuke!"
Akamaru poked his head and forepaws out of Kiba's coat, adding a few quick barks into the conversation. Kiba thought about it for a while, then burst out laughing, a harsh, mocking laugh that Sasuke knew was directed at him. "Akamaru says he thinks you two are falling for each other!" he burst out.
Naruto drew back, looking startled. Sasuke, however, was hard-hit by the verbal abuse. He felt his thinning patience with Kiba snap entirely. His fingers quirked like claws and he dug them into the bark of the branch. "Oh yeah?" he spat, his eyes wide. "Well, for all you know, Kiba, maybe we are!" Without a second thought, he reached out his neck and gave Naruto a quick, fleeting kiss on the cheek. He drew back, eyes daring Kiba to say anything.
Kiba froze, his dark eyes wide in surprise. A muscle beneath his left eye twitched, then the horrible laugh started up again. He bolted back towards the village, hooting and hollering. He left in his wake a very stunned Naruto and embarrassed Sasuke.
The last of the Uchiha clan moved first. He turned his head slowly to look at Naruto, and saw the boy looking back at him. He avoided the haunting blue gaze, focusing instead on the boy's small nose. "You...you do know that was only to make him leave...right?" he asked. It was a while before Naruto nodded mutely. Sasuke continued in a frantic rush. "It meant nothing. Like kissing a brick wall. I could do it again and it wouldn't mean a thing to you or me—but I'm not going to, okay?" Another silent nod. "Naruto...Are you all right?"
"Yeah." Naruto's voice was a tiny squeak as he nodded again. "I just...whoa...Never mind, Sasuke." He shook his head firmly, then blinked hard. "That was just a little...yeah. But I understand. No, no, it's fine, totally cool by me. I know you didn't really...You didn't, right?"
"Oh, right, right." Sasuke nodded vigorously. "Right, didn't mean a thing by it. Just...trying to get rid of Kiba..." He looked down at Hikitsuko. "Listen, it's...it's getting kind of late. You think maybe we should..."
"Go to bed? I mean—you go to your bed, I got to mine. Yeah. Yeah, I think that'll...that'll be good. Yeah, kinda tired. Hmm, hungry, too." He gave Sasuke one final look before murmuring, "Well, g'night," and jumping down from the tree. Sasuke watched him leave, feeling a strange mixture of fulfillment and doubt.
Kissing Naruto had had the desired effect: Kiba was gone. However, it left in the wake of its success a lot of questions that probably shouldn't be answered. For instance, why had that been the first thing to come to his mind? Why hadn't it felt incredibly wrong? And why, most importantly, had the expression on Naruto's round face not been one of total disgust? After all, he'd just been kissed by a boy!
"Hikitsuko," Sasuke whispered, taking the fox kit into his arms and making the gentle leap down to the ground, "there are some things in this world I will never understand. And one of those things is what happened here today. Why did I kiss Naruto?"
Hikitsuko did not respond in the way Sasuke would have liked, with words; however, he responded in the traditional animal way, with a comforting sound and a close snuggle. Sasuke touched down light as a cat and cradled the fox close to him. He buried his face in the soft, thick pelt and, for the first time in years, cried. He fell down in the middle of the dusty path through the woods and sobbed into the fox's gingery-red fur. He didn't know why he was crying in the first place. He felt a huge, gaping emptiness in his heart, and wondered if you could really die of a broken heart.
But why was it broken?
Uchiha Sasuke, stoic member of team 7, leaned back against a stump and cried everything he'd held back for so long. He cried for his family, for Naruto, for every time he had felt that incredible loneliness tear him apart. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he let go of everything that had ever brought him down. It felt terrible to weep so unashamedly, but at the same time, so good to finally release all he'd ever held. Hikitsuko's warm tongue caressed his face as the young fox tried to soothe the one who had given him so much and asked for so little in return. Sasuke was glad he wasn't completely alone here, when he needed love the most.
After about ten or fifteen minutes, his frenetic sobs slowed to soft hiccups, then to quiet sniffling. He held Hikitsuko close to his chest. The sun had vanished below the horizon, leaving the land in a sort of half-darkness. Shapes were already blurring together into dark purple, meaningless blobs. Sasuke stood up, wiping his face one last time before setting out for home. Hikitsuko squirmed out of his arms and onto his shoulder, where he never once stopped bathing Sasuke's ears in affectionate licks. Sasuke was glad to have such an understanding companion, even if he never could figure out what the fox was saying to him.
The walk home was silent. The streets were deserted as people settled down inside for dinner and family fun. Sasuke tried not to think about family. He never wanted more than the fox kit sitting on his shoulder. He wanted to live alone with Hikitsuko, and no one else. Alone. Tears threatened again. Well, maybe not alone. Maybe with someone special.
As he settled down in bed, Sasuke did something unusual. He lifted the drowsy Hikitsuko up from his towel and set him down beside him in bed. "I need someone with me tonight," he explained. "And it might as well be you. You don't mind, do you?" Hikitsuko shook his head, licking Sasuke's face tenderly. Sasuke smiled and turned off the lights.
;-:-;-:-;
If he had thought his first dream had been strange, Uchiha Sasuke would have no word at all to describe the next dream he had.
He dreamed he was sitting high in the tree with Naruto again, only the sun wasn't setting. On the contrary, it was just starting to rise. The half-light made the shapes and shadows merge into soft figures. And it was spring, too. Petals falling from the trees' flowers drifted through the air. Sasuke heard flute music nearby and looked behind him to see Hikitsuko standing on his hindpaws, playing a small reed flute. The music was light and happy, and it made him feel relaxed. He looked down to see Kiba holding Akamaru by the front paws and swinging him around as the two of them danced together. They both smiled up at him. Sasuke felt himself smile back. For a dream, it wasn't really so bad. A little crazy, but not unlikable.
He turned back to Naruto, surprised to see that the boy had inched closer to him. The dopey grin Sasuke had come to enjoy seeing was in full burst. "They won't leave us alone until you kiss me!" Naruto told him, a teasing tone in his voice. He stretched his neck closer to Sasuke. "C'mon! Don't you want a little peace and quiet?"
Sasuke had to admit, now that he was thinking about it, Kiba and Akamaru had started up an annoying chant. He couldn't quite pick out the words, but he knew they were making fun of him. Yes, come to think of it, he would like a little peace and quiet to gather his thoughts. He obliged, and found his lips touching Naruto's.
Naruto gave a peaceful smile, then turned into Sakura. The Haruno girl frowned at him, then turned into Uchiha Itachi. Itachi grinned evilly. Everything around Sasuke, which had been serene pastel greens and pinks, turned to red, blood red. Sasuke let out a sharp cry as Itachi shoved him off the branch and into the black void below. Images swirled around him, and as he focused on each one of them, he realized they were scenes he'd seen before. His family was dying all around him, and, being such a small child, there was nothing he could do to save them. He struggled, trying to grasp the hands stretched towards him in desperate pleas, but his arms were held fast by some force he couldn't see. He kicked, but his feet would not move. He let out a shrill, frightened cry...
No ItachiSasuke slash was intended by that, by the way. Have you ever had a dream that is just incredibly screwed up, and it turns into a nightmare all of a sudden? This is one of those times. Poor Sasuke-kun...:'(
Sasuke woke up screaming, doused in a cold sweat. The sheets were tangled around his arms and legs, and it took him a while to scrap together enough rational thought to free himself. He became aware of a shrill, frantic yipping and noticed Hikitsuko dashing around the room, his pelt sticking up straight in terror. Sasuke realized he must have kicked the fox out of his bed in his dream and tried to think of how to calm him down. He remembered that Naruto would always bark something in the fox language to make Hikitsuko relax. After playing it over in his head a few times, he figured he had the basics of it and tried his best.
Hikitsuko skidded to a halt, obviously more relieved that Sasuke was all right than by the words that were obviously said incorrectly. Sasuke sighed and flopped back on the bed. He felt the mattress shift as Hikitsuko's delicate paws touched down and padded over to his side. He wrapped an arm around the fox briefly, then got up to use the bathroom. Before returning to bed, he got a drink of water. It was an old trick he'd often used on himself, something that usually helped him get back to sleep when he woke up in the middle of the night.
Hikitsuko was waiting with pricked ears and a welcoming grin. Sasuke collapsed into bed with a tired groan. "Hikitsuko-kun," he mumbled, "what's happening to me? I'm spending all my free time with people I used to hate and I cried last night. I feel like I'm breaking apart, but at the same time, like everything's finally coming together again." He rolled over onto his side and scratched behind the fox's black, scarred ears. "What's happening to me?" he repeated.
Again, Hikitsuko could only offer him animal comforts. He pressed close to Sasuke, licking his face and whining gently. As he drifted back to sleep, Sasuke wondered why he had ever hesitated to take the young fox into his home.