Well, here's the third chapter of For Naruto, Whenever I May Find Him. I'd like to thank all of you for reading so far, and especially those of you who've reviewed. Every comment is extremely helpful! Well, on with the chapter!

3. Superficial Sighs

Sasuke sat in class the next day, feeling far more distracted than usual. Not that it made a difference in the quality of his schoolwork. Even if he was clearly daydreaming, he would always know the answer if the teacher asked him a question. Just one of the benefits of being an Uchiha, he supposed.

Yes, the raven-haired boy was troubled as a result of the tongue-lashing he had given Naruto the day before. Normally such things didn't bother him; after all, he had told two girls to go to hell the day before via a personal note. This thing with Naruto, though, was somehow different. Try as he might, he simply could not shake off his newfound guilt.

Why did I even yell at him in the first place? He was trying to apologize to me, right? What did he say? Nothing… he did nothing to deserve that. I was just angry… but to bring up Kyuubi like that… that was low. Not even Itachi would sink to that level.

It was this thought in particular that troubled Sasuke more than any other, for the possibility that he might be worse than his ruthless brother was utterly horrifying. Sasuke tried to convince himself that he was wrong. It didn't matter what Naruto thought; he was a nobody, just like everyone else at Konoha High. Sure, Sasuke was harsh, but what did it matter in the grand scheme of things? To him, Mr. Uzumaki was just another speed bump on the road of life.

As the day progressed, however, Sasuke realized that this wasn't the case. That little encounter with Naruto had really bothered him, and the Uchiha knew that it would keep eating at him unless he talked about it with someone. Almost without realizing it, Sasuke made his way outside the building when lunchtime came around, and soon found himself standing beside one Shikamaru Nara. Without a word, he sat down beside the teen and stared up at the clouds as they drifted along, an event that became had become their special routine over the years.

They sat like that for quite some time, simply watching the clouds, as if there were no worries in either of their lives. To be honest, Sasuke wasn't sure if Shikamaru did have any troubles of his own. The Nara never really talked about them, Sasuke never asked, and they were just fine with that. They respected each other's privacy, for the most part, except for when Kakashi used Shikamaru to pry into the Uchiha's business.

Aside from that one incident, however, the two maintained an unusual relationship, where personal information was only revealed when the confessor was prepared. This suited Sasuke, since he did not like to be forced into sharing his secrets. That's why they were secrets, after all, so that he could keep them to himself until he was ready.

On this day, though, Sasuke knew that he had to share what he was thinking with someone, and Shikamaru seemed to pick up on this instantly.

"Something on your mind, Sasuke?" the Nara said with a sigh.

Damn, he's good.

"Well, sort of," Sasuke replied, glancing at his friend. Before he could go any further, though, the Uchiha shook his head. "No, never mind. It's nothing."

"All right," Shikamaru said before turning his attention back to the clouds.

Sasuke was relieved that he had at least a little while to formulate his thoughts. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Shikamaru, because he did, but at the same time he wanted to at least have an idea of what his problem was. It was such a foreign feeling for the Uchiha, this guilt over a chance encounter with someone, that he needed to make sure he knew what he was really feeling.

"Shikamaru… I lied," Sasuke concluded after a few minutes.

"I figured as much," the Nara replied, sitting up with a groan. "So what's up?"

Sasuke felt embarrassed just thinking about his predicament, and averted his gaze to the side as he spoke. "Well, I'm sure you heard about my little run-in with Naruto yesterday…"

"Oh yeah… I only had to hear about that from everyone in your fanclub. What about it?"

"Well, the thing is, Naruto stopped by my house yesterday to apologize."

"Okay," Shikamaru said, trying to piece together Sasuke's situation. "So what's the problem?"

Dammit, why is this so hard?

"I don't know what was wrong with me, Shikamaru… maybe I was just mad at Itachi or something," Sasuke began, his tone becoming increasingly frustrated. "But when Naruto tried to apologize to me, I pretty much told him to go to hell."

"Pretty much?" Shikamaru asked, realizing that there was more to the story than was being told. "What exactly did you tell him?"

Here goes nothing…

"I told him that we'd all be better off without him, that he was just the son of a murderer and would never amount to anything…"

Having finally gotten everything off his chest, Sasuke lay back on the hill, feeling strangely relieved.

"I see," Shikamaru said, furrowing his brow in thought. "So, if I'm not mistaken, you're feeling guilty because you used Kyuubi against him, and now you want to know what you should do. Am I on the right track?"

Sasuke continued to stare vacantly at the sky, but felt a deep amazement at his friend's intuition. "That's about it, yeah."

"Well, have you tried talking to Naruto?"

The question caught Sasuke completely off guard. He had never even considered apologizing to the blond. "I can't do that… he wouldn't even give me a chance…"

"Sasuke, listen; I know Naruto. He would've punched most people's lights out for bringing up Kyuubi like that. You don't appear to be harmed in any way, though, so I'll assume that he ran away, right?"

Sasuke gave a quick nod before Shikamaru continued. "Okay, so basically you can bet, at the very least, Naruto respects you. He didn't just want to apologize out of fear, he actually wanted your forgiveness. I highly doubt that if you went and tried to apologize to you that he would throw it back in your face. It's just not the kind of guy he is."

"No, that's just how I am," Sasuke murmured darkly.

In spite of the Uchiha's efforts, though, Shikamaru heard his mumblings quite easily. "No, Sasuke, that's not the kind of person you are, either. You might not care about what others think, and that's fine, but you're not a sadist. If you were, you wouldn't be talking to me about this."

Sasuke stared at his friend in awe, dumbfounded at how the Nara could understand the situation so fully after hearing only a fraction of the problem. Even though he knew that Shikamaru was right, though, the Uchiha stubbornly clung to his lingering doubt.

"How can you be so sure he'll forgive me?"

"I do have friends besides you, Sasuke," Shikamaru replied with a smirk, "Just trust me; if you apologize to Naruto, and you mean it, he'll forgive you."

It was a fact that the raven-haired boy had not considered before, but now he remembered that he had seen Shikamaru talking with Naruto frequently in the past. Somehow he had never realized that the two were friends, though now he felt rather foolish for not seeing it earlier. Now that he was aware of this fact, however, Sasuke felt that he could trust Shikamaru's judgment, even if he himself remained apprehensive. Thus, with a slight sigh, the Uchiha rose off the ground and started back towards the school, only to hear his friend call out after him.

"Just promise me you won't hurt him again."

Sasuke pretended not to hear the Nara but continued, his stride not wavering in the slightest. Deep down, however, he felt a great churning in his gut at the prospect of what lay before him. This wasn't just about him and Naruto anymore; now his friendship with Shikamaru was on the line.

What if I mess this up… Shikamaru will never forgive me. He'll just leave me, like everyone else. Dammit… why does everything have to be so fucking complicated?

Sasuke knew it was ridiculous to think such things. Shikamaru was too good a friend to abandon the Uchiha like that, but it didn't make the threat any less real. As irrational as it was, Sasuke did not want to risk losing what bonds he still had, not again.

Thus, it was with a sense of renewed determination that Sasuke spent the rest of his school day, hoping that he might find an opportunity to talk to the blond. Despite the fact that they had several classes together throughout the day, though, the Uchiha was never able to approach Naruto. The elusive boy would show up just as class began and would leave the second the bell rang, leaving Sasuke scrambling to catch up with him every time. It soon became clear that Naruto was avoiding him, a fact that frustrated the Uchiha greatly.

I swear… if he keeps this up much longer I'll kill him. Shikamaru would understand.

Fortunately, as the last class of the day let out, Sasuke was able to follow his target as he weaved through the crowded hallways of Konoha High, keeping back a fair distance, lest he be discovered prematurely. Soon, he had tracked the blond outside, where he knew he could talk to him one-on-one. Just as the Uchiha started running, though, he felt a sharp tug on his shoulder, which caused him to spin around on his heel. Looking up in indignation, Sasuke found himself staring into the eyes of another angry-looking teen, whose fang-like teeth were bared menacingly.

"Hey, Uchiha, just who I was looking for."

Sasuke tried to pry the offending teen's hand from his shoulder, but found that it would not budge. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"The name's Kiba Inuzuka." The boy replied, his teeth still gritting with his suppressed rage. "I believe you've met my roommate, Naruto?"

Shit… I knew I recognized this kid…

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday," Sasuke began, fearing that a confrontation might hurt his chances at forgiveness. "If you'd just let me talk to him–"

"Ha! Fat chance!" Kiba spat, his glare intensifying, "You're not getting anywhere near Naruto until I show you what happens when you mess with my friends."

Before Sasuke could protest any further, he felt the teen's fingers dig into his shoulders, causing him to wince in pain as he was hurled to the ground. The impact was greater than the Uchiha had anticipated, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to focus on recovering for a moment. By the time Sasuke had turned his attention back to his assailant, Kiba was lunging at the raven-haired boy with a blur of a fist. In that brief instant, Sasuke quickly rolled to the side as Kiba's punch came crashing into the earth.

"Hmph, why don't you just taking your beating like a man, Uchiha," Kiba said with a cocky smirk. "Or are you afraid that I'll damage that pretty face of yours?"

Dammit… I really want to beat the hell out of this kid…

"I don't want to fight you," Sasuke groaned, picking himself up off the ground. "Just tell me where Naruto is."

"I already told you, I'm not letting you get near him. Now stay still!"

Naturally, Sasuke realized he could not get through to his opponent, and was forced to hop back to dodge the dog-boys incoming punch. Kiba was surprisingly fast on his feet, though, and was soon upon the Uchiha once again. It caught Sasuke off guard, and before he could move out of the way, he felt Kiba's fist connected with his cheek. The raven-haired boy was knocked to the ground, a thin stream of blood running from the corner of his mouth, and seconds later his limbs were pinned to the ground by his opponent. Staring up at the Inuzuka in irritation, Sasuke spat a bit of blood onto the ground beside him, prepared to take his beating.

Well, I guess I deserve this…

"Kiba, stop!"

Hearing this voice calling out so abruptly, Kiba stopped his punch mere inches from the Uchiha's face. Sasuke turned his head slightly to the side, where he found a familiar blond running towards them, waving his hand wildly as he approached.

Naruto?

"Naruto," Kiba greeted with a half-hearted smile. "W-what's up?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kiba?" the blond asked, looking back and forth between the two combatants. "I thought I told you to leave Sasuke alone?"

He said what now?

"Naruto, I couldn't just let him get away with what he did," Kiba answered, stepping off of the Uchiha as he spoke.

Naruto sighed and placed a hand on his roommate's shoulder. "Thank you, Kiba. It means a lot to know you're looking out for me… but this is something I have to handle myself, all right?"

Kiba eyed Sasuke suspiciously for a moment, clearly torn as to what he should do, before turning back to the blond. "Okay, I understand. If you're not back home in an hour though, I'm coming lookin' for you."

"Got it," Naruto replied with a quick nod.

With that, Kiba started off for his apartment, and soon had vanished over the crest of the hill. Having broken up the fight, Naruto then turned his attention back to Sasuke with a guilty grin on his face.

"Sorry about that…"

Good, at least he's not mad at me…

"It's fine," Sasuke replied, wiping some of the blood from his lip as he lifted himself off the ground. "I guess I had it coming."

The two stood there for a second, neither one knowing exactly what to say. Sasuke looked to the side and scratched his head nervously, while Naruto shifted his feet, like he had something on his shoe. Finally, the Uchiha broke the silence, though his voice sounded rather faint.

"Naruto… that stuff I said yesterday… I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't," the blond responded, his voice wavering somewhat. "But… it still hurts, you know?"

Damn, this dobe can make you feel guilty…

"I want to make it up to you," Sasuke said, flinching slightly as he remembered hearing similar words the day before. "I'll understand if you want to just throw everything back in my face, but I want to at least try. I was wrong to talk about Kyuu… well… to say what I said. I'm sorry."

Wow, that was a lot harder than I thought…

Naruto contemplated the Uchiha's offer for a moment, scratching his cheek absently as he mulled things over. Soon, though, he was struck with an idea, which he expressed with a snap of his fingers.

"I've got it!" he said with a grin, "You can buy me dinner!"

Dinner?

"Okay, sure… where exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well, Ichiraku Ramen, of course!" Naruto replied, before turning around to march into the distance.

As Sasuke watched the blond disappear over the hill, he could not help but wonder what he had gotten himself into.

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There you have it. I hope you enjoyed it, and remember: review!