Well. Here's the big reunion chapter you've all be waiting for! Thank you for my one reviewer who reviewed last time ;D. Lots of love. And thank you one and all for adding this story to your favs and alerts. I shall be leaving for Jamaica Monday to visit family, and you won't be getting any updates for two weeks. I'll make up for it when I get back though! Promise. -pinky promises- :3.

You guys know how I have quotes at the beginning of every chapter? Yeah? Yeah :D. Have any quotes you'd like to share with meee? :]. I'd love to hear them since I have trouble thinking of quotes sometimes.

Warning: The usual. A tad bit fluffay... -coughs- 8D.

Disclaimer: My stuffed panda says I don't own Naruto... ):

Chapter Eleven: Reunion

"I remember the lost look in his eyes. I was staring at Sasuke… but it wasn't actually Sasuke. He was just an empty vessel of the boy I once knew. Where did my Sasuke go?" – Naruto Uzumaki, age 16.

"At least look like you're happy to be here, Naruto." Sakura scolded and not-so-lightly punched Naruto on the arm. She had filled out rather well over the years. Not only was she not shy anymore, she had become insanely strong and beautiful in the blonde's eyes. Though he couldn't say he held anymore affection towards her that lead to anything romantic. Now he only saw her as a sister. A sister that could easily kick his ass if he rubbed her the wrong way.

Naruto pouted, rubbing his abused arm that was still throbbing, and shot Sakura a glare. "Excuse me! But I am having fun here. Until someone decided it was a good idea to punch me!"

Sakura scoffed and proceeded to drag the whining blonde onto the dance floor. "Is this how you treat all your dates? Because if it is I feel very sorry for the unlucky people that had to deal with your whining ass all night long."

"It's not like I wanted you here!" Naruto was even more irritable today than on one of his good days. It wasn't because Sakura was being a bitch – in a good way – because that's how she always was. That's their relationship in general. The bitch and the whiner. From afar it looked like they hated each others' guts or they hid their true feelings under the form of bullying, but really they found they clicked together better when they clashed.

The pink-haired girl spun around on her heel and jabbed her gloved finger into Naruto's chest. "Look. I know that tonight isn't going to be a walk in the park. Sasuke's just come back and you're still feeling shitty about what happened three years ago. Which, by the way, I have to admit you were a total asshole about it."

"Not helping Sakura."

She ignored Naruto and continued. "Either way. This is Sasuke's big coming home party. You're his best friend. Can you do the math from there?"

Naruto folded his arms over his chest and scowled. "You know I suck at math."

Sakura groaned out of annoyance and threw her hands in the air. "You, Naruto Uzumaki, are insufferable! I'm going to grab some punch. When I get back here you better be in a good mood, got it?" she smiled way too innocently for saying such a dangerous threat and amiably patted Naruto on the cheek. "Till then." Then she went off for a drink.

The blonde accepted the welcoming gulps of air with earnest. Every time he was around Sakura when she felt bossy, it was like all the air was sucked up so only she alone could speak. He loved the girl to death. Would do anything to make her smile after how close they've become over the years. But seriously… the girl needed a hobby. 'Or at least some medication for her freaking anger issues.' He jammed his hands into the pockets of his black trousers and scanned the crowd for his dad or Pein. In reality, though, he was looking for a certain raven amongst the crowd. He knew that parties were never really Sasuke's scene, but this was thrown for him after all. Naruto snorted. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he holed himself up in his room again.'

That was a fun little memory. A few years ago, months before Sasuke left, they had thrown a surprise birthday party for the raven prince. Courtesy of no one other than Naruto Uzumaki himself, the prince's best friend. It was an elaborate, well thought out, plan that Sasuke never saw coming. More than once Naruto's little scheme was almost out of the bag, but he easily side-tracked Sasuke's train of thought before he actually connected the dots. The party was huge, because Itachi had called in people and with the Holo-Network it was easy to post up information about the party. Naruto had tracked down the few friends Sasuke had and invited them all the come. On the day of the party, it took all the whining, promising, and baiting in the world to get Sasuke to comply with his wishes.

It was amazing what a promise of having Naruto as his personal servant for a day could coax Sasuke into.

After that, Naruto had thrust Sasuke into the party, and watched with an amused smile as Sasuke got attacked by friends and close family members alike. It was pleasing to see Sasuke open up a little, though he couldn't help but feel this weird pang of jealousy seeing his raven prince get taken away…

Weird, huh?

Back to the present, Naruto had found himself swimming through the crowd hoping to find Itachi or even Sasuke's father, just so he could ask if they've seen Sasuke. He had been in close contact with Itachi over the years because Sasuke refused to talk to him – a stab in the heart – but always sent letters to his brother. At first it was jealousy. Jealousy over the fact that after all they went through together, the raven couldn't even send him one lousy letter! Then, the jealousy turned into loneliness and longing, and before the blonde knew it he was visiting Itachi once every three months – that's when they got the letters – and hung on every word Itachi said as he read Sasuke's letters aloud. They were always vague and asked trivial questions like how the empire was. How their mother and father were doing. And how Itachi was in general.

But he never asked about Naruto.

As he shifted through the crowd, Naruto felt another stab of sadness embed its way into his heart. It stopped him in his tracks and made him rethink what he was doing. Why was he searching so hard for Sasuke when the raven made it obvious he wanted nothing to do with him anymore? He bit on his bottom lip hard, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. Was he being stupid? Was looking for Sasuke the wrong move? Hell, maybe just being at this party was stupid. But his father had forcibly dragged him here – with the help of Pein and Sakura – saying that it would be good for them to reconnect after so many years. He had no idea, though, that Sasuke had pretty much threw out Naruto like a piece of trash.

'Bastard,' Naruto inwardly snarled and clenched his fists. 'I know I was immature back then and ran away without talking to him about it but… I thought I meant more than that to him! How can he ditch me so easily…?'

He didn't realize it… but he was crying.

"Naruto?" a voice rang in his ears, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts. Naruto whirled around and stared at the concern on Itachi's face. He looked worse for wear, slightly paler than usual and dark circles around his eyes.

"Hey, Itachi." He mumbled and accepted the offered glass of punch from Itachi's hand. Sipping the liquid, he felt a little calmer as the party drink buzzed in his system. "You look like shit." He added, "No offense."

The raven prince shook his head, a small smile tugged at his lips. Naruto was being blunt, as always. "None taken. I know I look pretty… shitty." He added in with a smirk, and Naruto grinned. Sadly, his small moment of happiness shattered. "Have you seen Sasuke yet?"

Naruto shook his head, trying to force back the waves of sadness that wanted to overpower him. "Nope. Haven't seen the bastard all night."

Itachi nodded and said no more. He seemed to be lost in thought.

Before Naruto could ask what was wrong, Sakura came back and latched herself onto Naruto's arm. She seemed a tad bit woozy, though where she got the alcohol Naruto would never know. He could only assume someone had spiked her punch.

"Neeee, Narutooo!" Sakura giggled and leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder. He sighed, shooting Itachi a look that clearly said 'Help' but the man was no use. He was still caught up in his own thoughts. "Did yah find 'im yet?"

"You mean, Teme?" the blonde decided if he might as well humor her for the time being.

"Yes! Who else?"

"Then no, I haven't found him."

"Fuckin' sucks," Sakura pouted. And that was the end of that conversation.

Soon, the banter around them hushed to a quiet buzz. Itachi's head whipped up to look at the looming figure on the top of the staircase. Naruto looked up as well, puzzled by what Itachi was so wide-eyed about, until his own blue orbs spotted the looming figure as well. He was tall, broader, and leaner than three years ago. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of black slacks. No tie on whatsoever and the buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned enough so you could see some very delicious skin. Half the girls in the room nearly swooned to death.

Naruto gaped aloud. His eyes trailed over the foreign body until they landed on the boy's face. It was sharper, more defined and angular, and all the emotions Naruto was used to seeing on that face were no longer there. There was a mask left in its wake. He gulped, feeling a variety of emotions start to overtake him. He was shocked to see how different the boy from three years ago had become. It scared him to think of all the things he learned from Orochimaru, who was currently hovering over him like an annoying fly. Then, he felt angry. Angry that Sasuke had not once sent him an email or a letter. Angry over the fact that he didn't even bother to ask about him or seek him out at the party. And then he felt anger towards Orochimaru for taking his friend away in the first place. He was livid at himself as well, for being so stupid back then, for not realizing his feelings sooner…

Their eyes met, and for a split second he thought he saw a flash of recognition go by on Sasuke's face. That had to mean something, right? But a quickly as it came, it went as soon as Orochimaru placed his arm on the boy's shoulder. Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching the snake bastard whisper something into the raven's ears. The light that was in the boy's eyes diminished as Orochimaru pulled back.

Naruto curled his fists, feeling his anger start to rise. Orochimaru had something to do with this… he could feel it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, first I would like to give you all gratitude from the bottom of my heart for coming out tonight." Fugaku's face appeared on the Holo-screens placed at the four corners of the ball room. He had a voice that could easily captivate a room in the matter of minutes, so everyone was hanging on his every word. "Tonight, I am proud to announce that my son Sasuke has come back from a grueling but rewarding training experience from the legendary nomad, Orochimaru!" hollers and applause broke out around the room as everyone stared and gawked at the raven prince and legendary nomad standing at the top of the staircase. Orochimaru seemed to be milking the praise for all it was worth. Sasuke, though, looked like an empty puppet.

"After three years away from home my young man has grown stronger, and as you can see, even more handsome." Oh how the crowd loved Fugaku's sense of humor. "My boy," he said, finally turning his direction to his son, "your mother has been worried sick about you, you know? And Lord knows your brother missed his dearest older brother tries hard to hide it, but I could tell he missed you too. Though I wonder where he is at the moment…" he mumbled, searching for his eldest son but couldn't spot him in the crowd. Damn it. Anyways, "Well. No matter! Sasuke, how do you feel?"

The room was silent, everyone was barely tipping over the edge in response to what Sasuke had to say. The raven cocked his head to the side, as if pondering on a thoughtful answer, before grinning wryly.

"I feel great, Father."

"Wonderful!" Fugaku exclaimed and patted his son on the back. "My boy, you must show us a few skills that you have learned from the legendary nomad!"

Sasuke turned to Orochimaru. "If that is okay with you, Master."

Orochimaru nodded, "Of course. I never pass up the chance to show off my best pupil." He then turned to the crowd and the Holo-screens lit up with his image. "Does anyone here tonight wish to face my student in combat?"

The room fell into a hush once more, though whispers erupted here and there. No one wanted to face Sasuke Uchiha – son of Fugaku Uchiha, second in line for the throne, and the best pupil of the legendary nomad Orochimaru for fear of embarrassment. That certainly didn't mean they wouldn't like to see someone try though. They just believed that no one would have the actually gall to—

"I'll do it!" a voice cried out, followed by a hand wave. Everyone whipped their head around to see the origin of the idiot—uhh, brave soul who wished to face the Uchiha.

"Naruto?" Minato asked. He was highly bewildered but all the more curious as to what his son had in store.

"That little brat." Pein chuckled and sipped some more of his wine.

"Are you serious, Naruto?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, studying Naruto's face for any apprehension, but he found nothing. All he got was a mask set in determination.

"Yaay, Naru~! Kick his ass!" Sakura cheered, hiccuping between her words.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the blonde who wished to face off against him. He activated his Sharingan for a brief moment before a wave of… well, he couldn't even explain the feeling. Whatever it was though, hit him and hit him hard.

'Who is he…?'

"Interesting…" Orochimaru chuckled. The playing pieces were all falling into place and he barely had to lift a finger. Though he didn't expect the Jinchuuriki Prince to be so… hot-headed. "Well, Sasuke-kun. Are you up for the challenge?"

Sasuke snorted and unsheathed his sword. The minute his hand gripped the handle, aura engulfed the blade in its electric blue light. The crowd was eating it up, apparently, and more hollers and cheers erupted forth.

Minato shook his head sadly and gripped onto Pein's arm tighter than usual. "This isn't going to end well… I can feel it."

+Eclipse: Best Friends?+

Naruto went for his weapons pocket and whipped out his dagger. He twirled it around his fingers, feeling a sense of security rush through him as he familiarized himself with his weapon of choice. It was a miracle that he was able to keep his aura stable enough to actually think straight. His aura was directly linked to his emotions more than an average human's was. Most likely it had to do with Kyuubi's influence, but then again Naruto simply was the sort of person who would act impulsive.

'What a kick in the ass this is!' Kyuubi roared with laughter inside his cage. 'I put ten bucks on the Uchiha brat dominating you in five seconds flat.'

'Are you really siding with the enemy here?' Naruto asked in disbelief as he got into his defensive crouch. He studied Sasuke coolly under his gaze, remembering all the techniques Pein had taught him on analyzing the enemy. Watch how they stand. How they handle their weapon. Where their eyes dart to the left or the right. Though body language can easily be misinterpreted, Pein had taught him the ways to see through it.

Kyuubi snorted. 'Well yeah. That kid's not right, Kit.'

'Tell me something I don't know.'

'Alright. Well for starters no one's home.'

'Huh?'

'He's a puppet, Kit. I can tell by his aura. A normal being's aura has more life to it, yah know? This one's completely dead.'

'That can't be…'

'Don't believe me?' Kyuubi scoffed, 'Humans. Fine. Look at him through my eyes.'

Naruto sighed, but complied anyways. Closing his eyes, he allowed Kyuubi to take over his eye sight. Once he opened his eyes, not only had they changed from their bright blue to a fiery, crimson red, but now he only saw the world in aura. Everyone's aura was white, but some were more vibrant than others. Sasuke's, however, was dead. There was no life. No spark. Just a dwindling flame that was about to diminish…

What the hell happened to him?

"That's a neat trick." Sasuke said smoothly, though Naruto could point out the mocking underneath his words. The blonde bit his tongue, and simply narrowed his eyes.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"If all you can do is change eye color, then I can't say the odds of this battle are in your favor."

Naruto snorted. "Correct me if I'm wrong but I happen to remember a certain bastard being able to change his eye color as well."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to snort. In a flash his blank onyx eyes changed to a burning crimson red. The first sign of emotion Naruto had seen in the raven tonight.

"I didn't think you would catch on so quickly." He gripped the handle of his sword tighter, getting into his own attack position. His eyes trained on the boy, studying him, trying to figure out his movements from his aura, but it was tainted and he couldn't tell a thing. Damn. There was something about the boy he couldn't place and it was annoying the hell out of him. Was it his strange aura? Or the weapon he used? Perhaps it was his clothing…? No…

It was his face.

"You look familiar." Sasuke blurted out, instantly cursing himself for the slip.

Naruto nearly faltered in his stance from the sudden outburst. He had steeled himself for another taunt, not a revelation. But he wouldn't be fooled by the man before him. This wasn't Sasuke… This wasn't his Sasuke. The boy he grew up with. The boy he… dare he say it, liked? Naruto mentally shook his head. This was not the time to go over his feelings for Sasuke. No. Now was the time to kick some sense into his head.

So instead, Naruto bit back the emotion threatening to crawl out of throat and fake pouted. "Well I hope I would. We've known each other for seven years now. Kinda hard to forget faces after that."

The raven prince frowned. Naruto was speaking utter nonsense to him. Seven years? They've known each other for that long yet this was the first time Sasuke ever remembered meeting the blonde? How was that possible? He would have known if he met Naruto because normal people didn't have whiskers on their cheeks. Then there was that golden hair of his and those sparkling blue eyes…

Golden hair…? Blue eyes…? It couldn't be…

Sasuke had no time to connect the dots though, because Naruto was already kicking his plan into action. 'First beat the shit out of Sasuke for being an asshole. Then beat the shit of him some more until he regained some common sense.' It was a fool-proof plan. He used the dagger like a mini-sword and tried to knock Sasuke's weapon out of his hand. The raven reacted quickly, though, and managed to keep a steady grip. Their weapons clashed as metal and metal clanged together. They were both struggling to win this battle of wits, but Naruto was always impatient. He smirked, and crouched down fast enough to do a sweep kick.

The raven did a beautiful back-flip and landed deftly on his feet. With no time to recover Naruto was attacking him. Barrage after barrage of fist that followed with a kick and ended with a stab with his dagger. The boy fought like a total animal, and Sasuke couldn't help but admit that it was… hot.

Naruto had no restraints when it came to fighting. Pein had told him the moment he met Sasuke again that they were mostly going to fight, so why hold anything back? Kyuubi had a little bit of influence on his movement and actions, like how he was suddenly crouched on all fours with his teeth bared. Perfect example. Naruto gripped onto his dagger, eyes narrowed as he watched Sasuke look as calm as ever. At least have the fucking decency to look tired! If there was one thing in Naruto's life he hated more than bastards who left and then came back claiming they didn't know you, were bastards that didn't even try.

"Is that all you've got?

Naruto growled low in his throat. His teeth were bared, almost carnal, and the whiskers that scarred his cheeks were growing broader, deeper, and thicker than they had before. Naruto had no idea what was going on. But seeing Sasuke in front of him, acting like they've never met, had made something... snap inside of him. He could handle Sasuke being a total asshole to him. He was used to that. Acting like he didn't remember him, though? Yeah, that was a kick in the shins for Naruto.

The anger boiled inside of him, urging him to push it out and let loose. And he almost did. Almost. He held it back, though, remembering the calming techniques Pein had taught him whenever he felt like the metaphorical pot was about to spill over. His emotions were literally bomb after bomb waiting to explode whenever Naruto lost control, and right now he wanted to be control. Sure, being able to beat the shit out of Sasuke like an animal would have been nice and all, to get out his frustrations, but it wouldn't be right.

Exhaling a breath, Naruto barely had time to shoot back a response as Sasuke's sword almost made very good friends with Naruto' stomach. A lucky swing of his hips and the sword missed his stomach by an inch. 'Damn it... he's playing dirty.' He could see it by the look in Sasuke's eyes. It was provoking him to step out of line so Sasuke could show him up. He'd seen that look so many times in other people's eyes that another cold slash to the heart hit Naruto hard. It was like he was staring into the face of a stranger...

The same stranger that would judge him for what he was – what he couldn't help being. Naruto bit on the inside of his cheek. No! His Sasuke had to be in there somewhere. He wouldn't allow this... this... imposter to take over his best friend! Sasuke was his. And damn it, he was going to get him back!

Eyes narrowed in determination, Naruto launched himself at Sasuke and the battled continued. Metal clashed with metal. Blood splattered the floor like water droplets from a shower head. Neither side showed signs of tiring out anytime soon. Either one of them was going to win, or both sides would end up in a draw. Naruto wasn't going to end this battle in a draw. His heart was set on winning, on freeing Sasuke from whatever oppressive chains Orochimaru had placed him under, and then he was going to beat him around some more just for leaving him in the first place. After that Naruto assumed he would have a heart-to-heart with the raven prince about what happened all those years ago...

With his plan in his mind, with his goal in reach, Naruto started to fight like his life depended on it. He fought with his entire soul thrown into his punches, jabs, and kicks. He could see that, although Sasuke had become a deadly and exceptional fighter, there was only so much blocking one could do without getting tired. Their was strain showing in not only Sasuke's movements, but in his eyes as well. Naruto inwardly smirked. 'Just a few more attacks and... Shit!'

A sneak attack. Naruto hadn't even seen it coming. Somehow Sasuke had actually manage to duplicate himself and hit Naruto from behind. Yes, another dirty tactic but really, there were no rules set for this match so everything went. Collective gasps flew around the room, and Minato nearly dropped his glass of wine onto the floor. Thank God Pein was there to stop the expensive glass from crashing. Orochimaru was smirking devilishly, though from afar it might have looked like he was pleased with his star pupil. But that wasn't exactly the case.

Sasuke's face was so close to Naruto's... His fragrance was still the same – surprisingly. It was subtle, but if you were really close to the raven – like Naruto was now – you could smell it rather well, and the scent would stick with you for a while. Onyx locks fell onto his cheeks, tickling them softly. He thought he could hear Sasuke panting, or maybe that was his own pants? Their hearts were beating obnoxiously loud, though the beats were timed so perfectly like they were one beating heart instead of two separate ones. Sasuke's sword was poised against his throat, playing as if he was about to cut off Naruto's head, but the sword fell to the floor. Instead, his hand went to cup the blonde's cheek, carefully stroking each and every darkened whisker until they were nothing more but thin lines on the boy's skin. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. And for a moment he thought he was going to black out from not breathing. But Sasuke was touching him! Actually touching him! He gulped back his apprehension, his fear, and with a shaky hand gripped onto Sasuke's arm.

"It's you..." Sasuke whispered. It was so silent, though, that Naruto had to really strain to hear it.

"It's me..." Naruto grinned cheekily. He hoped that this was a sign that Sasuke had regained his memories, though he couldn't be too sure. He searched for that light to shine in Sasuke's now black eyes, but it was still cloudy...

"Why do you look so familiar?" the raven asked quietly. "I've seen you before... I know it. It's so fuzzy..."

"C'mon, Teme. Think..."

Sasuke looked at him with widened eyes, and then it clicked. That scratchy voice, those abnormal but cute whiskers, those bright blue eyes that looked like sapphire jewels, a smile that could put the sun to shame, and that hair... Golden and spiked stretching for the sky.

He knew this boy.

His heart knew this boy. It screamed for him. Wanted him. He had to say his name before that cloud of forgetfulness tried to claim him once again. His mouth moved, lips parted, words struggling to come out.

Naruto gripped at the boy's arms, eyes wary though hopefully expectant. His heart was about to burst from his chest, and time was going by so slowly. Their lips were so close. Just one bump and they would be pressed together, locked tightly in a bond. A silent communication that Sasuke had remembered. He watched those sinfully delicious lips move, and words slowly floated through the air...

"Naruto... Uzumaki... You're Naruto Uzumaki!"

Words couldn't express how happy Naruto was that Sasuke had finally remembered. The happiness surged through his body, giving him new energy and strength. All thoughts on the pain of having someone you cared for walk out of your life and not even remember you were quickly replaced with the joy of them remembering you once more. Naruto wanted to skip, hop, jump, run, fly, hug the living hell out of Sasuke and more. But before he could act, a warm pair of lips met his own and his mind chose to stop working after that.

LOOK! LOOK AT THE FLUFFY ENDING I HAVE GIVEN YOU! If that's not a gift then I don't know what. This story is totally going off track from what I originially wanted... -shrugs-. Oh well. Shit happens. As long as I hit the major points I want, that's fine :D.

Now I bid you farewell until two weeks next time! I do accept Anonymous and non-anonymous reviews ;D. Wink wink nudge nudge- Don't be afraid to share your opinons!