A Bond

Tree climbing. It's not a difficult concept, but executing it definitely takes some work. I was doing alright, and Kakashi and Sakura already left. I still didn't understand, Naruto, though. For hours, he couldn't get passed a meter or so. Now, he's almost caught up with me… and I wasn't getting any higher. I could never understand, then, how much that feeling would come to represent my relationship with Naruto.

Earlier, when Sakura was here, Naruto had asked her for help. It had shocked me, to say the least. Naruto doesn't ask anyone for help; it's not in his nature. However, what shocked me the most was how much I didn't like it. Not that he was getting better, but that he had asked her for help.

'Why?' I wondered. She was great at this, anyone could see that. If there was anyone to ask advice of, it would be her. So then, why did this bother me so much?

I study him as he attempts to focus his chakra. I can tell by the stressed look on his face how hard he's trying to concentrate. Where could I get some of the determination this kid's got? Part of me admires him for it; wants to get close to him. But, the other part…

'I could just talk to him… yeah. I'm not getting anywhere with this, I could just-' He took off for the tree.

"Hey! Naruto!" I called, distracting him and causing him to trip. 'Whoops. That definitely wasn't the plan.'

He growls at me again. What is it with this kid constantly growling at me? That is so weird!

"Sasuke! What are you doing?" he shouted. "I was trying to focus my chakra!"

"Well, you see… the thing is…" This was harder than I'd thought…

"Mmhmm, the thing is what?" he scowled at me.

'Damn. Why is simply talking to him so difficult?'

I looked away, suddenly all nerves. 'What the hell? I'm an Uchiha, dammit! Talking to a fucking dobe should not require all of my brain power!'

All this stress was making my eye twitch. "Y-you know, you asked Sakura for advice when she was here…" I could feel the blood pooling in my cheeks, and I threw my head to the side. "So what did she tell you?" 'Oh, good God, I hope he didn't notice…'

Judging from that shit-eating grin that spread across his features, I was willing to bet he had. "I'm not telling you," he said smugly.

I glared at him, the fucking moron. 'Scratch that, no way do I want him as my friend!'

The next morning, I found myself desperately searching through the woods. I couldn't let it on back at Tazuna's place, but Sakura's suggesting Naruto could be dead somewhere really had me worried. Despite how we left things, I shouldn't have let him stay out here by himself all night.

I didn't know why, but the idea of Naruto being dead was something I couldn't handle. I had to find him fast.

"Is there someone who is precious to you?" I heard a soft voice in a clearing up ahead.

"Someone who… what are you saying, sis? What do you mean, precious?" Naruto's voice. He's alive, but who's that with him?

I crept a bit closer and hid behind a tree to listen in. He was just sitting there talking to some girl… Who was she? Someone from the village?

"You see," she spoke again, "when a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong."

'Protect something precious?' I wondered. I couldn't understand, not then.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Naruto grinned, "I know exactly what you're saying."

My eyes narrowed. 'Naruto… what…'

The girl stood up. "You will get strong, very strong." Naruto chuckled. Suddenly, I felt she was so familiar somehow. "Goodbye, we'll meet again sometime."

There was something off about her. Growing suspicious, I decided it was time to reveal myself. There was no other way to get closer. I stepped out from behind the tree and walked towards the clearing.

Walking past her, there was a sinister feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had definitely met this girl before. I watched her leave out of the corner of my eye, until Naruto's loud voice pulled me back to reality.

"Whoa, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before, but this takes the cake-*smack*-OW!"

I smacked him on the head. 'The hell does he think he's doing?' "You twerp, did you just forget about breakfast?" I ignored his protests. 'Fucking dobe, he deserves it. Making me—the rest of us—have to worry about him like that.' "You're such a loser."

"Ah!" His eyes widened at that, but then he just broke out into a wide grin and laughed about the whole thing.

I tried looking disgusted, but inside I could feel my heart softening against my will.

I sighed. "Here." I pulled an apple out of my pocket and tossed it at him.

Naruto's hand snapped up to catch it. He just stared at it in shocked confusion, before shifting his gaze back up to me.

I could feel another blush heating my cheeks and quickly dropped my gaze to hide it. "I didn't think you'd want to take a time out to go eat, so I just thought I'd bring you something. Sorry, that was all I could stash without Kakashi noticing."

Naruto just flashed that wide grin of his again, and I could have sworn I felt my heart pulling. 'What is wrong with me?'

"Oh, wow! Thanks, Sasuke!" He cheered and bit into the fruit.

I couldn't help but smile at his antics. Usually, I would find the incredibly annoying, but today… Today something was different. I just couldn't put my finger on what, exactly.

When Naruto finished his apple he smiled up at me again in thanks. My eyes were drawn to his lips, shining from the apple juice. My thoughts were turned back to that first day all those months ago. The day he accidentally fell on top of me, and our lips met.

Blood pumped through my lips, and I suddenly felt the urge to feel them again. To feel Naruto's lips brush against mine again. My feet moved, seemingly of their own volition, when Naruto's voice broke through my reverie.

"Hey, Sasuke."

I stopped.

"Let's get back to training. Neither of us are gonna get any better standing around here all day," he said.

My eyes widened. "Right, training," I responded, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I offered my hand to help him up before I had a chance to think about it. Naruto just stared at it, and I became inherently aware that he was not likely to accept it. However, just as I was about to pull my hand back, he reached up and clasped it in his own. My heart pounded a bit faster at his touch. Quickly blinking my shock away, I pulled Naruto back to his feet.

"Let's go, dobe," I ordered jokingly with a slight smirk on my face.

Naruto wrenched his hand out of mine with a laugh. "Ha! Bring it on, teme!"

Later that evening, I was dragging Naruto through the forest back to the village. We'd spent nearly all of our chakra mastering the tree climbing technique today. Surprisingly though, I still had enough strength left to help Naruto back to Tazuna's house. I won't leave him out here again. However, in the state I was in, I still needed to stop for a break.

"Naruto, I've got to stop. You weight just as much as I do, if not more," I panted. "Let's just take a moment to catch our breath."

Naruto nodded slightly on my shoulder, "Alright, yeah, time for a break."

I help Naruto slide off my shoulders and onto the ground, before I plopped down beside him. Breathing heavily, I took a moment to study Naruto's features. He was leaning forward on his hands, panting into the ground like dog. It was a sight that I always get an odd sense of enjoyment out of remembering, though I couldn't say why. Another mystery.

Naruto looked up at me, gazing at me with his big, blue eyes. I closed my eyes and turned away. 'This has to stop,' I thought to myself. 'There is only one way to get this power, little brother.' My eyes snapped open. No, no, this was the reason I always isolated myself in school. I couldn't run the risk of forming this kind of bond with someone.

"Sasuke?" Concern rang in Naruto's voice. I shook my head. 'We cannot do this. I cannot care about him." I ran my fingers through my bangs. "Sasuke, what's the matter?"

I looked into Naruto's eyes, then down to his lips. I wanted to kiss him, I wanted to so badly. 'Only one way,' my older brother's voice echoed in my head. 'This will not end well for either of us.' So, I turned away.

"Sasuke?" Naruto tried again, but I ignored him and stood up.

"Come on, let's get going," I said pulling Naruto off the ground and draping his arm over my shoulder.

Naruto was blatantly confused, but he didn't push the issue.

'You cannot understand, Naruto. I cannot care; I cannot be your friend… or anything else. For you to stay alive, I have to hate you.

It was too late, too late to convince myself that I could hate Naruto. I was walking through the village back to the barrack complex. I thought back to the battle on the bridge, where I had been willing to give up my life to keep Naruto alive. I almost died, and he fought tooth and nail to avenge me.

I ran my fingers through my hair, as I lifted my gaze to the barrack complex I'd lived in for the past six years. This needed to be fixed. If I couldn't make myself hate Naruto, then I'd have to make him hate me. He couldn't be my closest friend if he wanted nothing to do with me. But what to do?

Spikey blond hair appeared over the walkway wall. My eyes narrowed. Naruto was home. It was now or never, so I'd better think fast. In a flash, I'd leaped to the walkway and perched on the wall. Naruto's window was just across from me.

I rapped lightly on the glass, still not knowing what I was going to say. It didn't take long for Naruto's face to fill the window. He stared at me before sliding his window open.

"Sasuke?" confusion dripped from his voice. "What are you doing here?"

I didn't know. Here I was, staring him in the face, and I had no idea what to tell him. 'I guess I could start with the truth. The best liars always mix fact with fiction.'

Naruto cocked his head and squinted at me. "Is there something wrong?"

No choice. "Naruto," I began nervously, "I have to tell you something. Something important."

Naruto blinked. "Tell me something important? Well, go on, what is it?"

"I-I," I turned my head away. "It's about what happened… back in the Land of Waves…" I said.

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean, on the bridge? Or back in the woods?"

"Both," I responded.

I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"I think... I think I know... Sasuke..." he whispered.

'What?' My head snapped back just in time to feel lips crash into mine. I knew they were Naruto's; they felt just as warm as before. My mouth reacted, instantly molding to his. This is what I had been wanting, what I'd needed. Finally, finally, I could feel him.

'Take the life of your best friend. You must kill him!'

'No!' My eyes snapped open, and I jerked away.

"Wait! Sasuke!" Naruto protested, but I didn't even look at him. I couldn't bear it. Without a word of explanation, I leaped out of the window.

Things were strained between Naruto and me after that. More so than it had ever been, before. Mission accomplished, I guess. Unfortunately...