Author's Note: Well, not much to say except, please enjoy this chapter.
xxxxxxxx
When Sasuke's birthday had passed and was happy with just spending his days with Naruto, he got a surprise that left Naruto wondering if he was unneeded.
"Sasuke, I have a surprise for you!" The little raven's father yelled from the living room, making the tiny raven and the blonde robot come out from their makeshift fort of blankets and pillows. Their imaginary game of being knights would have to wait.
As they bounded down the stairs, holding hands as always, the pair noticed that Sasuke's father was not alone. A man that looked the same age as the raven's father was sitting on the couch with his hands in his lap.
Although, that was not the end of the company, next to the grown man was a boy around Sasuke's age. This group had two additional beings sitting on the couch next to the brunette child. One was a girl who looked incredibly shy as she would stare at her shoes and fidget every few moments.
And next to the girl was Gaara, the robot that Naruto and Sasuke met at the lab from where the blonde robot came from. The pair stood in front group, holding hands that clutched the other a little tighter, unsure of what was happening.
"Ah, Sasuke. Naruto." The little raven's father had greeted them making them nod their head in return unable to speak in front of strangers.
"This is the Hyuuga family. The young lad here is Neji and next to him is a robot like Naruto named Hinata. The boy next to Hinata is also a robot, named Gaara. Please take them around the house while I talk to their father." The father of the household said to the confounded pair as they were just shoved with three other people and shooed away.
Sasuke had given the small group a look of distaste, tempted to just leave them hanging in the hallway while he played with Naruto, but the blonde had spoiled his plans.
The blonde had eagerly grabbed the redhead robot's hand, who grabbed the Hyuuga son's hand, making the brunette pull on the girl robot's hand.
The little raven rolled his eyes and just pulled the group outside to where the big maple tree was. He gracefully plopped down next to the tree, under the shade to hide from the sun.
He watched as the other children did not sit down so he narrowed his eyes slightly and bounced on his bum to emphasize that he wanted them to sit down.
The blonde happily complied with his orders, pulling the redhead's hand which set off the chain reaction of making the other two sit down at the same time. They sat in silence, not uncomfortable but awkwardly unable to speak to each other.
The small raven leaned back on his arms and his legs sprawled in front of him, while the blonde sat happily next to him as one leg was folded and the other was laid straight in front of him. The redhead had his legs pulled up to his chest as he stared at the other children over the top of his knees.
The brunette sat traditionally, the way he was taught in a crossed-legged pose, his back straight as his hands fell into his lap. The shy girl sat with her legs folded beneath her as she fiddled with her fingers. Soon the silence seemed to annoy the straight-laced brunette for he spoke up in proper grammar.
"Well, my name is Neji. Pleasure to meet you." He said as politely as he could but the raven was not impressed since he did not politely respond back, instead just inclining his head forward. He smirked when he saw Neji glare slightly in his direction.
"Would you mind telling me your name?" The brunette gritted his teeth trying to stay polite, even though he already knew the other kid's name.
"Sasuke, yo." The little raven said in slang that he had picked up from the television. The blonde beside him giggled a bit making the raven smirk and puff his chest a little, almost seeming like he was showing off. "And your name?" He inclined his head towards the blonde who looked surprised.
He hadn't known that the brunette boy wanted to know his name also. "N-Naruto." He said with a blush and looked down at his lap. The raven glared slightly at the brunette and huffed in the opposite direction, a bit annoyed with this stranger.
A few more moments of silence was raising the anger of the usual calm Neji. He had never been treated this way before in his life! "Mind if we talk over there?" The angry boy asked politely but in a harsh tone as he grabbed the raven's hand and pulled him away from the tree.
"Hey bastard!" The little raven said as he slapped the other boy's hand away and angrily got up to pat his bottom and dust away particles.
The small group of robots watched with curiosity but did not make a move to get up. They just stared on creepily at the pair until the blonde robot had pulled out a rectangular box that held strawberry covered sticks.
"Want some pocky?" He asked with a smile as he shoved the box near Gaara's face. The boy looked at him blankly before hesitantly going for a stick that stuck out from the box. The blonde grinned and he offered the girl robot some.
"Hey, you want some too?" He asked as he shoved the biscuit between his lips. The girl robot seemed terribly shy for she blushed darkly and tried to hide herself from view behind the redhead's arm.
Gaara did not do anything to show he was unhappy with the girl all he did was offer his own piece to the shy robot, who in return took it shakily. After the girl had started to nibble on it, the emotionless robot went for another piece, which made the blonde more than happy.
Back with Neji and Sasuke; the tiny raven was just about to hurt the kid who was slightly bigger than him when the annoying brat started talking. "I suggest we get along since your father is going to do business with my father." The boy said with a slightly snotty tone. "What makes you think I care?" The smaller boy retorted.
"Look, I'm asking you to get along with me so my robots won't get taken away." The brunette said as he leaned against the swing set in Sasuke's yard. The raven's glare lessened at the statement, he knew exactly what it felt like to get your robot taken away.
Although the other boy was annoying, he kind of liked him; they were sort of alike, so the raven supposed they could get along for now. "Fine." Sasuke said and spit in his hand only to hold it out for a handshake. The other boy looked at the offending hand disgustingly, making the raven roll his eyes but at least shake with his cleaner hand.
They didn't smile at each other but at least their eyes had some sort of silent agreement.
xxxxxxxx
When Naruto had woken up, his friend Sasuke was nowhere to be found, he was slightly anxious but at least he was not panicking.
"Good morning, Sasuke." The sleepy blonde said with a yawn as he sat up in bed, the sheets pooling to his waist. He rubbed his eyes childishly and yawned once again. He blinked a few times when he did not hear his 'good morning' back.
His mouth fell into the shape of a pout and turned to his side to give his friend a good whining session but instead he found an empty space. "Sasuke…?" He whispered quietly as if the raven was hiding beneath the bed to jump out and scare him.
The blonde listened to the sounds of the room, using his robotic ears to pick up any human life. Alas, there was none and the blonde did not feel dismayed he simply thought that the raven was off doing his studies or something more important than greeting the blonde in the morning.
The robot simply rolled out of the bed he shared with the small raven, and treaded down the stairs. The room across the hall, which was Itachi's, had it's door left open with no one inside, which meant Itachi was awake, but the little blonde did not see the older boy either to greet him with a 'good morning'.
The house felt slightly lonely without Sasuke to laugh with or Itachi to talk and smile with, the blonde thought as he reached the kitchen. A few maids bustled around, giving a small smile and greeting him but otherwise went back to their work. The robot slid into a high stool at the breakfast table and a few moments later, a plate with toast was presented in front of him.
It already had his favorite jam on it so he ate it without concern. He chewed slowly and quietly, wondering where Sasuke and Itachi were. "Hey, do you know where Sasuke went?" The blonde spoke up and a maid turned to speak to him.
"Itachi-sama has taken Sasuke-sama to the Hyuuga household. Would you like some more toast?" She asked with a smile and the blonde shook his head absently. "I see…" He said in regards to the comment of Sasuke.
He pushed the plate away and jumped off his seat to go change his clothes.
When he was clothed properly, he just wandered about the house in a daze until he ended up in the backyard next to the big maple tree to think. Lying beneath the tree's shade to block the sun, he wondered what Sasuke was doing. Sasuke was at Neji's house, he remembered. "Then why didn't he invite me?" The blonde thought.
He was quite lonely as he wished that his one and only friend would come back and play with him.
Just then, the front door was slammed shut and the blonde sat up from his position. He could hear the soft padding of Sasuke's feet and he ran towards them. Running through the halls and chasing the sound of the little raven's feet, the blonde could only chant the other boy's name in his head.
His feet slid as he turned a corner and into a room. Sasuke was there with a big jolly smile on his face, almost like he was the happiest kid alive. The blonde grinned as the raven turned to him. No doubt to greet and hug him and prepare for their wonderful day. "Good morning, Naruto!" The raven said happily and went back to gathering stuff for some kind of adventure.
"Sasuke—"The blonde started but was interrupted by the raven. "Sorry, can't talk. I'm hanging out with Neji today and I need to prepare." The little raven said hurriedly as he bustled around, nearly tripping over the things he dropped. "Then I can come too?" The robot said with hopefulness in his tone.
The raven turned to him with a small glare. "No way, it's just me and Neji today! No robots allowed!" The blonde was taken aback at the tone and glare; he looked slightly hurt too, as he turned away with a wince. The raven did not notice as he packed up his things with a smile.
Before he left the house, he smiled and waved at Naruto, unaware of how much his words hurt the robot. "See ya later, Naruto!" The blonde smiled to be happy for his friend but it didn't quite reach his eyes that watered slightly. "Have fun." He called to the small back that was moving farther and farther away.
"Sasuke…? Am I not what you want? Could it be that I'm not as fun anymore? Is Neji cooler than I am? Am I…unneeded?" The blonde furiously wiped at his slightly tearful eyes.
A hand plopped onto his head and ruffled his hair. The robot stared up at the older raven that was Itachi. "Don't worry, Naruto. Sasuke's just going through his rebellious phase where he decides which friends are allowed to go or not. You're still his best friend." Itachi said with a small smile as he led the blonde back into the house by lightly pushing his back to keep him from drowning in sadness.
So the blonde had spent the whole day with the older raven, playing and doing all sorts of stuff until he was worn out to the point that he needed to recharge both his body and his mind.
When Sasuke came back from his wonderful day with Neji, he was upset that his blonde friend was sleeping. He wouldn't be able to hear the details of what happened with Neji. When he had heard that Naruto spent all his time with Itachi, the smaller raven was slightly peeved.
Naruto was his robot, not Itachi's. If Itachi wanted someone to play with, he could've asked one his own friends or got his own robot, but no, he just had to play with Sasuke's robot.
The raven was about to wake the blonde up roughly when a hand placed itself upon his shoulder. He looked up to his older brother with a glare, but was quite worried when the taller raven had a grim expression on his face.
"Listen, Sasuke. Naruto is not one of your toys that you can toss aside. Although he is a robot, he's a real human being with emotions. When you left him today, he was terribly upset to the point that he was crying." The older raven said with an unhappy face. The smaller raven looked like he was about to cry also.
"I-I made N-Naruto…feel like that?" He said shocked as he bit on his lip. He stared at the bed that held Naruto longingly like he wanted to bed for forgiveness even if it took him thousands of years. "I'm sorry." The tiny raven said quietly and hung his head in shame.
"You should be saying that to Naruto, not me." The older brother said as he patted his brother's shoulder comfortingly. "I will. I'll tell him 'I'm sorry' when he wakes up!" The smaller boy said with a determined look on his face.
"As long as you know." Itachi said and stood up to his full height. "Look Sasuke, it's not bad to have more friends but you can't treat your other friends badly or they might not want to be friends with you. Who knows, maybe Naruto will become my robot." The evil mind of Itachi's to make his brother cry came out as he smirked down at Sasuke.
The little raven looked like he was torn between crying and throwing a tantrum. "Y-you better not!" Sasuke yelled at the older raven's back as Itachi walked away with his head thrown back and laughing joyously. The little raven's voice cracked slightly as tears formed at the corner of his eyes.
He wiped at them quickly and glared at the door that was shut on the other side of the hall. As soon as he decided that he glared long enough at the other door, he made his way over to the bed and slid in.
He stared at the sleeping blonde's face and with a sad face, placed his arms around the other boy to hold him close. "I'm sorry, Naruto." He whispered into the blonde's hair and soon fell asleep due to the warmth that was spread to him from the blonde.
xxxxxxxx
Despite what Itachi had said to Sasuke, the little boy still went out to play with Neji leaving Naruto all alone.
When Naruto woke up from sleeping, he had sat by the window next to Sasuke's bed staring out it. He watched as he saw the little raven run almost joyously to the large limo in front of his house.
Seeing Sasuke so cheerfully happy to see Neji made the robot sick, a type of jealousy that coiled within his artificial stomach. He made a grimace as he watched the raven smile widely when he saw Neji's cute smile.
The robot could no longer watch the scene while trying to feel happy for his little raven friend; he closed the blinds with a snap. As the car roared to life and no doubt sped off to the other boy's house, Naruto chose to sit in silence.
He did not get up to walk downstairs and blindly ask where Sasuke was with such an innocent smile on his face when he already knew his best friend was at Neji's house. The robot chastised himself for feeling in such a way. He should be happy for the raven no matter what.
"Sasuke…Sasuke…" The blonde called within his mind almost pathetically hopeless. "Where are you…? Have you left? Have you left…me? Where have you gone? You have gone to a place where I can no longer see you. Will you come back? Am I not good enough for you anymore? Have you…abandoned me?"
The blonde felt disgusted with himself, of course Sasuke had not left him, and he would see the little raven again later, right? Yes that's right; Sasuke would always come back to him. The thoughts and longing had twisted the robot's mind to the point that made him knock his head a few times.
Quickly reaching for the computer, he pulled the cord from his neck and inserted it into the right plug. He sighed as he felt the soothing data pass through his mind. Plugging up to a computer had always calmed the robot since information does not lie, it is absolute.
What was a robot to do without his master? Could a robot even do anything without his master? Would it be fun? Sasuke was his master, but he was not here. Maybe the lonely little robot could go to the lab to have some fun?
The blonde had jumped of the bed of despair and walked across the hall to knock on the older raven's door three times. A grunt was heard and the blonde began to talk. "Itachi, will you drive me to the lab?" He asked with a slight smile although the older boy could not see it. There was silence for a few moments before the other boy answered.
"Yeah, yeah. Wait for me downstairs." The robot heard from the other side of the door and skipped down the stairs.
When he got there, to the lab where he came from, he was bombarded with hugs and hellos. It was the greatest joy when scientists saw there old projects again. "Should I just leave you here for a few hours, Naru?" The older raven asked. The blonde nodded his head with a smile on his face; the older boy ruffled his hair and smiled fondly before he left the blonde to his own devices.
For a few moments the little robot walked around aimlessly as he watched the other people in the lab bustle around working on new experiments. He pressed his face to the glass when he saw his fellow brethren sleeping within the tank full of liquid. Before he set off to his new location, he wished them the best of luck when they received their master.
Awhile had gone by before the tiny robot had found himself walking around the indoor garden. The garden was built for mellower models that enjoyed the calmness of it. Naruto stopped when he came across Gaara.
"Gaara." The blonde said happily when he saw a familiar face. "Why are you here?" Naruto asked with his head tilted to the side to show he was confused. "The young master did not want me anymore due to my personality." Gaara said clearly talking about Neji. Another reason why Naruto had to dislike the brat.
"What utter nonsense." The blonde robot said with pout on his face. "You're just shyer than other robots." Naruto said as he tucked some of the other boy's red hair behind his ear.
xxxxxxxx
A/N: I apologize for boring you with the droning of Sasuke and Naruto's childhood.
