I am terribly sorry. This is severely overdue. Many things have happened since I began writing this chapter in April. I lost interest in Naruto for awhile, but have recently gotten back to it. /bow.
I realize, after rereading through the story, I have made many grammatical errors. It also appears to be that I am quite inconsistent sometimes, too. I have gone and fixed many of those problems. A few changes are how Gaara used honorifics, and Obito-sensei changing to Obito for written words.
I will be more careful in the future to not make those mistakes again.
Please enjoy!
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
September 28th, Friday.
Naruto and Sasuke were at attention with Ibiki staring down at them. Naruto and even Sasuke had been sleeping in ISS due to staying up late to do a project. They were now in trouble for this. Ibiki didn't mind anything that they did AS long as they didn't sleep, which they had failed to remember.
"This is your last day…" Ibiki began making Naruto and Sasuke gulp. "If you hadn't behaved so well I would have made you stay another day!"
"We're sorry, Sir! It will not happen again if we are ever in vicinity of being in the ISS room, Sir!" Naruto felt as if he was in the army and needed to address Ibiki with respect. Sasuke kept quiet keeping his eyes on Ibiki. He looked them over back and forth before sighing greatly and pointing out the door.
"Leave and never come back. Dismissed."
"Sir!" Sasuke and Naruto quickly grabbed their things and rushed on out. School wasn't out yet, but since Ibiki said they could go they assumed they could leave. As soon as they exited the building they looked to each and burst out laughing. Eventually, they sat down as the gate wouldn't open till the bell rang, but they didn't really care.
"Did… you see that?" Naruto asked through a laugh. "We were scared out of our wits!"
"Yeah! That… was ridiculous!" Sasuke grabbed his stomach as it was now hurting from the laughter. "Let's… never go back there again…"
"Only if… I don't get into more fights."
"Psh, we're definitely going back then." They laughed again and then settled down. They leaned back and stared up at the sky feeling a nice breeze blow past them. October was just around the corner, but the air was still fairly warm. Soon, they completely relaxed and felt at ease… until the bell made them jump. Naruto flew up and looked around until he realized it had just been the release bell. He took a deep breath and shook his head then noticed the gates were opening.
"Yes, we can leave now, but oh! I forgot…" Naruto shuffled through his bag and pulled out a wrapped box. "I never got a chance to give this to Shikamaru since we were always forced to stay after school longer."
"Guess we better wait, hmm?" Sasuke remained sitting as he watched Naruto look back and forth through the crowd of students. Eventually, Shikamaru, with a chubby boy, and Gaara came walking out. Naruto quickly ran over to them gesturing over to Sasuke. They walked up and Naruto handed the gift to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru lifted up an eyebrow. "Um… Naruto?"
"For your birthday!"
"Ah… Naruto really, this isn't necessary…"
"Open it." Naruto gave a stare at Shikamaru and he frowned greatly then sighed and unwrapped it. He blinked several times and titled it back and forth.
"It's…huh. Heh, Naruto it's a box of many different complicated puzzles. Probably one of the hardest out there." Shikamaru smiled and looked to Naruto. Naruto looked away embarrassingly then they all started to walk.
"So who's your friend?" Naruto asked looking to the chubby boy.
"My name is Choji Akimichi! I'm Shikamaru's childhood friend."
"Really? Sweet! Can Sasuke and I be your friend as well?" Choji looked overjoyed and nodded quickly. There was a smile on Shikamaru's face, but it was definitely not from the gift he had gotten. All five boys began chatting as they were all heading in the same direction to get home. Gaara still continued to stay at Shikamaru's place since he was still going to stay in Konoha.
"Temari and Kankuro are coming next week." Gaara spoke up as the group neared the street he, Shikamaru, and Choji usually took to get home. Naruto looked over with a smile on his face. "Kankuro is going to be a Sophomore while Temari is going to be Junior."
"She's two years older than us?" Sasuke asked as he adjusted his side bag. Gaara gave a nod. "I got that feeling from her." He mumbled remembering how Temari had acted during the stay in Suna.
Shikamaru gave a sigh and stopped. "Great, I get to have the violent girl in my house." Gaara gave an understanding smile while Naruto tried not to laugh. "How troublesome…" Choji smiled encouragingly as he munched on a bag of chips.
"You can handle it, Shikamaru!" Naruto patted Shikamaru's back encouragingly. Shikamaru grunted in reply. "Anyway, catch you guys later!" Naruto waved to Gaara, Shikamaru, and Choji as he and Sasuke ran down the street.
Sasuke grinned at Naruto then quickened his pace. Naruto frowned then understood and quickened his pace as well. Both boys began to run faster trying to get home first, but as they rounded the corner both of them came to a halt right before almost running into Itachi. Itachi stared at them with wide eyes as he stared down at the two boys who were inches from him. He gave them a long stare before rubbing the back of his head in a sigh.
"What are you two doing?" Itachi asked taking a step backwards. Sasuke and Naruto were breathing quickly and took a few moments before answer.
Sasuke answered first. "We were having a race."
"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "And I was gonna win if you hadn't been here!"
"What?" Sasuke turned on Naruto giving him a smirk. "You, win? Hardly! I was in the lead!"
Naruto turned on Sasuke and glared. "No way! I was definitely ahead."
"Ha! You're about out of breath compared to me!"
"Sasuke, you don't have my stamina! So I was definitely going to win."
Itachi stared as the two boys began to bicker. He gave another sigh with a smile on his face. He was glad to see that Sasuke and Naruto were getting along, especially the fact of what happened to Naruto when he turned. To Itachi, it seemed like during the week that had been on Sasuke's mind though he never confined in Itachi if that was true or not. Itachi frowned thinking what would happen if Sasuke hadn't been there. Naruto might have even…
Suddenly, Sasuke and Naruto charged around Itachi racing towards the house. Itachi turned and rolled his eyes at them. He then looked up at the sky placing his hands in his pockets.
"I need not think of such things… It will get better."
Next day, Saturday.
Sasuke was curled up in his bed sleeping. He was mumbling to himself until suddenly he felt a thump land hard on his stomach. "GAH!" He shot straight up to see a pair of two blue eyes staring at him. "Naruto…" He growled slowly as he shoved Naruto off the bed.
"Whoa! Sasuke, that wasn't nice." Naruto pouted as he got to his feet.
Sasuke turned on him glaring. "Not nice? Jumping on me wasn't nice! What are you doing in here disturbing my sleep anyway, Naruto?"
"Oh, oh, oh! I wanted you to get up so we could go explore Konoha! C'mon! It'll be greaaaaat." Naruto grinned. Last time, they had only gone to the mall to find a present for Shikamaru.
Sasuke gave Naruto a blank look then turned to his clock. 7:15 a.m. Sasuke raised an eyebrow then sighed. He's never up this early. Not even for school. Well, whatever. He's in a good mood and that's enough. "Alright, Naruto, but could you get out of my room then?"
"Roger!"
-oO0-o)
Sasuke and Naruto headed out of the Uchiha house waving goodbye to Itachi. They headed towards the main part of the city walking past the school. They chatted a little bit, but mostly kept quiet and observed the city as they walked. Soon, they came into the busy part of the city although there weren't many people out at this hour. Many stores and businesses crossed their paths, and a couple of times they went inside and window shopped.
Unexpectedly, they came to a stop in front of the Uchiha Police Force of Konoha office building. Sasuke stared up at the UPFK building giving a smile at the police force that his family had created. Everyone inside of the building was part of the Uchiha clan, and they all did their jobs to the utmost care. Naruto grinned at Sasuke and leaned on him as he stared up at the building as well. As Sasuke and Naruto stared at the UPFK, Naruto noticed that Sasuke began to look sad.
Thinking about his parents I bet. Naruto thought giving a sad smile. Can't be helped, after all his father was chief…
"Sasuke? Naruto?" A familiar voice made both boys jump and turn around. There behind them was Obito in his UPFK uniform. Sasuke blinked. It was the first time he had seen Obito in that uniform.
"Hey, Cousin Obito," Sasuke began, "how are things going?" Sasuke's voice was unusually kind sounding, which was rare to hear towards his cousin. Obito was a bit taken back, but recovered quickly.
"I'm good, Sasuke, just coming in for work." Obito replied smiling.
"How's that going? Working at the school and UPFK?"
"Hmm… So far I've only had to leave class twice out of the two months of school. Otherwise, Monday through Thursday I'm only at school until first lunch hour while on Friday I'm there all day."
"So you only work half a day at school?" Naruto piped in giving a curious look at Obito.
"That's right. I also work on Saturday, but I have Sunday off. I'm a full-time officer, so I only have one or two days off." Obito yawned and stretched. "And tomorrow I gotta use that time to do more schoolwork. I usually do that Friday after my classes, but I didn't get a chance."
Sasuke looked down biting his lip. He didn't realize how hard his cousin worked. He knew that their relationship wasn't that great, but it wasn't bad either. Most of the time Sasuke ignoring him was all in good nature, but Sasuke knew he should be kinder. He really looked up to his cousin.
"Cousin Obito?" Sasuke muttered still looking at the ground. Obito turned to Sasuke tilted his head to the side.
"What is it, Sasuke?"
"On a day when you're not busy… Can Itachi, you, and I… spend a day together?" Sasuke slowly looked up towards his cousin with a smile.
Obito was astonished, but gave a smile back and lightly rubbed Sasuke's head. "Sure, Sasuke, I'd love to do that." Obito began to walk past them and towards the UPFK building. "I have to go to work now, so see you later boys. Oh, and Naruto. Around the corner at the end of the block there's a special place you'll love!" And with that Obito entered the building.
Sasuke smiled after him feeling quite happy then turned to Naruto and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go, Naruto." Naruto grinned and nodded enthusiastically.
"Right!"
-oO0-o)
"Hey, hey… Where is this place Obito was talking about again?" Naruto asked with his head hanging down. He was very hungry and walking slow because of it.
"Right there, Naruto." Sasuke pointed toward the end of the block. Naruto looked up and stared then his eyes widened. "I'm not really sure what kind of place he thinks you'll…" Sasuke frowned. Naruto was running ahead a full speed towards the end of the block. Sasuke didn't get to finish his sentence and he only sighed in response as he followed Naruto at a slower place. Thought you were too hungry to move.
Sasuke watched as Naruto stopped and stared with the most excited face he had seen Naruto in a long time. Naruto waved excitedly at Sasuke and disappeared inside the wall, or what Sasuke thought was a wall. Sasuke quickened his pace to stand in front of where Naruto disappeared. Sasuke's eye twitched when he realized where Obito had led them.
There were six flaps that covered the entrance about from head to collarbone. It read: "Ichiraku Ramen". Sasuke looked down to see that it was an open stall restaurant. Beyond the flaps were many tall stools stuck in the ground. Sasuke counted to see that there were about six stools in total, and Naruto was in one of the center ones. Sasuke sighed greatly and entered sitting next to Naruto.
Naruto grinned widely at Sasuke as he entered. Naruto was rubbing his hands together and licking his lips. He had already ordered two bowls; one for himself and one for Sasuke. Naruto looked behind the counter at the old man as he was cooking the noodles. Next to him was a young lady whom Naruto assumed to be his daughter. Soon, two bowls of ramen were placed in front of Sasuke and Naruto.
"Thank you!" Naruto said gratefully as he took a pair of chopsticks from a cup holder. Sasuke did the same saying his own thanks. The old man smiled waiting patiently for the boys to try the food. Naruto broke apart his chopsticks and dived in. An expression of pure satisfaction crossed his face as he began to slurp up the noodles. "AH! This has to be the best ramen I have ever eaten in my entire life!"
"Aha! Thank you, boy!" The old man nodded, pleased to be praised.
"I'm going to eat here a lot more often!"
"I'll be glad to have you. What's your name?"
"Naruto Namikaze!"
"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." The old man shook Naruto's hand then turned to Sasuke. "Do you like it?"
Sasuke was eating his much slower than Naruto's; he stopped eating to look at the old man and gave a nod. "Yes, it is very good."
"Good!"
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke shook the old man's hand then went back to his food.
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, come anytime you wish!"
-oO0-o)
The day had finally come to an end and Naruto and Sasuke were at home. Sasuke waved to Naruto as he entered his house. Naruto opened the door to his house and stretched as he placed his light sweater on a rack.
"Welcome home, Naruto." Naruto's mother smiled as Naruto entered the living room.
"Mom! I have to tell you… I just found the best ramen place ever!"
"Oh? Do tell!" Naruto raced over to the couch and sat down next to his mother explaining about Ichiraku Ramen, and all the things that he and Sasuke did that day. Kushina listened happily that Naruto could find something he enjoyed.
"I wish I could have stopped by Dad's workplace and told him all about it." Naruto sighed cheerfully as he rested his head on the back of the couch.
Kushina smiled then placed a finger up. "Oh, that reminds me, Naruto." Naruto turned towards his mother. "Your father says that he's going to lent one of the party rooms for your birthday."
"For… my birthday?" Naruto's eyes began to get wide. He had almost forgotten that his birthday was in about two weeks. "Really? What's it like?"
"You'll get to see on October 10th. Make sure to invite your friends, so they don't end up having plans on that day."
"Definitely will, Mom!"
"I'll make invitation cards." Kushina got up and brushed off her dress. Naruto stood up as well and hugged his mother. Kushina gladly hugged Naruto back rubbing his head.
-oO0-o)
October 1st, Monday. Lunch hour.
Naruto quickly ran to the lunch table that Shikamaru, Gaara, and Choji were at. He thrust invitation cards into their faces. Shikamaru frowned in responses as he took the card from Naruto giving Naruto a weird look. Gaara accepted it kindly and opened it giving a small smile.
"Your birthday, Naruto?" Gaara asked as he read the card.
Naruto nodded crossing his arms. "Yup! It's going to be a blast, and it's at Dad's building. It's going to happen on the weekend after my birthday since my birthday is on a weekday."
"Sounds like fun, Naruto-kun." Choji said through food. He swallowed and licked his lips. "Thanks for inviting me!"
"You're welcome." Naruto grinned then looked to Shikamaru expectantly.
Shikamaru sighed. "It's troublesome, but I'll come."
"Good…" Naruto was suddenly interrupted and pushed down to sit. "HEY! Who did that?" He asked as he looked up. Slowly, he blinked the placed up an invitation. "Kankuro! Come to my birthday party."
Kankuro stared at Naruto then gave a laugh as he turned around to look at Sasuke who had been talk to Kankuro. "This kid really isn't fazed by much, is he Sasuke?"
"Nope. It takes a good amount to phase…" Sasuke was interrupted by a happy birthday that came to the right of the table. All six boys looked up and towards a table that had almost the entire lunchroom crowded around. Voices started to sing:
"Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday Dear Jugo.
Happy Birthday to You.
From good friends and true,
From old friends and new,
May good luck go with you,
And happiness too."
A bunch of clapping followed after. A tall boy with literally orange, spiky hair, which was even spikier than Naruto's, was bowing to the group of boys surrounding the table. A boy with short, white hair, about Sasuke's height, was next to him. He patted the taller boy's back and said a few words that could not be heard amongst the other voices.
Naruto stared over at the table blankly wondering who that was. Shikamaru understood and answered.
"That's Jugo, a Senior. He's very popular and well liked. Next to him is his best friend, Suigetsu Hozuki who's a Sophomore." Shikamaru yawned and took a sip of his soda.
"Tch… They must think they're so great, huh?" Naruto mumbled feeling discouraged suddenly. He gripped the invitation cards in his hand. With a crowd like that… No one is going to come to my party. Naruto stared blankly at the table.
Sasuke, seeing Naruto getting depressed, stood up and went to the lunch line. He came back and placed a bowl of ramen in front of Naruto's face. Naruto looked up at Sasuke then sat up straight.
"Here, it's on me." Sasuke smiled sitting down with his food. Naruto stared at the bowl of ramen then smiled as he began to eat it.
Kankuro sat down next to Gaara then the boys began to converse ignoring the group behind them.
-oO0-o)
"Ooh? You're a puppeteer, Kankuro?" Naruto asked excitedly. Kankuro nodded as he laid back in the grass.
"Yup! My sensei, Sasori, is teaching all he can."
It was after school and the six boys were lying in the grass doing homework and talking about hobbies. Naruto was staring wide-eyed at Kankuro with an engrossed expression on his face. Sasuke was doing his homework trying to ignore Kankuro and Naruto. Gaara was doing the same. Shikamaru was sleeping while Choji was eating and listening to Kankuro.
"That's so amazing! Have you made any auto… um…?" Naruto frowned as he tried to think of the word for puppets.
"Automatons and I've made a couple, but I left them back in Suna." Kankuro sat up and stretched. Naruto made an "aw" noise and pouted. Kankuro rolled his eyes punching Naruto in the arm. "You'll get to see them."
"Will your sensei come here to teach you, Kankuro-san?" Choji asked through a chip. Kankuro placed a hand to his face thinking then shook his head not knowing.
Naruto fell backwards onto the grass and stared up at the sky. His friends had distracted him about what happened during lunch, but now that it was silent his mind drifted back to it.
What can I do? Naruto thought. There's no way that anyone is going to come to my party with mister "popular". I wish I could get… A sudden idea popped into Naruto's head. He flew upwards and gave a mischievous expression. "THAT'S IT!" He shouted throwing a fist into the air.
"What's it, Naruto?" Sasuke asked after several moments of silence from everyone. Naruto quickly turned to Sasuke grinning.
"We bust into that Jugo guy's party!" Naruto crossed his arms nodding. Sasuke gave Naruto a blank expression not answering back. Naruto raised an eyebrow before frowning. "Aw, c'mon, Sasuke! Don't give me that face. It'll be awesome! I want to get ideas, too." Naruto gave Sasuke the puppy-eyes stare. Sasuke began to gape at Naruto then turned away.
"Fine."
"YES!" Naruto jumped around then stopped when he saw Kiba with Akamaru at his side standing behind him. Naruto gave a neutral expression crossing his arms. "What do you want?"
Kiba grinned coming up to Naruto. "I hear that you want to break into Jugo's party."
"What's it to ya?" Naruto asked semi-glaring.
"Do you know where that party is at?"
Naruto opened his mouth to answer then realized he couldn't. He shook his head and turned away. "No, but I can find out!"
"Why don't I just tell you?" Kiba smirked placing his hands on his hips.
"Why would you do that?"
"Cause I want in."
"Huh?" Naruto turned back to Kiba giving him a confused expression. Kiba laughed.
"I want in this crashing. Plus, I know how to get into Jugo's house without getting caught. Want to hear more?" Naruto stared at Kiba narrowing his eyes.
"And what do you get out of this?"
Kiba grinned showing off what looked like a sharp canine tooth. "The pleasure of seeing Jugo's face after what I have planned to make that party a mess." Kiba placed out his hand to Naruto. "So do we have a deal?"
Naruto stared long at the hand before grabbing it. "Deal."
-oO0-o)
October 6th, Saturday. Early Evening at the Estate District in Konoha.
Loud music echoed from a large house among the trees. Lights flooded from the inside through large windows lighting the ground up with the setting sun. A soft breeze blew with eight shadows sneaking towards the house. Those eight shadows were Kiba, Akamaru, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Kankuro, and Gaara. They stopped by a few bushes that were hidden from the view of the windows. Kiba stood up and peeked around the bushes before kneeling down.
"Okay… This is the plan. There is a back door that we can enter from. Akamaru will stay here to warn us if we are in danger of getting caught."
"Alright, Kiba, lead the way."
Kiba stood up again with the others. Naruto grinned and examined their group. Everyone was wearing disguises and Naruto thought how they looked like a bunch of Ninja. Quickly, Kiba ran over to the back of the building and came to a door. Everyone followed after as soon as Kiba gestured them over. Naruto looked left and right being very excited about this. It was his first time crashing a party.
Kiba fiddled with the lock before the door opened. He peeked inside checking the hallway before entering. "Let's go." He whispered as he walked down the hallway slowly.
"I'll keep watch." Kankuro murmured as he held the door for everyone to go in. "And Naruto, keep Gaara with you."
"Got it!" Naruto grinned grabbing Gaara's arm and sticking behind Kiba.
Carefully, the group snuck down the hallway until the music and light got overwhelming. Kiba peeked into the room of the source. Naruto peeked around Kiba eyes widening.
It was a very large dinning room. All the windows that showed outside were huge, and the middle of the room was a dance floor where many people were already crowded on. Naruto spotted many boys from his school and girls. Naruto bit his lip. He had no idea this party was for girls as well.
Kiba turned to everyone as he pushed Naruto away. "Everyone know what they have to do?" Nods followed. "Good! Now split up!" Kiba slinked off leaving the others to do things on their own. Naruto turned to rest and grinned.
"So… our job is to steal a lot of the food?" Shikamaru asked with a bag in his hand. Choji had a similar bag and looked excited about it.
"Yes." Sasuke replied as he cracked his neck. "Make sure to use those plastic bags in there so some of it doesn't spoil."
Shikamaru mumbled, but left with Choji behind him. Sasuke nodded to Naruto leaving him behind with Gaara.
"Alright, Gaara, our job is to mess with their music." Naruto chuckled as he brought out some very bad girly music. Gaara blinked slowly and nodded then the two ran off to find the music.
-oO0-o)
Sasuke had grabbed a drink and was standing in a dark, isolated corner. He had a clear view of the party, but few would notice him. His job had been lookout inside of the party. He placed a hand to his ear and pressed inside. "Kankuro, how are things looking?" Sasuke listened closely from the radio that Kiba had given him. Kankuro reported all was quiet. "Good…" Sighing, Sasuke took his hand off his ear and stared at the crowd dancing on the floor.
They weren't noticing the small group that had snuck in, or the ones that were stealing the food currently. Shikamaru snuck a lot of the food into plastic bags leaving little behind. The party would notice if they took all the food. Choji was munching on some of it as it was handed to him to put in the large bag. Sasuke gave a chuckle rolling his eyes. Next, he tried to locate Kiba then shook his head remembering where Kiba had gone. His eyes darted around and he spotted Gaara and Naruto near where the music was playing. That job was going to be harder as it was more out in the open. Gaara was keeping watch while Naruto waited to switch it out at the CD with one during the gift giving time.
Everything is going as planned. We'll be out of here soon. Sasuke took a sip of his drink and continued to observe.
"Oh… who are you?" Sasuke froze at the voice of a girl. He turned to his left and saw a girl with medium-long, strawberry red colored hair. It was pointy and unkempt on the right side while on the left side it was straight and combed. She had glasses on her face and a flirtatious smile as she approached Sasuke. Sasuke blushed slightly at the revealing clothes she was wearing before turning away.
"No one important." Sasuke responded coldly. He didn't want to gain attention, especially from a girl. He heard the girl laugh and come right up next to him. He tensed up as she lightly touched his hand.
"My name is Karin." She whispered moving her arm against Sasuke's. Sasuke tensed up more and edged away. "C'mon, tell me your name."
"I'd rather not. Can you leave me alone?" Sasuke desperately tried to shake Karin off, but she wouldn't give in. Sighing, he began to walk away but was suddenly pushed against the wall. His eyes widened as Karin placed her hands on his shoulders, and almost pushed herself onto Sasuke.
What does this girl think she's doing? Sasuke squirmed as he swallowed hard trying to find a way to escape. This is not good… Not good at all.
"Do you have a girlfriend? If not, can I be that girlfriend?" Karin cooed as she went to touch Sasuke's face.
Sasuke started to panic then grabbed her hand. "I do. Now get off me!" Sasuke's voice was serious as he pushed Karin away. Karin stared at him probably trying to determine whether Sasuke was lying or not. She gave a smile and placed a hand on her chin while the other hand went under her upraised arm's elbow.
"I'll prove to you that I'm better than her." Karin smirked sexually at Sasuke. Sasuke blinked and then frowned. Amazing that she actually believed me. Sasuke thought then looked away.
"No way. I'm not going to love any girl but her, ever." Sasuke crossed his arms. He heard Karin growl then suddenly she was in his face about to kiss him. His eyes widened and he edged away trying to get away.
All of the sudden, the lights went out and Sasuke pushed Karin away and placed on goggles for night-vision. Kiba had succeeded on his part. Sasuke slipped past the people that were panicking and went straight for the back door. Girly music filled the air as he reached the door. The door opened and he jumped, but relaxed when he saw it was Kankuro. Kankuro gestured for him to get out and he complied.
Once he got out, he ran for the bushes where Akamaru was and dropped to his butt. He slowly took deep breaths as he placed a hand on his lips.
She almost kissed me. Sasuke fell backwards and stared up at the night sky as he waited for the others to get out. Man. I'd never date that chick. I hope I never have to see her again.
Naruto came rushing into the bushes with Gaara behind him snickering like a dork. Sasuke smiled and pushed Naruto's head.
"Good job, idiot."
"Ha! Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto didn't care to be called an idiot this time. He had had fun doing that. Eventually, Shikamaru, Choji, Kankuro, and Kiba joined the group. They all stared toward the house laughing at commotion that was heard.
Kiba stood up and started to run. "Let's get out of here!" He shouted as he adjusted his goggles. Everyone got up and followed after. Naruto looked behind the house and gave a smirk.
Best fun I've had in a while. He turned toward the ones running besides him. He hadn't known a lot of them for long, but they were the coolest friends he'd ever had.
October 13th, Saturday Evening.
As Naruto entered the room with his newfound friends, that included Kiba, Akamaru, and Kiba's best friend Shino, his eyes widen at all the games and party items floating around. His father hadn't told him what he had been doing for his birthday, but it was something for Naruto to squeal over.
Naruto saw his father and went over to hug him as his friends ran to play the games that were scattered about. "Thank you, Dad!"
Minato smiled as he rubbed Naruto's head then he brought out a gift. "Here."
"What's this?" Naruto asked as he held a small rectangular box in his hand.
"Open and find out!" Minato laughed leaning against the wall.
Naruto ripped off the wrapping and lifted off the lid of the box. His eyes stared down at a beautiful, teal, glass diamond necklace. Naruto lifted it up and stared at it. "Dad…"
"It's made from a type of crystal gem. It was your grandfather's…" Minato smiled as Naruto looked up at his father. Tears and a smile began to appear on Naruto's face as he hugged his father.
"Thank you…" Naruto missed his grandfather whom he had barely known, but it was such a joy to receive a keepsake of his grandfather's.
"You're welcome, Naruto… Now go play!" Naruto gave his father a nod, placed the necklace on, and ran after to find his friends. He jumped on Sasuke's back who grabbed him and began to wrestle. Itachi was nearby and laughed shaking his head at the boys. Obito was next to him and rubbed the back of his head smiling.
Kiba saw what was going on and jumped into the pile with all three boys beginning to wrestle until… Akamaru jumped in. They panicked and fled as Akamaru chased them around the room.
Naruto looked to Sasuke and smiled laughing. Sasuke turned to Naruto smiling back. Itachi grabbed them both and held them as Obito took a picture. They squirmed in Itachi's arms until they took him down.
Eventually, the party came to an end and everyone was exhausted as they stood together for a picture.
Naruto and Sasuke had their arms looped over each other, while Naruto had his hand on Gaara's head. Kankuro was behind with Shino as the two were taller than everyone else. Kiba and Akamaru were leaning down in front of the group while Shikamaru and Choji were at the ends.
"Say, we rock!" Itachi shouted as he was about to take the picture.
"WE ROCK!" They shouted and Naruto threw his fist into the air just as the picture was taken. His expression was of pure happiness showing no traces of his past.
He was among friends with his best friend Sasuke by his side.
-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-oO0-o)0(o-0Oo-
Alright peeps! The next chapter is a Halloween one!
Thank you again for all your help, support, and comments! They keep me going.