C.M.D: Sorry for not updating in a while guys! I left my mom's and spent all this time moving back and forth before finally settling down in my own place. I promise though to get back to work on my fanfics, so hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more updates and more often now too. Anyways, thanks for reviewing:redfoxrose, Chaos Dragon-Fox, Cross- The Damned Alchemist, hanakisa, Sutzina Zion, Broken Sexed Up Bloody Kitten, RasalynnLynx, ochibi-chwan, cluelessninja65, FallenAngel Sayu, Stoic-Genius, Mizuki Hikari, Fluffy, -siarafaerie-101-miss, Great Karyee-sama XD, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, NaTsUkO-ChAn, hentai18ancilla, tea, mikinyet, xXxSapphireJewelxXx, IriaMo, qurie, BloodyRoseSharpThorn, BlackyLove, Tanuki-Mara.

Ci, Ci, my playmate,
Come out and play with me.
Bring your dollies,
Climb up my appletree.
Slide down my rainbow,
And through my cellar door.
And then we'll be best friends,
Forever more, more, more!

Mikoto hummed merrily to herself, fingers working fast as she patted the freshly made rice into perfect triangles, filling their centers with pickled plum then securing the bottoms with a strip of seaweed. She put the newly made onigiri on the platter next to the other several onigiris already prepared for today's lunch. The black-haired woman heard the front door open, light footfalls echoing down the hall towards the bathroom. She smiled, starting to hum louder as she turned to the sink and washed her hands. A couple minutes later, the door was opening again, louder footsteps passing the threshold and padding into the kitchen.

Mikoto turned around as she heard the kitchen chair screech across the floor, propping her hands on her hips as she looked down at her youngest son. "Now, Sasuke-chan, you're supposed to wash your hands before coming to the table," she lectured him, a large smile still on her face.

The small raven smiled back up at her. "My hands are already clean. Besides I'll have to wash them again after eating," Sasuke argued. The Uchiha female giggled, but brought the platter of rice triangles to the table and setting it down. Instantly the child grabbed three of the onigiris, putting them on his plate.

"Eat your vegetable young man," Mikoto told him. Sasuke pouted childishly, but grabbed his chopsticks and pulled slices of radish and other chopped vegetables onto his plate alongside the onigiris. The woman smiled at her son's childish reaction. She already knew her baby boy liked vegetables, and was only acting reluctant for amusement purposes.

Mikoto went back to humming, turning her back around to her second-born, sinking her hands into the full sink and getting to work on the dirty dishes. The room was filled with the sounds of gentle lapping water; munching and a soft shuffle every now and then, so that Mikoto didn't realize that someone had entered the room until Sasuke had become quiet.

"Sweetheart," she started, turning back around. Her worry dissipated and she smiled at the new addition, standing next to the table. "Welcome home, Itachi. Take a seat and eat, honey."

The woman didn't notice the tension in the room, but in the next second Sasuke was pushing away from the table, running out of the room without a backwards glance. Itachi slowly blinked, but only pulled out a chair and sat down, placing some food onto his own plate. Mikoto gazed down at the half-eaten plate of food that her youngest son had left behind.

"Isn't he hungry?," the raven female asked herself, walking over to the table. She picked up Sasuke's abandoned plate, smile twisting into a small worried frown. "And I made today's lunch especially special. All his favorites..."

Mikoto glanced over at her older son. Itachi had his eyes closed, mechanically using his chopsticks to put food in his mouth, chewing, swallowing then repeating. "Itachi.... Do you know if Sasuke isn't feeling well?"

Black eyes opened, and gazed unblinkingly back into his mother's eyes. "No," he answered calmly. Mikoto only sighed, taking the dish to the sink and scooping the food into the trash.

"I wonder what could be wrong....," she mused out loud one final time.

Sasuke ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it. He could already feel the thick, hot angry tears slipping down his cheeks. He hated his brother. As only a child could, he tried to avoid his older sibling as much as he was able to. And for the first time, the raven was thankful that Itachi was in demand for missions. The boy hiccupped, swallowing a sob.

He didn't want to be despised by his brother, but if Itachi was going to be mean to him, then Sasuke would hate his brother in return. He wasn't going to sit back and quietly take this silent abuse, not when he wasn't responsible for anything. The child wiped angrily at his eyes, stepping up to the mirror. He glared with red-rimmed orbs at his own rumpled appearance, scowling even more when his reflection shed a couple more tears.

"This is all that stupid Uzumaki's fault!," Sasuke hissed. Because of that blonde he was losing his brother. They hadn't talked in a week, hadn't trained together -the young raven couldn't even stand to eat in the same room as his sibling! He missed the short time shared between the two of them, and his despair only fueled his anger.

"I'm glad he's hurt," Sasuke continued to fume, turning on the sink taps. He splashed water on his face, rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the evidence of tears. "I hope he never comes back to school. That stupid, bawling, Hokage-baby!" The raven turned the taps off with a quick twist of his wrists, rolling his face in the towel. He yanked the door open and stomped out to the entryway. No one came out of the kitchen while he yanked his sandals back onto his feet, and with a hurt glare back down the hall, the boy left.

There was still some time before afternoon classes started, but now that his lunch had been cut short Sasuke had no option but to head back early. He couldn't exactly skip school, no matter how bad he felt. It was one thing to be stuck in a rut with his brother because of Naruto; it was another to disappoint his parents. Huffing every ten feet, the black-haired boy eventually made his way back into the Academy's back yard, where the other children had already arrived and were playing among the playground equipment.

Not wanting to mingle with the others, Sasuke slipped away into the circle of trees at the back of the playground. He would do some shuriken practice while he waited for the bell to ring. Training would help clear his mind.

Naruto slowly walked down the street, ignoring all the looks the villagers gave him. His hand was gripped tightly in Kakashi's, and though this would usually annoy the bright boy, Naruto didn't try to break free. As young as he was, he could still sense the fear that ran through the grey-haired man, and he didn't want to upset the jounin by pulling away. The third floor windows of the Academy peeked in the near distance, and the blonde felt a grin pull at his lips.

Being away from the school had been such a drag. After perfecting his speech, the Uzumaki had been eager to get back to the classroom, and his dear friend Hinata as well. Of course, because he still wouldn't speak in his dad's presence, Minato didn't want his son going back. It had taken a while, but Naruto was able to convince the adults –silently of course- to let him return to school. And that's where Kakashi was taking him now. Even though there was only half a day left, it was enough the get the blonde jumping with excitement.

The pair walked around the corner, and Kyuubi-container began to tug on the shinobi's arm. The school was right there! He could hear the other children playing at the playground, which meant that it was still lunch time. If he was lucky, then maybe the blonde would get to see Sasuke! Afterall, Naruto vowed to safe his first words for the raven. Naruto tugged harder, and Kakashi looked down at him worriedly, the man's grip tightening around the child's hand. The boy stopped tugging, looking back up at the dog-nin as well. He pouted, his cerulean orbs pleading to be released.

Kakashi blinked, then sighed. "Just…. Be careful, okay Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, smiling brightly to ensure that he'd be alright, and Hatake let go. Immediately the blonde jumped and booked it into the playground, grinning widely. He ran this way and that, at the moment not caring about finding his friend, just ecstatic to be free. The Hokage's office was nice but it got stuffy after a while. Panting, Naruto came to a stop, looking around. Now where was Hinata? He saw a flash of black, and white eyes, and was homing in on the Hyuuga without a moment's hesitation.

Hinata patted Akamaru's head as the puppy continued to roll about in front of her, covering himself in grass and dirt. She giggled softly when the animal got onto his legs and shook himself wildly. "Akamaru, don't get Hinata dirty!"

Pale eyes glanced up at Kiba, who was hanging upside down from the monkey bars. The Inuzuka was frowning at his dog, displeased with what the puppy had just done. "I-it's okay, K-Kiba-kun," Hinata assured. "I-I'm no-not dirty."

The brunette turned his gaze to the raven, smiling, his cheeks slightly pink. "If you say so, Hinata. Why don't you come up here and sit with us?," the dog-lover invited. The girl smiled kindly in thanks but shook her head.

"I-I rat-ther stay h-here," she answered. She picked up the wreath of flowers she had been tying together to demonstrate that she was already preoccupied. Kiba frowned a little but said nothing. He would have preferred if the Hyuuga would join him in activities like climbing the monkey bars, but if the girl gave up her own hobbies for Kiba's then she wouldn't be Hinata anymore, now would she?

The brunette's brow furrowed in confusion at his own train of thought, shaking it off, as he swung to another set of rungs and proceeded to hang from them. "I'm glad she doesn't like to climb," Chouji muttered under his breath from his spot on the lower rungs.

"What was that?!," Kiba growled, glaring at the chubby kid. Chouji glared back as best as he could, shoving another mouthful of chips into his mouth.

"You are mean to Naruto and won't let him play with us. Then you go and find a girl from his class and now you always want her to play with us. You're not a fair person, Kiba," Chouji remarked.

Kiba stuck his tongue out at the other boy. "Shut up, pig. Hinata isn't some snot-nosed baby, so if I say she's to play with us, she's going to play with us!"

Shikamaru sat up from where he had been laying across the monkey bars, looking sleepily down at both boys. "On the contrary, Kiba," the genius mumbled, "just because you want to spend time with the Hyuuga doesn't mean we have to. If you want to keep playing with her, then I suggest you two go play somewhere else."

Kiba scowled at Kiba, and glared at Chouji. "Fine," he huffed. "Be that way! You guys aren't really my friends anyways!" The brunette jumped to the playground floor, scooping Akamaru up and putting the puppy into his hood. "Come on, Hinata," the Inuzuka said, holding his hand out to the raven, "let's go somewhere else."

Hinata, who wasn't deaf, took Kiba's hand and allowed him to lead her away from the other two. She kept her head bowed, clutching her wreath of flowers to her chest. "i-I'm s-sorry….," she whispered. "i-I di-didn't mean f-for you a-and y-your fr-friends to h-have a fig-fight…."

Kiba smiled sadly. "Nah, that's okay Hinata. It's not your fault. They just don't see how cool you are!" Hinata blushed, but said nothing more. The brunette's words had made her feel a little better. Kiba continued to trot ahead, and the Hyuuga followed faithfully behind him. Suddenly something grabbed her arm, and the timid girl turned around to face it.

What ever Hinata thought it was that had grabbed her, she was mistaken when her light lilac eyes fixed themselves on the bright face of one Uzumaki. "N-naruto-kun!," Hinata gasped excitedly. The boy nodded his head, smiling at her. The raven was still shocked from the blonde's return, she had yet to notice that her friend had not said a word. That soon changed after a moment, when the Hyuuga calmed down enough.

"N-Naruto-kun…. C-can y-you not t-talk?," she asked.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, his smile turning twisted. He nodded, then he shook his head. Yes, and no, he meant. "O-oh….," Hinata sighed. She had been so worried since Naruto had left school, and rumors had been flying that the Yondaime's son was sick. Was that why the blonde couldn't –or wouldn't- talk? Would he ever speak again? The raven surely hoped so. She already missed the sound of the Uzumaki's voice, and couldn't imagine never hearing it again.

"I should have known," came a dark voice from behind the pair. Both turned, and were faced with a glaring Kiba, fists clenched at the brunette's side. He had walked on ahead, sure that Hinata was trailing not far behind him when he stopped at the swings and had turned to face the girl, only to not find her there. The Inuzuka had been forced to backtrack, and lo and behold, the Hyuuga was here…. With Naruto.

Kiba bit his lip to keep down the growl that rose in his chest. He didn't care if he scared the blonde, but the boy would care if he frightened Hinata as well. "I can't believe you actually came back," Kiba scoffed. "And here I'd been hoping the baby would stay home in his crib."

Naruto glared up at the older boy, stepping in front of Hinata. Kiba let his growl out, seeing what the Uzumaki did. As if the girl needed protection! Akamaru poked out from the brunette's coat, and joined in on the growling. But the blonde wouldn't back down, and instead increased his glare.

"Why you stupid-!"

Kiba launched himself at the blonde, tackling the boy to the ground. Immediately a scrambling fist fight broke out between the two boys, kicking and biting thrown into the rough mix. Hinata stood at the side, weakly pleading for both boys to stop, but they were too busy to hear her. A couple kids were starting to notice the fight now, and were poking their friends to see what was going on. But before a crowd could actually gather, a hand was thrust between the two males, grabbing hold of Kiba's collar and yanking the brunette away from the blonde.

Sasuke looked up at the sky, checking the sun's position and concluding that lunch recess was drawing to a close. The raven walked around the small clearing of trees, gathering his shuriken gingerly, and placing them back into his pack. The boy studied his cut fingers as he walked out of the forest and into the school playground. He had been right in assuming that the random training session would help empty his mind, but the price had been the thin cuts all along his fingers.

"An eye for an eye….," Sasuke mumbled to himself, uncaring. The Uchiha walked through the playground, keeping to the edges, approaching the doors. He ignored the other students as they continued to enjoy the last few minutes of their freedom, but the chaos that was unfolding before him was harder to ignore. First of all, the one that was rolling about on top, throwing most of the punches was Kiba. That wasn't hard to see. And the one underneath….

Sasuke felt his eyes shoot open in surprise. The blonde that he had been cursing only earlier that day was the one scrapping with the brunette, biting and kicking back with as much strength as the Inuzuka had. A wave of vertigo hit the Uchiha. He felt a hatred rise at the sight of Naruto, but watching him fight Kiba…. It was unfair.

Before he even really knew what he was doing, Sasuke had marched over to the two boys, reaching into the tussle and pulling Kiba out. The brunette opened his mouth to snap something, but the raven was throwing his fist and hitting the dog-lover hard in the chin before the Inuzuka could say more. Kiba fell to the floor, hissing in pain, tears in his eyes.

"You….!," he gasped, glaring at Sasuke.

Sasuke snorted. Hinata rocked on her feet, divided in who to share her attention with. She turned to Naruto finally, kneeling beside the boy and attempting to help him up. Naruto only waved her hand off, smiling brightly at her. He had lost a tooth in the scuffle. The Inuzuka saw this, and his face darkened more with hurt.

"Fine," he gruffed to himself, slowly rising to his feet and shuffling away. His pup, Akamaru whimpered as he padded alongside his master.

Sasuke turned to the blonde, staring blankly down at the child. Naruto looked back at him, smiling. The black-haired male frowned, tensing for the expected badgering from the smaller boy and constant requests to be his friend. If that happened, then Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to punch the Uzumaki like he did Kiba.

Naruto slowly got to his feet, Hinata standing next to him, arms slightly open should the blonde need her help. But the boy never needed it. He got to his feet and stood steadily, beaming brightly despite the bruises and scratches that flecked across his skin. The black-haired children were silent, unsure of what was to happen next but expecting something all the same.

"It's okay, Hinata," Naruto suddenly spoke. "I'll be fine. And thanks Sasuke, for the help, but I never really needed it."

The bell rung above their heads, and Naruto looked at the school. "Well, I guess that's it for now. See you in class, Hinata-chan!" And the blonde skipped away from them. Hinata and Sasuke stood stock still, both stunned beyond words. The chunnin on playground duty had to escort the two inside and to their classrooms.

Kakashi swallowed nervously, knocking on the Hokage's door and then stepping into the office. Minato, sitting behind the desk, looked up worriedly, tossing his paperwork to the side. "Kakashi….what's happened? Is it Naruto?! Is he okay?," the blonde fired. The jounin was struggling to remain calm, but his sensei's frantic behavior wasn't helping him much.

"E-everything's fine, sensei," he replied, gesturing for the Yondaime to relax and take a seat. "No need to panic."

Minato looked skeptical, but he slowly reclaimed his chair, hands pressed against the desktop anxiously. "Kakashi….your lips tell me so, but your eyes don't reflect it. Tell me the truth…now!," the man growled.

The grey-haired male resisted the urge to chuckle nervously. "O-okay," he relented, "I'll tell you. But you must promise me that you're not going to react badly… please?"

Yondaime bit his lip, slowly nodding his head. Kakashi sighed, but he still was jumpy as hell, and knew that despite the man's words, Minato was most likely to still freak out. "Well…."

"Just get on with it!," Minato snapped.

"Naruto got into a fight today, and he's speaking again!," Kakashi burst out.

The blonde man blinked incredulously for a few moments, before suddenly he was up out of his chair, whooping for joy. The jounin allowed himself to relax abit. Maybe Minato wasn't so upset by the news of Naruto's fight as the dog-nin thought he was going to be. He spoke a bit to soon, though, because Minato had suddenly stopped jumping merrily about his office, and rounded on the younger man.

"Naruto got into a WHAT?!"

Sasuke walked through the front door, yawning in exhaustion. This day had been killer on his tender child emotions. "Judging by that yawn, I'd have to say that you're not up for a little training before dinner."

The boy's head snapped up at the voice, and Sasuke gaped at his brother, who sat cross-legged on the front step. The older raven was smirking warmly at the child. "N-nii-san….wh-wha….?"

"I heard what happened this afternoon," Itachi answered, getting to his feet. "Heard that Naruto's back to talking, and complete and proper sentences too. I'm proud, otouto-kun." Sasuke stood stock-still as his sibling lightly flicked his forehead; an old action of brotherly affection. Without willing them, tears sprang to the boy's eyes and Sasuke was grinning up at Itachi.

"Still up for training?," the older male asked.

"Definitely!," Sasuke chirped.

C.M.D: okay, this wasn't probably the best written chapter...but isn't it still awww worthy? Doesn't it make your teeth rot with pure, sweet fluff? Everything's an almost-happy ending! I wonder, what could happen now? You'll have to wait until next update to find out!!
But first.... Review guys!! I need reviews. Reviews create motivation, motivation creates ideas, and ideas creates chapters for you! So, REVIEW!! please.