C.M.D: Omg, this story just seemed to get more popular with the addition of its third chapter. That means some thanks are in order. Thank you for reviewing: xxDarkKitsunexx, kellyQ, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, roboguy45, Silver Winged Firefly, cluelessninja65, Sweetness Theory, JuMiKu, skyglazingMaro, Kyorose, Moii-san, arelando, ubiko, and hentai18ancilla. Your reviews were greatly appreciated! And thanks to everyone else reading, even if you haven't reviewed. I hope you guys enjoy!!

Ci, Ci, my playmate....
Come out and play with me!

Black eyes stared up at the blue sky, tracking the movements of a flock of birds. Their owner continued to stare at the heavens above a few more seconds, before lowering his orbs back to the ground and to his lap. There, his hands rested, and in the child's hands were a clothe and kunai. The boy made a small noise in the back of his throat. He didn't really want to be doing this, but it was important to maintain a proper state for his tools. The black eyes wound over the area surrounding the child, taking in the sight of the well-flowered garden with its little fish pond. A bamboo stick kept tapping against the rocks outlining the pond, its spout being filled to the tip by water and tipping from the weight. The constant sound the pond-side contraption made, set a relaxing tone.

The rice-door behind the child slid open, and a male stepped outside into the backyard. "Sasuke... what are you doing?"

The boy, identified as the one and only Sasuke, turned his head. He looked the older male up and down, before pointing at the kunais and cleaner at his side. The teen noticed it, and stepped forward, standing to the child's left. "Don't you have school?," the older one asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, focusing back on the kunai he had been previously cleaning. "My last day of school was yesterday. What about you? I thought you had a mission, aniki."

Itachi glanced at his baby brother, smirking. "I did," he simply answered.

"Hn," Sasuke replied. He turned his head to hide the small smirk that spread across his own lips. He expected his big brother to accomplish his mission, perfectly and quicker than anyone else. The boy felt a bit of pride, and just a little envy, that Itachi was his brother and was such a talented shinobi. "Does that mean you can help me train, then?," Sasuke asked. He didn't want to waste any free time that his nii-san might have.

"For today," Itachi said, sitting down. The teen reached over and grabbed one of his little brother's kunai. He spun it around his finger as he continued, "Yes, I'll show you some techinques."

Sasuke, who had been ready to ask his aniki the very thing that the older Uchiha answered, couldn't suppress the grin that came to his face. Finally, he would learn something new from Itachi! "Let's get going then," the small raven chirped, scooping up his kunai and getting to his feet. Itachi looked at his otouto, hiding his smirk as he too got up.

"Let's go the forest. Where you always train," Sasuke suggested.

Itachi nodded, followed after the eager child. After they had gotten some lunch from their mother (who kissed each boy, before wishing them luck on their training), the pair headed over to the forest just beyond training ground Seven. The teen caught Sasuke looking back several times, in the direction of the Academy. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, Itachi decided to speak up.

"Are you thinking about the young Uzumaki?," he asked.

Sasuke tensed, turning around and fixing Itachi with a glare. "What are you talking about aniki?"

Itachi held in the chuckle that arose, having already anticipated the smaller raven's reaction. It was always adorable when his otouto got defensive. "I believe you know what I'm talking about little brother," he replied, stepping ahead. Sasuke paused, staring at the older Uchiha's back, before he started following again.

"Sasuke," Itachi spoke up, "I already know about little Naruto. I've been told the Yondaime's son had taken to visiting you everyday at school."

The child huffed, pulling up beside his brother. "It's not like I wanted him to. That dobe keeps coming and bothering me. He doesn't even attend school."

The pair reached their destination, and came to a stop. Itachi checked their surroundings, while Sasuke set out their things. The older male looked back at his sibling, who was rummaging through the backpack. The boy pulled out a saran-wrapped onigiri, opening it up and taking a large bite out of the rice triangle. "Otouto-kun, have you thought about being nice to Naruto?"

Sasuke swallowed, and turned to look at his brother, lips pulled into a frown. "No. Why would I want him for a friend?," the young raven asked. His tone voiced the slight betrayal he felt at his aniki's choice to continue to talk about the little blonde. And to suggest he be nice to him?!

Itachi frowned himself, rolling his arms to stretch his shoulder muscles. It would do no good to pull something during a simple training session. "Sasuke, you don't have any friends. At your age, you should at least have one. Be nice to Uzumaki," he ordered, tired of trying to convince his little brother to befriend the blonde. Sasuke turned his back to the older raven, sulking.

The older Uchiha shook his head.

Jiraiya tripped over his feet, fighting to remain upright even though he was practically jogging hunched over. His hand was clasped between two smaller ones, an eager blonde tugging him along.

"You slow, uncle 'Airya," Naruto complained. "Go 'aster!"

The sannin grunted, catching himself from falling once again. He had arrived at the village just yesterday, wanting to visit his student and do some more research on his latest novel. Instead he got hassled into babysitting his student's son, which wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't already made plans for the day.

"Naruto....where are we going?," the man asked for the sixth time. He was ignored again by the boy. Jiraiya sighed, letting himself be tugged along still. He nearly lost his sandal along the way.

It was a couple minutes later when the frog hermit started noticing the area he was in. 'Huh? The Academy....?' Jiraiya hummed in surprise and curiosity as Naruto pulled him past the school's gates and into the yard. His hand was released, and the old man sighed appreciatively as he was able to finally stand up straight again.

Stretching the taut muscles in his back, Jiraiya turned his head back down, eyeing the still blonde. Naruto had yet to move. The man looked over the school yard, and couldn't blame the kid for remaining still. The whole area was deathly quiet, not a single sound coming from the Academy at all. It kind of reminded him of a ghost town.

"Naru....," the sannin reached down to touch the boy's shoulder, when suddenly the blonde sprinted forward. Naruto ran all the way to the school, face pressed against the windows. Jiraiya watched the little head twist this way and that, so quickly it would have given him whiplash, before the child ran to another window.

The young Uzumaki did this twice more, before, on his way to his fourth window, he tripped and fell to the ground. The white-haired hermit waited for a second, realizing that the blonde wasn't getting up, he rushed over. He bent down, picking Naruto up and placing him on his feet. Tears tracked their way down the whiskered cheeks, a small bit of boogers starting to drip from one nostril.

"Hey, hey...," Jiraiya murmured softly. "What happened? Where does it hurt?"

Blue eyes blinked at him, but Naruto didn't reply. Instead he only cried harder, and the sannin squirmed in discomfort. What was he supposed to do? Crying children weren't his forte, and by the look of things, the blonde wasn't even hurt. He wouldn't be able to take this any longer... The child's sobs were pulling at his heart strings.

Gently, Jiraiya picked Naruto up, cradling the child in his burly arms. The change of position didn't seem to bother the boy much, who only pushed his face against the older male's chest, arms folded between them as the child continued to sob. The sannin placed a steady hand on the Uzumaki's back, rubbing soothing circles, hoping to calm the blonde down.

"It's okay Naru.... everything will be alright," the hermit whispered to the downturned head. Slowly he turned, walking away from the school. His fingers continued to massage the small of Naruto's back, his face pressed reassuringly into the blonde spikes, as they headed home.

Sasuke pulled lightly at the hem of his collar, tucking in his chin and glaring at all the girls flocking around him. He always hated the end of summer break, because that meant all the girls in the Academy would maul him, as if they had been deprived the whole two months. In a way they had, but the young Uchiha didn't want to think about that too much. It would give him nightmares.

Shifting his knapsack a little, the black-haired child stalked toward the school doors, intent on getting inside and to his new class. He got through the doors without a sitch, managing to ditch his fangirls in the process, and gave a sigh of relief. It was cooler inside, because of the air-conditioning, and the frigid breeze felt great against his warm flesh.

It was a little known fact that Uchihas weren't very fond of summer. After all, they were all pale-skinned. The summer sun only burned them with its cruel rays, and made their bodies feel like ovens. It was still quiet inside, the other children having yet to come inside. The others wouldn't bother to come in, not until the bell rang, signaling the end of summer. Then they would march with dejected faces into the Academy, dragging their feet into the classrooms and taking their seats.

Sasuke smirked at the image, stalking down the empty hallways. He passed one classroom, hearing voices coming from inside. Though he was curious, he decided to ignore them and continue on to his own class. He was turning the corner, when suddenly a voice called out his name.

"'Suke!!"

A blonde blur raced toward the raven, and Sasuke had to refrain from following his instinct and defending himself from the approaching thing. To his suprise, and horror, the blur came to a halt right in front of him, a tan face snapping up to look at him.

"'Ello, 'Suke!," Naruto chirped, bouncing on his toes.

Sasuke grimaced, refusing to greet the Uzumaki back. "What are you doing here, dobe?," he demanded. 'Just go away,' he thought, 'Just go away.'

Naruto pouted, but a smile soon spread across the younger child's face. "I go school now!," he answered cheerfully.

The raven nearly swallowed his tongue in shock. He resisted the urge to pull out his hair, spinning on his heel, and stomping in the opposite direction. Naruto, unfortunately, followed him. Growling under his breath, Sasuke spun back around, causing the blonde to bump into him. Naruto stepped back, rubbing at his nose, a small 'oww...' escaping him.

Looking up, Naruto removed the lollipop that he had in his mouth (when did he have that?). "So thing wrong, 'Suke?," the blonde asked.

Sasuke remained silent, glaring at the smaller boy, who seemed unaffected. Cocking his head to the side, the young Uzumaki continued to look up at the raven, waiting for an answer. Getting a little impatient, Naruto thrust his lollipop in the Uchiha's face.

"Wanna lick?"

That seemed to snap the taller boy out of his silence, for Sasuke swatted the round sweet away from him. He smirked when the lollipop fell out of unexpecting hands, smashing to sugary bits on the floor. Feeling strangely triumphant, the raven turned away from the suddenly quiet blonde, walking off to his class. Be nice to Naruto, Itachi had said. As if!

Naruto continued to stare at his shattered treat, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He glanced up, but Sasuke was gone, probably on his way to class now. Taking a shuddering breath, the blonde gazed back down at his feet. Why was Sasuke being so mean? Did he do something to make the raven hate him?

Tiny fists shook, as Naruto held them tight against his sides. Well, no matter. He was going to be Sasuke's friend! He had made that decision before the summer, and he'd follow through with it.

"Naru?"

The boy's head snapped up, and he blinked, as he looked up at his daddy. The Yondaime noticed the unshed tears, then spotted the broken lollipop. He mentally sighed, relieved. He had thought that maybe his son had run into some of the other kids -the Uchiha brat especially- and that's why he had been close to crying. But apparently, it was just because Naruto had dropped his treat.

"It's alright, Naru," Minato assured, taking the young blonde's hand. "I'll get you another one, ok? No let's head back. School's about to start."

Naruto grinned up at his dad, skipping as they headed back to his classroom, forgetting about mean Sasuke for the moment. After all, today was his first day of school. He couldn't wait to make some friends!

C.M.D: hehe, soooo.... the fourth chapter! Naruto finally starts school, but Sasuke's still being a jerk. Oh, I wonder if the two shall ever be friends.... hehe. I was going to initially make this chapter shorter, but I figured you guys might hurt me if I left the chapter off with Naruto crying. And so, came the last bit of this update's chapter. Well, that's it for this time.
So make sure to review guys, and make me happy! I'll try to update soon. Ja!