xxxChapter 1: Opposites Attractxxx

Two Months Later...

Naruto sat eagerly by the front window of the house with a huge grin plastered on his whiskered face, tail flicking side to side with anticipation.

Iruka came out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand and raised a brow at the blond. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

The fox tilted his head, "Waiting."

Iruka eyed him suspiciously. Over the past months, Naruto, lovable as he was, had become a mischievous little thing. "Waiting for what?"

"The mailman." he piped.

The brunet's forehead crinkled as he studied the boy.

Animals grew at a faster rate than humans, so instead of the tiny two-year old looking child he used to be, he now took on the form of about a six year old. His wild blond spikes fell at random stops around his face, and his orange ears, with blackened tips and tints of red and gold, were overly large and stuck up in excitement. His tail, an exact color copy of his ears, was flitting happily from side to side. And because he was still small, his big blue eyes took up most of his face, them being the first thing you were drawn to at first glance of him. He wore a slightly over-sized, plain orange shirt that fell off his shoulder on one side, and light blue jeans that cut off at his knees, his feet bare.

The man sighed heavily, fighting back a smile at how beautifully his adopted son was growing up to be. "Naruto, I've told you about spraying the mailman with water." Iruka warned.

The fox's grin only grew as he looked to his father. "I know daddy." He turned his attention back out the window.

The endearment broke through him, and Iruka let the smile show as he sat down next to the boy and looked outside as well.

Not too long later, Naruto's excitement began rolling off him in waves of energy when he spotted the white truck coming up the road and stop in front of their house.

Iruka watched with apprehension as Naruto bit his lip to hold back a smile, and he felt a bubble of doubt grow in his stomach. Naruto's face had "prank" written all over it.

Outside, the mailman, with his standard blue uniform and three envelopes in his hand, cautiously poked his head out of the truck and scanned the area for any sign of that little orange monster. When he caught no sight of him, he gingerly stepped out and slowly made his way to the mailbox, being careful to look all around himself the whole time.

When he reached the small box without any injury or being drenched in any type of liquid, he relaxed a bit and reached out to pull the lid. The second he did though, a loud 'pop' could be heard all through the farm, and the man sputtered, looking down to find himself splattered with blue paint.

Iruka's eyes widened and he snapped his head to Naruto, who was in a fit of laughter beside him. But his mirth slowly died down at the stern glare Iruka was pinning him with. He gulped, "What? It matches his uniform…" he argued softly before glancing outside to see the man drop the mail and run back to his truck, racing away with a heap of dust in his wake.

Iruka abruptly stood up and placed his hands under Naruto's armpits, hoisting him up and looking him straight in the eye. "I warned you about this Naruto."

"Nooo, you said don't spray him with water, you never said anything about paint."

The man groaned and shook him slightly, "How many times do I have to tell you to cut it out with these pranks?!"

Naruto's ears suddenly flattened against his head, eyes watering and lips sticking out in an adorable pout. "I'm sorry daddy..." he murmured.

A stab of guilt pierced through Iruka's chest, but he shook his head in an attempt to fight it. "Don't you give me that look, you're in big trouble!"

The kit whined cutely and leaned forward to bury his face in the other's neck, wrapping his arms around him.

Well, needless to say, it was no use trying to resist. Iruka smiled and hugged him back. "You little…" He snorted and chuckled. "You know I can't stay mad at you."

But he couldn't see Naruto's grin, "Hehehe, sucker."

"What was that?"

The head of blond suddenly peeked up with a smile. "I love you daddy! Can I go outside and play?"

Iruka sighed; even the devil himself could break at this kid's charm. "Yes, you can go."

Naruto beamed and reached up to peck him on the cheek. "Thank you!" Iruka nodded and put him down and he hurried to the door and outside.

Iruka watched him go with a small smile and brought a hand up to his cheek. "He's something else" he murmured quietly before picking up his mug and going back into the kitchen.

x-X-0-X-x

Itachi cracked open one eye at the sound of a truck approaching, and both eyes when he recognized it as his master's truck. He stood up from the rocking chair on the porch and gracefully walked down the wooden steps to stand at the bottom.

When the vehicle stopped and shut off, a mini version of himself and his master stepped out.

The small dog, Sasuke, rushed up to his brother and wrapped his arms around his legs. "Brother, I'm back!"

Itachi smiled. "Yes, I can see that." He gently pushed the child away and looked up at the other man, while Sasuke stayed beside him with his black, furry tail swooshing behind him happily.

Itachi spoke, "I trust everything went well with his examination?"

The snake-like man nodded with a satisfied grin. "He's going to make an excellent hunting dog. With his natural abilities and your training, why, he might even surpass you."

The dog snorted softly. "Let's not get carried away, he has quite a way to go before he can even match me."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Yes, well, he may not look like much now but he'll grow into his talents soon enough." He walked up the porch steps to the front door of his house, placing a hand on the screen door. "Perhaps you two should spend some quality time together. After all, it's been a couple of months, hasn't it?"

Neither boy answered, and he smirked slightly before going inside.

Now that their master was gone, Sasuke tugged at his brother's white shirt. "Is that true brother? Will I really be as good as you?" he asked with hopeful longing.

The older dog sighed and placed a hand on the other's head. "Perhaps, but you'll have to work extremely hard. Becoming a skilled hunting dog is by no means an easy task."

Sasuke nodded eagerly, "I know! But with you teach...ing...me..." he trailed off, nose twitching at the air.

Itachi raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, dark ears sticking up in an alert stance and tail slowing to a gentle sway. "Don't you" he sniffed, "smell that? It's...different."

The older dog closed his eyes as well and sniffed. "...I don't smell anything unusual."

Sasuke's grip on his brother's shirt went slack, until he let go completely, walking away from him.

"Sasuke, where are you going?"

"I have to – sniff – find out what – sniff – that smell is."

The man sighed and shook his head, walked back up the porch to the rocking chair and sat down. "The master won't be happy about you going off on your own, Sasuke."

But the pup was too far gone in his search to hear him.

x-X-0-X-x

Sasuke wandered through the thick forest, guided by nothing but his nose. So concentrated on his search, he hadn't even noticed that, for a while now, a little blond had caught sight of the boy and started to follow him.

Naruto pouted. He'd been following this dog for some time and he still couldn't figure out what he was doing. Well, he could only wait for so long, "Hey, what'cha doin'?"

Sasuke started from surprise and whirled around, coming face to face with a little blond boy with orange ears. He stared for a moment or two before tilting his head. "Hunting, I'm on the trail."

Naruto raised a brow and innocently laced his hands behind his back, "Hunting?"

"Yeah," Sasuke placed a hand against a tree and smelled it as well.

The fox tilted his head. "What's 'hunting'?"

Sasuke ignored him and closed his eyes once again. He was so close to it, he knew he was. Sasuke turned around and leaned forward; felt his nose pressed against the very scent he'd been following.

Opening his obsidian eyes, Sasuke found himself staring into endless orbs of blue, their noses pressed against each other. He blinked twice. "It's you."

Naruto blinked back and merely smiled.

Sasuke pulled away and tilted his head back, letting out a long and exaggerated howl that caused Naruto's ears to flatten and one of his eyes to close.

When the pup finished, he caught the blond staring at him.

"What'd you do that for?" he chimed.

Sasuke shrugged. "That's what you have to do after you find what you're looking for."

"Oh..."

Sasuke lifted a hand and traced the edge of the other's orange ear; it twitched under the movement. "What are you? Another dog?"

Naruto jerked, surprised by the question, then smiled. "No silly! I'm a fox, haven't you seen one before?"

The dog shook his head.

"Oh, um, well I haven't seen one either actually, but I know there are more." He folded his hands over his head and asked, "Why were you looking for me?"

Sasuke eyed him and gave an annoyed huff. "You're stupid."

The fox sputtered and pouted. "I am not! It's just a question!"

"But I told you already, because I was hunting."

Naruto frowned and made a pensive noise. "Is that...like a game?"

"A...game?"

Naruto suddenly lurched forward with clenched fists and a huge smile, his ears up and tail swishing excitedly. "Yeah! Like hide and seek! I bet you'd be real good at that!"

Sasuke leaned back a bit from the other's energy. "I...don't know what that is."

His smile fell. "You've never played hide and seek?" he asked, as if this news were some unforgivable sin.

The pup lowered his eyes with a blush.

Naruto grinned and grabbed his hand. "Hey! Don't be sad! I'll teach you!"

Sasuke beamed at the other, tail wagging and ears perking up. "Okay!"

Naruto nodded, letting go of his hand. "Okay, close your eyes and count to ten. I'll go hide and when you finish, then you come find me, get it?"

"I think so."

"Kay, close your eyes."

Sasuke did and when he heard the other scurrying around, he cracked one open slightly.

Naruto paused and furrowed his brows. "NO! You can't PEEK!"

Sasuke flinched. "Oh – okay." Sasuke brought both hands up over his eyes and started over, "One...two...three..." He flattened his ears and continued counting.

Naruto made sure the other boy wasn't looking before crouching and crawling into a log, then lying down completely still.

"Ten!" The pup yelled before opening his eyes. He scanned the area in search of the fox and sniffed at the air when he couldn't see him.

Naruto snickered softly in his hiding spot. "He'll never find me in..." He blinked, looking out the end of the log to see Sasuke's pale face.

The dog smirked. "Found you."

Naruto snorted irritably and crawled out, standing up next to the other. "No FAIR! How did you find me so fast?"

Sasuke laughed and tapped his nose.

"Humph, cheater."

"Also, because you're an idiot."

"Nu-uh!"

"Yeah-huh."

"Am not!

"Are too."

"Am NOT!

"Are TOO!"

Naruto growled and jumped forward, tackling the other to the ground. "I AM NOT AN IDIOT! You're a JERK!"

Sasuke grinned, rolling himself over so he pinned the fox to the floor by his shoulders, leaning down to his face, tail swishing merrily. "This is fun! What other games can we play?"

Naruto's face suddenly broke out into a smile and he sat up partially so he was chest to chest with the other boy, neither of them aware of the provocative implications of the position. "You wanna play more?"

Sasuke nodded eagerly, "Yeah!"

"Do you wanna be friends with me?"

Suddenly, Sasuke's tail stopped wagging, and his face scrunched up in confusion, "Friends?"

"Uh-huh!"

His ears pressed against his dark head. "My master says," he bit his lip and looked away. "He says friends will make me weak and I won't be a good hunting dog."

Naruto's mouth parted, and he made a thoughtful sound before responding. "I don't think that's true. If we're friends, we can play together all the time! And that'll help with your – um," he searched for that word, "hunting, won't it?"

"That's true…and my master does want me to train more."

"So you wanna be friends?"

Sasuke smiled. "We can play more? If we're friends?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, then yeah, let's be friends! Do you wanna- "

"Sasukeeee!"

Both boys jumped at the call, and Naruto's head cocked while Sasuke's ears went flat again. "Uh-oh."

"Sasukeeeee!"

Sasuke cringed and climbed off the boy, standing up. "I gotta go."

Naruto frowned sadly. "Awwww, why?" he whined while standing up as well.

"That's my master calling me."

"Your name is Sasuke?"

"Yes."

Naruto smiled. "I like that name!"

The pup blushed. "Thank you."

"I'm Naruto, by the way."

"Naruto..." Sasuke tried the word, finding that he liked the way it seemed to fit on his tongue.

"SASUKEEEE!"

Sasuke started almost violently. "I really gotta go," He moved to leave but Naruto reached out and caught his hand, causing him to look back. "Naruto, my master will be upset with me."

The blond bit his lip. "But...I'll see you again tomorrow, right?"

Sasuke smiled, tail wagging again. "Of course, I'll be here."

Naruto brightened. "Okay!" He lightly pecked the other's cheek before running in the opposite direction with a wave. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke!" he yelled, as he disappeared through the trees.

Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, wondering why that little kiss had sent shivers down to his toes and made his palms grow warm. The voice of his master broke through his reverie, and Sasuke hurried
home, thinking of how much he couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.