A/N: Since my crazy friend noticed I had this fic up and never updated it, I decided to grace you with a new chapter of this crappy story. Yay, two updates in one day. Enjoy. Oh, and this is sort of a filler chapter before major angst, so that's why it's so useless to the plot and fluffy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This universe ish MINE.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun! Let's make bento for tomorrow!" Naruto eagely dragged a bewildered Sasuke into his house. A little too eagerly, as he almost forgot to take off his shoes.

"Don't forget your shoes," Sasuke reminded the other boy, slipping off his shinobi sandals.

"Ah, right!" He blushed sheepishly and kicked them off hurriedly near the door.

"Come on!" He darted inside the kitchen to prepare. Sasuke sweatdropped, hearing various thumps and clattering from the kitchen. He poked his head inside the doorway to see what was going on.

"Eh?" Naruto was wearing an apron, but that wasn't the problem. It was yellow. And... frilly. He shuddered slightly and stepped inside cautiously.

"Ano, Naruto-kun?" The blonde turned around.

"Hai?"

"I can't cook that well." He stared at Sasuke like he had grown a second head then ducked under the counter. Awkward...

But he wasn't TOO embarrassed about that, though. Only girls were supposed to know how to cook well. Er... Naruto was an exception. Naruto 'hmm'ed and a hand appeared, throwing a - thankfully - white and unfrilled apron at his friend.

"Nonsense, it'll be fun!" He popped up from under the counter and pulled out a rice cooker with him. He set it down carefully, then clasped his hands together in excitement. "Ooh! We can make EACH OTHER'S bento. I'll make yours, and you'll make mine!" He cheered at the 'ingeniousness' of his idea, rambling unintelligibly as he pulled out various utensils such as a large wok and a rolling mat. Sasuke could only make out a few words, but he distinctly heard 'kawaii' several times.

Sasuke made a face. Naruto was kind of weird sometimes. Especially when it came to food. He shivered slightly, remember when he had asked Naruto if he wanted to go to Ichiraku's after school once. It was not a pleasant experience, and ended up with Naruto fixing them lunch instead of 'those-oily-squishy-noodles-you-call-food.'

"Ano, I don't think that would be a good idea," he scratched the side of his face worriedly. "I don't know HOW to cook."

The blonde looked thoughtful for a moment as he opened up a bag of rice. "I'll just have to teach you then," he beamed happily and ushered Sasuke into the kitchen.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he pulled out a handkerchief and tied it over his hair. Sasuke tied his apron on, eyeing the handkerchief with some suspicion.

"Is that pink?" He asked warily. Naruto shook his head and started measuring rice into the cooker.

"It's not PINK, it's LIGHT RED," he corrected distractedly. "Now pay attention, if you don't put in enough water, your rice will BURN!" He wrinkled his nose distastefully, as if burning rice was possibly the worst crime in the world.

Sasuke sighed and watched him move about the kitchen. Let the lesson begin...

Arashi walked home tiredly after a long day of 'hard work'. Specifically, signing crap. He wrung his hands sorely. Between paperwork, meetings, and all the other daily duties that the Hokage position entailed, he hadn't had much time to see his son lately. That would have to be his top priority when he got home; rest would come second. But as he was nearing the Kazama household (Naruto used his mother's family name), he suddenly noticed the smoke billowing out the kitchen window.

"What in the world?" Naruto never burnt anything before. Was he in trouble? He walked inside and hurriedly took off his shoes. Maybe it was nothing really.

"Tadaima!"

"Okay, Sasuke-kun, now you try," Naruto passed Sasuke the wok after demonstrating. "You can fry the tempura while I make your sushi, ne?"

Sasuke nodded and took hold of it, trying to watch it carefully. What color were they supposed to be when they were done? He noticed the sun going down outside and glanced at the clock worriedly. It was getting late. He should probably be getting home soon. He turned to Naruto to tell him.

"Naru-"

"Oh my god! Sasuke!" He rushed over. "You're burning the tempura!"

Sasuke looked down and let go of the wok.

"I told you I couldn't cook!" He panicked. Naruto smacked his own forhead in exasperation and pointed to the sink with his free hand.

"Just turn off the heat and run it under some cold water or something!" He coughed a little and got out a towel to wave the smoke out the window. Feeling guilty and useless, Sasuke obediently followed through with his instructions, not wanting to disappoint him again.

"Tadaima!" Naruto perked up slightly and rolled the towel up under his arm.

"Okaeri," he chirped back cheerfully, walking out to meet them halfway. Arashi smiled, feeling relieved. Good, he wasn't burnt to a crisp.

"Oi, Naru-chan! Are you losing your touch?" Naruto scowled playfully.

"Are you kidding me? With talent such as mine, I'm practically cursed." Arashi rolled his eyes and snatched the handkerchief off his head.

"Right," he smirked. Naruto pouted indignantly.

"Give it back!" He reached it for it, cursing his short stature.

"I'll give it back," the Yondaime smirked evilly. "When you admit it's pink."

"It's light red!" Naruto crossed his arms and gave him an annoyed stare. The Yellow Flash merely laughed and ruffled his hair before tossing the offending cloth back to him. He readjusted it sulkily while Arashi glanced over at the smoke.

"So what happened?" A raven-haired boy covered in rice and tempura batter trudged out of the kitchen.

"I burned the tempura..." he murmured guiltily, shuffling his feet. Suddenly, the hardwood floors looked very interesting. He studied it, trying to avoid looking up at them. Despite him being his best friend's dad, being in the same room as the Hokage was pretty intimidating. Naruto looked slightly put-out that Sasuke hadn't enjoyed cooking with him, even though it had been a disaster.

"It's alright," he hugged him loosely to make him feel better. "It was your first time, after all."

"Yeah..." Sasuke smiled weakly. Arashi studied the two for a moment. That boy seemed familiar. 'Judging by the shirt, he's an Uchiha,' he thought intently. 'Let's see... overemotional? Duck-butt hair? Constantly fawned over by Naru-chan?'

"I got it!" Arashi snapped his fingers suddenly and pointed at the boy. "You're Ping-pong aren't you?" Sasuke stared at him blankly and Naruto shot the older blonde one of his deadliest glares.

"Ping-pong?" he repeated incredulously. Naruto turned bright red and glared at his dad again, making a slicing motion across his neck.

"Naruto talks about you all the time," Arashi said matter-of-factly, priding himself in remembering something about Naruto's friends. Although it shouldn't have been too difficult, seeing as he only had ONE.

"He does?" Sasuke's cheeks tinged slightly pink and Naruto found out that he, too, shared an interest in the flooring.

"Yea-" he paused, finally noticing that he was embarrassing them. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, sorry."

Sasuke glanced out the window again and remembered why he had been so distracted in the first place. He was going to be late for sure! He untied the apron and handed it back to Naruto.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun, but I have to be home soon," he slipped his shoes back on and waved. "Ja, mata!"

"Ja, nee," Naruto let him out. "Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I'll make us both bento for after the exam." Sasuke smiled softly and left. Arashi grinned quietly. Sasuke, eh?

"So you're going to make him a bento, Naru-chan?" he teased. The younger blonde frowned and punch him in the arm.

"What was that for!?" he rubbed his arm, feigning pain.

"Ne, for being a jerk! You'd better behave or I won't make YOU a bento."

"Alright, alright, I'll be good," he snickered, holding up his hands in surrender. Naruto grinned wickedly.

"Heh, you're so whipped."

"Oi, I resent that!"

"But you know it's true." Arashi chose not to reply.

OWARI NEEEEEE!