A/N: So, I don't understand why but I wasn't feeling this chapter too much. I had to literally look through thousands of pictures and fanart of SasuNaru. But still, with all your support and comments, I want to thank everyone. And also, I'm sorry I took so long to update. Please enjoy.
Chapter III: Ino-nee-san
His gaze would not leave the blonde's presence for a minute. He felt elated at just seeing her smile. Her beautiful, wide smile that always made him want to smile as well. He knew he had feelings for Ino Yamanaka since he had been 10. How could he not when Ino had been by his side all this time. After everything that he had gone through, Ino was patient enough to take care of him. She brought him back from that dark place in his mind where he blamed himself and felt as if nothing mattered anymore. He knew that Ino had eyes for Sasuke, he wasn't an idiot. A part of him, however, always hoped that the blond would change her mind, that she would realize that they were meant for one another. He turned and looked at his companion. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on Naruto, his mouth was parted in astonishment and Gaara could see Sasuke's eyes give a sort of life that he had not seen in so long. Gaara went back to look at Ino and saw that the blue eyed beauty was leading Naruto towards them. He had to admit, Ino knew how to dress someone well. He understood why Sasuke couldn't keep his eyes away from the blond. He found it almost ironic at their similar interests. Both liked blonde's with blue eyes that seemed to speak their own minds and would put them in their place if they had to.
"Sasuke-kun, doesn't Naruto-san look nice?" Ino placed Naruto in front of the tall Uchiha, almost pushing him close. Naruto said nothing, however, Gaara did notice that his blue eyes seemed to widen at being so close to Sasuke. Ino quickly placed herself beside Gaara, wrapping her arm around the short redhead. "I don't want to brag, but I have to say, I think I did a great job on Naruto, don't you think?" Gaara looked at Ino, her smile made him mirror it. He nodded and looked back at the other two teens. Gaara could easily see that Sasuke was stunned at Naruto's appearance. All three continued to stare, waiting for Sasuke to say something. Eventually, Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms in a haughty manner.
"Just consider yourself lucky that you at least look presentable, idiot."
"Sasuke!" addressed Ino in a warning tone, Gaara shook his head, sighing in discontent. He should have known that Sasuke was not great with compliments. Naruto's smile dropped, annoyance slowly replacing it.
"What did you say?"
"Naruto-kun!" Naruto turned and saw his three friends walking up to him. Lee was sporting black slacks with a white button up shirt and a beige vest. Shikamaru wore the same colored pants and shirt, however, instead of a vest, he wore a black suit jacket. Hinata looked stunning in a beautiful blue dress that hugged her body well. Kiba and Neji were not far behind, both teens giving easy-going smiles. "You-you look wonderful, Na-Naruto-kun." Hinata stated, her blush brightening in color. Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Thanks, Hinata-san. Hey, wanna dance?" Hinata looked shocked at the abrupt request. She didn't say anything but nodded rapidly. Naruto smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her to the dance floor.
Sasuke watched silently as Hinata and Naruto danced. Ino and Gaara had followed minutes later. Having to admit to himself that he had feelings for the blond seemed to change his perspective. He realized that he wasn't very good at complimenting the blond, or giving compliments at all. He didn't know how to go about courting Naruto at all. He did know, however, that he didn't want anyone to make him smile than him. He knew it was irrational, but he couldn't help the tightening in his chest as he saw Naruto's bright smile, the closeness between him and that girl.
"Nee-san sure knows how to dress someone up. Naruto looks great, doesn't he Sasuke?" Sasuke did not notice that Neji was standing beside him, silently observing him. The long haired brunette was smiling. It was not an arrogant smile, it was one of amusement but it still annoyed Sasuke. The meddlesome fuck. "I wonder if Naruto would be interested in going to art shows with me."
"As your date?" Sasuke tried to sound as nonchalant as he could, Neji gave a small shrug, his smile still in place.
"Maybe. Or just to pick up girls with me… or guys." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "Naruto is attractive, and who knows, there could be something between us." Sasuke crossed his arms, his demeanor becoming darker.
"I hope you're joking." Sasuke was giving Neji a serious death glare, Neji seemed unfazed by it, he had been used to Sasuke's brooding manner since they were young. His smile grew until it turned into a chuckle. At seeing the Hyūga laugh, Sasuke clenched his hands, trying hard to not punch his cousin. He didn't know why, but at imagining Naruto with someone else unsettled him. "You're an asshole." Neji shrugged at the frown that Sasuke directed at him. Sasuke didn't say anything else as he made his way to the exit, too angry to stick around.
"Kind of took it too far, don't you think?" Neji turned and saw Kiba stare at him with a questioning look. Neji scoffed.
"You think so?" Kiba narrowed his eyes, thinking. Neji smiled. "This is the first time Sasuke likes someone, I'm just trying to have some fun with him." Kiba looked at Neji, a smile slowly spreading. Kiba wrapped an arm around the long haired brunette, and pulled him close.
"Neji, my friend, I've never felt closer to you than I do now." Neji gave a breathy laugh and shook his head. His eyes traveled to the blond that had been spinning the shy girl. Naruto had his work cut out for him.
Naruto was enjoying himself as he danced with Hinata. He was tapped by the shoulder and saw Shikamaru stand behind him. Naruto smiled at his friend. "Mind if I cut in?"
"Didn't know you were the dancing type, Nara." Shikamaru yawned and gave a lazy smile.
"Normally I'm not, still, we wouldn't want you to keep Hinata all to yourself." Hinata seemed to blush scarlet red at Shikamaru's comment, Naruto nodded with a smile and looked back at Hinata.
"Is that okay, Hinata-chan?" the long haired girl nodded slowly, her blush still plain on her face. Shikamaru took hold of Hinata's hand, Naruto headed to a table nearby to watch from afar.
Naruto watched Hinata and Shikamaru dance, he searched for Lee and saw that the tall teen was trying to get Sakura's attention. Finally, his eyes settled on the redhead that was dancing with the blond haired female. He could feel his heart sink at the sight. They both complemented each other so well. He could clearly see that Gaara seemed happier, seemed to look more at ease with Ino by his side. He wondered if Ino felt the same as Gaara did. Maybe it was better for Gaara and Ino to be with one another. They wouldn't have people talk negatively about them like they have with Naruto.
Naruto frowned, he felt gloomy the more he stared at them both. He liked Gaara, which he could confirm with no problem. He knew, however, that Gaara would never feel the same, not when he had Ino.
Naruto sighed and made his way outside. Maybe a bit of fresh air might clear his head.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Sasuke didn't like being toyed. He knew his friends were smart enough to know that he liked the blond, they probably knew before he realized it himself. Still, he was new to these kinds of feelings, the feeling of being exposed, of feeling vulnerable. Sasuke sighed and brushed his hair in slight dejection.
He was outside, sitting at the edge of the hotel pool. He stared down at the water, comparing the color to Naruto's own blue eyes. He admitted to himself that he liked Naruto, what was he supposed to do now? He was new to all this. He couldn't just tell Naruto how he felt, not when he made the blonde's life a living hell since he first met him and not when he knew that Naruto had at least some sort of feelings for Gaara. Sasuke rubbed his face with both hands. Maybe he already missed his chance with the blond, maybe he should give up now and end all hope he had with the blond.
Sasuke shook his head, his eyes looked down at the pool once more and tried to touch the water. His fingertips brushed the water, just barely. He shifted closer, he balanced himself in a manner that his body was close to falling. Sasuke felt himself calm down a bit as he felt the cold water touch his skin. Maybe he could change the blonde's mind.
"Sasuke?" Sasuke was startled by the sudden voice. He lost his balance and felt his weight shift to one side. He tried to grab on to something and scream but it was useless, he fell into the pool and all he felt was wet cold water. "Sasuke!" there was a muffled voice that called out to him. He couldn't yell back. He could feel himself sink deeper and deeper, water instantly filling him. He panicked and felt darkness overtake him.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
"Sasuke! It's Sasuke!" it was a second year that was yelling as he burst inside. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at the second year. His eyes were wide, filled with concern, he was panting and he seemed jittery. "It's Sasuke! He's drowning!" The rest of the F4 and Ino widened their eyes in horror.
Before the second year could say anything, the four teens ran to where the pool was. Shikamaru, Lee and Hinata followed close behind.
"Can't Sasuke-sama swim?" It was Hinata who had asked, Neji shook his head.
"No, he never learned. If we don't hurry, he'll drown." Neji sounded distressed, he was afraid to find their cousin unconscious or worse, dead.
All seven teens ran as fast as they could to where the pool was. Once there, what they found was Naruto breathing heavy, his whole body wet. Naruto was trying to shake awake an equally wet Sasuke.
"Sasuke, wake up! Please, just wake up!" Naruto was freaking out. Sasuke wasn't breathing, no matter how much he tried to shake the Uchiha awake, Sasuke would just not respond! He could feel a lump form in his throat, freaking out at seeing Sasuke so lifeless. He pressed his ear on Sasuke's chest, hoping to hear Sasuke's heartbeat. He could hear none, his heart sank to his stomach. He carefully touched Sasuke's face, wanting to open the dark haired teen's mouth. He needed to give Sasuke mouth to mouth.
He could feel his eyes water the more the seconds passed. He was afraid he might lose Sasuke, he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if that were to happen. He pushed on Sasuke's chest, hoping to Kami that he would wake up. He placed his mouth on Sasuke and blew. By the third time he compressed Sasuke's chest, Sasuke gasped for air and immediately Sasuke threw up.
"Oh thank Kami!" at seeing Sasuke awake, Naruto breathed in deeply and hugged the Uchiha. "You're alive!"
All seven teens stared in relief. They were surprised at seeing the blond hug Sasuke but they were happy to know that Sasuke was okay.
Sasuke was disoriented once he woke up but he was glad to see familiar blue eyes. He had felt everything push up and threw up all the contents in his stomach. He was shocked once he felt Naruto hug him tightly. He didn't know what just happened but just feeling Naruto's warmth, he could feel a certain kind of comfort. "You're okay, you're okay." He could hear Naruto repeat those words, his voice low, relieved.
Someone cleared their throat causing Naruto to let go of him hastily, the warmth he felt before was now replaced with a cold feeling. Sasuke turned and saw his and Naruto's friends looking at them both. Sasuke looked back at Naruto only to see that the blond was red faced and wouldn't meet anyone's eye. After a while Naruto cleared his throat.
"I-I'm glad you're okay." Naruto got up, still not looking at anyone. He couldn't explain why he had hugged Sasuke or why he felt so distressed when he saw Sasuke unconscious.
"Naruto-kun?" Lee was calling out to him, Naruto only felt more embarrassed at the situation he was in.
"I… I got to go." Naruto ran, not once looking back.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Once he was home, Naruto didn't bother to talk to his family. He only ran to his room, his heart still pumping strong from what had happened back at the hotel. He locked his bedroom door and laid on his best, his mind just asking him one thing. What the hell was that?!
Why did he do that? Why did he hug Sasuke? He was relieved that Sasuke had woken up, that he was okay, was that why he hugged him? Maybe that was it.
"Naruto! You come in?" It was his grandmother that had knocked on his door. He was startled from his deep thoughts and looked by the door. He could see the handle jiggle, his grandmother was trying to get in but he wasn't in the mood to talk. He had too much on his mind at the moment.
"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty tired, Obaa-chan." It was a lame excuse but he knew that his grandmother would buy it. There was silence for a moment before his grandmother spoke once more.
"I'll tell your friends you got here safe, then." Naruto said nothing, his mind still reeling in Sasuke's unconscious face and Ino's words about said Uchiha. Maybe it was Ino's words that changed his opinion on Sasuke, maybe that's why he was so concerned for the Uchiha. Naruto sighed. He should probably stop overthinking it. He tried to clear his mind as he closed his eyes and placed his arm over his eyes. He breathed in deeply, hoping to Kami it would work.
The action didn't help at all. If anything, it brought another concern that was in the back of his mind. Automatically, cherry colored hair appeared along with slight porcelain skin. Gaara was in his mind now, it just made him feel worse. Naruto grunted in frustration and placed a pillow over his face. Why was this so hard? Why was this even happening to him?
Naruto hadn't come out of his room after that night. He had fallen asleep and woken up the next day. He stayed locked in his room all Sunday, not wanting to answer to his family of his friends. At first, Tsunade had threatened to bust the door open, however, after some time, it seemed that the blond woman gave up on her empty threats. She only knocked on the door informing him of food or if he needed anything, Naruto didn't response though.
Naruto only recreated that stressful moment with Sasuke, piece by piece. He had come out, wanting fresh air. He had seen Sasuke sitting by the pool, touching the water. At first, Naruto was quiet, only watching the contemplative look on the Uchiha's face. Sasuke looked distressed, almost defeated. He had wanted to call out to Sasuke, curious as to why he was like that.
His stomach had jumped to his throat when he saw that Sasuke had been spooked and fell to the water. Naruto thought that Sasuke would come up for air, then, at seeing that the dark haired teen was sinking rather than the opposite, Naruto jumped in without a second thought. He would admit that he was scared when he couldn't find a pulse or couldn't feel Sasuke breathe.
And just at seeing those coal eyes, he felt elated, glad that Sasuke was alive, that he was safe. At that moment his anger towards Sasuke, all that hatred had vanished. He hugged the teen without much thought. If he was being truthful with himself, he rather enjoyed that contact with Sasuke. Still, Naruto knew that he shouldn't forgive the Uchiha so easily, not when there were rumors going around in school, not after everything he went through. He should still hate Sasuke, right?
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Sasuke felt as if everything was much clearer, so much brighter. He sat on his red armchair, one beside his bed, pondering. If Sasuke closed his eyes, he was certain that he could still feel that warmth. He could still feel Naruto's arms wrapped around him. At just thinking about it, Sasuke could feel euphoric.
Neji and Kiba had told Sasuke what had happened last night. That he had drowned, that he wasn't responsive and by the time they all got there, Naruto was trying to wake him up. He was surprised to say the least. Sasuke had only thought that he fainted, he didn't expect it to be that bad. He had been checked by his private doctor and had confirmed that he was well.
Still, he was glad that Naruto brought him back. He was glad that when he came to, the first thing he saw were those blue eyes filled with a mixture of concern and relief. Sasuke had been surprised by the hug, and yet, it felt reassuring. It gave him a certain hope that perhaps, there could be a window of opportunity for him. Maybe Naruto didn't know it like had hadn't. Maybe there was a chance for Sasuke and Naruto to be together. Just the thought of it made something inside Sasuke stir. It was an exciting feeling that coursed through his body, a smile slowly began to spread on his lips. He knew exactly what to do now.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
His day was surprisingly uneventful. There were no whispers behind his back and the bullying seemed to stop almost immediately. It was as if some unspoken pack was formed to cease all torture against him. He would be lying to himself if he didn't say that he didn't feel a bit paranoid. He had his guard up around everyone, he tensed whenever someone made eye contact with him.
As his day continued, the more he relaxed. By the time he headed to basketball practice, Naruto was sure that he was no longer a target. Yamanato-sensei had warmed the whole team with a mile run. It was clear enough to practice under the hot sun. Naruto was sweating abundantly by the time they had to do drills. The drills consisted of pushups, lunges, frog jumps and suicide drills. He was exhausted by the end of practice.
He decided that a good shower in the boy's locker room was reason enough to come home late. He would deal with his grandmother's lecture afterwards, at the moment, he was too preoccupied with a hot shower to think of anything else. He made sure that everyone was gone before he even thought about going into the showers. He certainly didn't want another Juugo chase.
Naruto left his duffle bag by his locker, as he stepped into the small shower. Hot water hit his tan skin, Naruto sighed in relief. He took a huge amount of shampoo and placed it on his head. He closed his eyes, an image of a tall dark haired teen with stupid hair came to mind. Naruto growled and hit his head against the wall, hoping that his thoughts would leave. Naruto was sure that those thoughts had been gone since last night. Naruto shook his head, trying to keep the thoughts from progressing any further.
He finished his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked to where his duffel was and opened the zipper. He first grabbed his boxer briefs and his pants, then his white school shirt. He had left the stupid uniform at Sasuke's house that day the Uchiha kidnapped him, it had been mailed back to him 2 days later.
Once he put his uniform on, the blond searched for his deodorant but could not find it, maybe he left it in his locker? With a small sigh, Naruto pushed up the handle to open it. Naruto made a face at feeling a kind of sticky substance on the handle. What was this substance? Why was it on his locker? Naruto tried to rub the substance away but it only seemed to make it worse. With a low growl, Naruto walked to the washing station and grabbed some soap. He rubbed his hands together, the soap covering every inch of his hands.
As the water rinsed away the bubbles, all that was left on Naruto's hands was a green color. His eyes furrowed downward as he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Naruto tried hard to rub away the color, wondering how the green got on his hands. The green just wouldn't leave his skin, why wouldn't the green leave his skin?
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Sasuke was spread on the small black couch that was in the F4 lounge. He had felt tired and wanted to rest his eyes. A smile slowly spread on his face at imagining what Naruto was going at the moment. He had made it his mission to stop everyone from bullying Naruto. That was step one on trying to change for the blond.
Messing with the teen, however, was going to be more difficult than he thought. He couldn't help himself at the idea of messing with Naruto as he thought of a way so that Naruto's hands turned green, as well as placing lube on Naruto's locker handle. He didn't want Naruto to get too mad, so he went a little easy on the blue eyed teen.
"Is it just me or has it been pretty quiet out in the halls?" Neji was coming in with Kiba behind him. The long haired teen was holding a medium sized cardboard cup in one hand. Kiba was holding a muffin in one hand as well.
"Actually, now that you mention it, normally you'd hear Whiskers growling in the halls or someone taunting him. Know anything 'bout that, Uchiha?" Kiba walked towards Sasuke and had tapped on his leg. Sasuke opened his eyes and looked away as he saw Kiba's wide smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Kiba looked back at Neji, the short haired brunette smiled and raised a brow. Neji shook his head, smiling at Sasuke's behavior.
"Don't tell me you're still teasing poor Uzumaki-san." Sasuke didn't respond, Neji sighed. "After all that happened back at the hotel, you're still tormenting that poor blond?"
"Shut up, Neji. No one asked you" Neji scoffed and shook his head.
"Still, you might want to ease up on the teasing, Uchiha." Kiba commented.
Not wanting to be lectured by his friends, Sasuke tried to change the subject. "Anyone seen Gaara?" it was quiet for a while before Kiba answered awkwardly.
"I'm pretty sure he's somewhere around. The guy's been on cloud nine since Ino came."
"Oh, what an idiot." Said Sasuke with a taunting smile. Neji looked at Kiba with a raised brow.
"Said the cauldron to the pot" whispered Neji. Kiba smiled as well, Sasuke only narrowed his eyes at his cousin.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
"You're a fucking ass-hole, Uchiha." Naruto muttered under his breath as he looked down at his green- yes fucking green- colored hands. He had been able to wipe away the lube that was on his locker handle as well as find a note from one Sasuke Uchiha.
Told you this wasn't over, Usuratonkachi. Your move.
Naruto was more than pissed. He had been relieved that everyone had ceased his torture, but now he was the main target for only Sasuke, it was his worst nightmare.
He had dressed himself angrily and made his way out of the sports building and towards where Sasuke's was probably hiding. He was going to give that bastard a piece of his mind.
"Just you wait, Teme. No one pranks the king of all pranks." The blond made his way towards Sasuke's hideout, wanting to give the bastard a piece of his mind. He practically ran towards the main building, almost gleeful at the fact that he could punch the stupid Uchiha's face.
Seeing how it was already after school, there were very little students in campus. He made it to the main building, and took the stairs to the second floor of the school. He found the door to the Uchiha's hideout and saw that the lights were still on. He opened the door to the room, ready to give Sasuke a piece of his mind. At opening the door, Naruto was met with Sasuke laying on a couch, alone. Naruto's hands were clenched into fists, his teeth clenched together at trying to sustain the anger. He walked closer to where Sasuke was only to see that the Uchiha was sleeping.
He was disappointed at himself at the fact that by just seeing Sasuke, all his anger left him. He didn't want to sound cliché, but the dark haired teen looked serene when he slept. Naruto could clearly see the long lashes on Sasuke's eyes as they fluttered lightly. A couple of blue-black strands clung to his forehead and his face. Naruto couldn't help but stare at the Uchiha. At just staring at Sasuke, Naruto was reminded of that Saturday night in the hotel. The blond could feel a lump form on his throat, his eyes staring down at the Uchiha's slightly parted lips. Naruto frowned, trying hard to remind himself why he came into the room in the first place. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.
"Teme!" he yelled it so that he wouldn't have to shake Sasuke awake. It seemed to have worked, considering that Sasuke's eyes began to flutter open. Sasuke blinked a couple of times before smirking and sitting up to get a better look at him.
"Usuratonkachi, why are you here?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, his chest puffing out, trying hard to control his rage. "Missed me?" Sasuke raised a brow as he crossed his arms in a haughty manner. Naruto's glare only seemed to deepened.
"You think this" Naruto displayed his colored hands, Sasuke tried hard to hide his wide smile. "is funny, Uchiha?"
"I find it very amusing, yes." Sasuke could see Naruto clench his jaw, his breathing heavy.
"That's it Uchiha! You've messed with the wrong person!" Sasuke scoffed.
"You keep saying that, and so far, I've yet to see you do anything."
"Oh, this means war!" and with that as his final proclamation, the blond was gone. Sasuke watched Naruto leave in a huff, a smile slowly crept on his face, a warm feeling settling on his chest. He felt giddy and he liked it.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
The following days were quite entertaining for Sasuke. It had been a long time since he felt this content. Naruto kept his word when he declared war on him. The following day, Sasuke had been met with a jump scare first thing in the morning.
Like any other day, Sasuke was ready to enter the school lounge. He came early to school and had asked Neji to accompany him for a cup of tea. He had opened the door and nearly had a heart attack at the sudden noise when the handle hit the wall. Sasuke searched for the source of the noise and saw an air horn tapped to the door. A note had been attached to the horn as well with the sentence:
Your move Uchiha!
At reading the note, Sasuke felt a warmth pool in his stomach. He was enjoying this very much.
"Uzumaki-san is very creative." Neji was behind him, reading the note over his shoulder. There was a small amused smile on Neji's lips, the teen backed away and started to unwrap the air horn from the door handle.
There had been two more times where that type of incident happened. Sasuke had not seen Naruto at all that whole day, however, he saved the little notes that Naruto wrote.
The next day, Sasuke got his revenge with colored shaving cream. He had talked to one of the custodians to get the keys for Naruto's locker. At first, Sasuke had the idea of placing shaving cream filled balloons, however, he was sure that the blond would probably just throw them at him. He settled with a contraption that would hold dyed shaving cream in Naruto's locker until said blond would open the locker door and be filled with the colored foam. He had heard Naruto's scream all the way to his business class. He had been smirking all day, Neji and Kiba only shook their heads in sympathy.
Naruto had been covered in shaving cream from his spiky blond hair to his pristine uniform. He had tried to wipe the foam away only to have some colors stain his white uniform shirt. He tried to wash it off with water only for it to make it worse. His hair was left hard to the touch and it didn't help that it left splotches of vibrant color in his spikes. He was not backing down, not when the bastard just ruined his perfectly clean uniform and ruined his beautiful golden locks!
Naruto took his time to make his next move. The teen observed Sasuke like a hawk. He tried to learn the Uchiha's schedule and find out when the dark haired teen had physical education so he could prank him during his shower. He was glad to know that Sasuke carried with him a colored towel. It was a dark navy blue towel that the young Uchiha would hang a few feet away from the showers.
With all the pranks involving a lot of dye, Naruto came up with the perfect plan that not only would satisfy him to his very core, but would also take that bastard down a few pegs.
"I think you're getting a little too obsessed with this Uchiha, Sasuke." Shikamaru lifted his head from the table, enough to comment and then lowered it once more. The blond was on break, Shikamaru had come in for a visit and decided to sit with Naruto. Hinata was taking orders while Lee was in the kitchen with Gai-sensei. Naruto did not look up from his paper. He had written as much as he could of Sasuke's schedule. He knew he would have a chance the following day. What was even better was the small information that he learned from Kiba.
"Am not! Do you see this?" Naruto pulled at a few strands of his hair. Although it had been a few days since the colored foam incident, some of Naruto's blond hair was still colored. "He did this to me! I'm not letting him get away with it! Look, tomorrow is perfect! Someone told me that it's his cousin's birthday tomorrow, so I'm thinking they're ganna have some kind of party after school. All I got to do is pour this." Naruto took out three small packets from his pocket and waved them in front of Shikamaru. The dark haired teen lifted his head and eyed the packets with slight interest. He took the packets away from Naruto and looked at them closer. They were colored powder, blue to be exact. Shikamaru's gaze fixated back to a smiling blond. "I'ma pour that all over that bastard's towel, that'll show him!" Naruto could already feel fired up at just the thought of pranking the smug Uchiha, excited to see Sasuke's face.
"Hm." It was the only noise Shikamaru made as he handed the packets back to the blond. Dark eyes roamed over Naruto's face, he could interpret that fiery look in Naruto's eyes. The determination to get his revenge on Sasuke, however, he could also see joy in those blue eyes. Shikamaru knew that his friend was a bit simple-minded at certain things, but he could see that something was changing. He was wary whether it was good or bad.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
He knew he shouldn't have let his guard down. He got too cocky and with that, he got reckless. He should have known that Naruto wouldn't have given up, Naruto was one determined person, that was for sure. Sasuke let his guard down and now he was paying the consequence for underestimating the blond. Some part of him was angry at himself for letting this happen, the other part was pleased to take note that the blond was very creative and fun to joke around with. It was something between Naruto and him, something that belong to only the two of them.
"You're all blue and you're smiling?" Kiba was confused at seeing Sasuke's small smile. Normally speaking, the Uchiha was never one to smile so freely, or give this much attention to anyone as he was giving Naruto. The young Uchiha, however, was not complaining. If anything, it seemed that Sasuke was enjoying himself a little too much. He spent his free time looking for the blond and when he wasn't looking for Naruto, Sasuke would be thinking of his next move to torment said blond.
It had been ten minutes since Sasuke got out of the showers, towel flatly over his head, grey sweatpants and a black long sleeve shirt. He had entered their lounge with his head lowered, however, once Neji asked what was wrong, the Uchiha briskly took off the towel with a hard glare. Neji and Kiba tried hard to hide their smiles, Gaara had to leave the room, a small smile playing on his lips. Sasuke was blue. His whole body covered in a blue color, from head to toe.
"Really, Naruto is quite the imaginative one. How did he pull it off?" Sasuke took his hand from his chin and stared at Neji with his small smile still in place.
"He put blue colored powder on the towel." Neji accepted the answer unequivocally. "You know what that means." Both brunettes raised a brow in question, waiting for Sasuke to continue his sentence. "That idiot is keeping tabs on me." His smirk widened, feeling his chest beat hard, feeling warm. "It's only a matter of time." Neji and Kiba stared at one another, quizzical looks on their faces.
"So, does this mean the party is cancelled?" Kiba almost sounded disappointed as he stared at Sasuke's appearance. Sasuke glared.
"Oh, no. Far from it, Sasuke, you have to attend now. You'll be the life of the party." If Sasuke's glare could kill, Neji would have combusted on the spot. Kiba only patted the Uchiha's back.
"C'mon Sasuke, no need to be blue" Kiba laughed so hard, the brunette fell to the floor, tears ran down his cheeks. Sasuke would have made a snarky remark was it not for the warm feeling he felt in his chest as he thought of blond hair and blue eyes. He just couldn't wait to return the favor.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
The following week had been a whirlwind of yelling, glares, small promises of payback and entertainment for both Neji and Kiba. There was a retaliation of belongings wrapped in aluminum foil, aerosol bombs, there was foam in the gymnasium floor, and there was transparent tape at the entrance of doors. Sasuke was having fun, being able to see when Naruto's buttons were being pushed. Naruto wouldn't admit it out loud, however, he did enjoy the fact that he had a worthy rival to prank. There was that one time all orange juices and sodas were replaced with water and cheese powder to make it look like the beverage. Naruto was beyond disgusted at the horror that had entered his mouth.
Naruto was on his way to get a word in with the young Uchiha, grumbling to himself as he went into the shortcut that he knew of.
"If I could, I would glue your damn hands to your ass."
"That would be rather inconvenient for the person, don't you think?" Naruto was spooked by the sudden comment. Naruto turned and saw Gaara sitting on a bench, reading a book. Naruto was stunned at seeing the redhead. He had not seen Gaara much the days before. Naruto could immediately feel his cheeks warm at seeing Gaara lift his gaze from the book and at him. He could see a sort of amusement in the redhead's eyes.
"Gaara, I-I didn't see you there." Gaara put down the book he was reading and seemed to tilt his head slightly to the side.
"The color in your hair has faded." Naruto was taken by surprise by the comment. Unintentionally, his hand went to touch his hair. The blond nodded as a pink color dusted his cheeks and sighed as he remembered who did that to his hair. Gaara smirked, trying to contain his laughter, Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"It's not funny, Gaara. Your brother's not ganna get away with this." Gaara's smirk stayed in place. Naruto puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms like a child, it only seemed to amuse Gaara even more.
"I believe you." Naruto looked rather surprised, staring blankly at the redhead. Gaara stared at him, making Naruto feel rather awkward.
"You must be happy having Ino around, right? I haven't seen you these past few weeks." Naruto tried hard to give a convincing smile. He settled with silently liking the redhead, Gaara probably didn't swing that way anyway. Gaara had Ino, he seemed happy being by her side.
"And you?" Naruto panicked, feeling exposed, or rather, caught. He tried to look as calm as possible.
"Me?"
"Is Yuki-san not-" Naruto smiled fondly, it only made Gaara blink at him.
"Oh, no. Me and Haku-chan are just friends." Gaara nodded in understanding. Naruto stared at the redhead with his smile still in place. As Naruto stared at those apple green eyes, he found it hard to breathe. His heart pounded loudly and his smile disappeared. Naruto looked away, not wanting Gaara to see the flushed face he was now displaying. "I mean, I do like someone but he-"
"He?" Gaara was intrigued, Naruto stared at Gaara with wide eyes, his eyes shifted back and forth, wanting to change the subject. "Is it Sasuke?" Naruto was taken aback. He felt insulted at the mere guess Gaara just made.
"What? No! If there's anyone I like, it's you!" Once the words came out of his mouth, Naruto wanted the ground to part and swallow him whole. It just came out of his mouth without him even thinking. He felt like a total idiot, why did he even say that?
The only indication of surprise from Gaara was his wide eyes. Other than that, his face was rather blank. Naruto, on the other hand, was flushed red with his mouth wide open.
"I… I mean…" Naruto couldn't think of anything to say, he wanted to drop a smoke bomb and disappear in the shadows, he couldn't understand why, why he blurted that out.
"You like me." It was more of a statement than a question. Naruto couldn't say anything the more Gaara stared at him. The redhead tilted his head to the side and his gaze shifted to the ground. Naruto ruffled his hair with both hands and sighed.
"I… I like you, but you like Ino, so, don't worry about it. You know what, just forget I said anything, yeah, I didn't say anything." Naruto was trying hard to let the topic go. He shuffled on the spot, feeling anxious. "You know what, I'm-I'm ganna go." Before Gaara could say anything, he was already running away. Naruto could feel his cheeks burn at the mere embarrassment of what just happened.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Sasuke had been waiting for Naruto's prank for two days. He received nothing but avoidance from the small blond. He wasn't sure if it was something he did, or maybe something he said? He was getting impatient and anxious that maybe he messed up. He didn't want Naruto to hate him like before, not after everything they had gone through. He wanted to talk to Naruto, however, he was at a loss of what to say.
Sasuke sighed, covering the small frown on his lips with his hand. It seemed that all he did these past two days was sit and contemplate about Uzumaki Naruto. These feelings were distracting him, and yet, he felt a type of exhilaration. He was surprised and delighted that he felt this way for someone. As a child, he was tame, a child that followed his brother around. He loved his brother so much and would have followed him anywhere he went. However, as time went by and as his father began to compare him with his older brother, Sasuke began to resent both his brother and father. He began to put up walls, tried hard to not be affected by anything or anyone. He began to convince himself that caring for another person that was not his mother was a nuisance, a weakness.
And yet, here he was, trying to get the attention of some blond idiot that never knew when to back down or shut his trap. Sasuke shook his head at the mere thought.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke heard the female voice call to him which only made his mood damper. He always disliked it when his female classmates called to him as if they were so close. He was even more annoyed to see that these two girls had no respect for his privacy in his own lounge. He knew the two girls very well. Karin was vice president of the student council and Kin was the captain of the girls' volleyball team. He said nothing to them as they continued to walk towards him, showing anything but innocent smiles on their face. Once they were close enough in front of him, both girls bowed with a- "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke wanted nothing to do with these girls, however, he knew from experience that the two would not leave unless he heard what they had to say. With a deep sigh Sasuke stared at both females. Karin was looking at him with a strong gaze, her cheeks, however, were showing a pink color. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, it seemed to have stunned the redhead for a second "What is it?"
With a wide cunning smile, the redhead pushed her glasses back and responded "We have something to tell you about Uzumaki Naruto from 2-D." Sasuke's interest was piqued by the mention of the blond, however, all he did was raise a brow.
"What about him?" Karin's grin never faltered as she nudged Kin. At the gesture, the long haired female took her cellphone out and lightly touched the screen. Once done, she handed the phone to Sasuke. Sasuke was confused, he looked at both girls and down at the phone.
Karin tried to frown and look as sad as she could. "Please, Sasuke-kun, this will show that the commoner is just trying to put all of you against each other. I don't trust him." Sasuke furrowed his brows at what Karin was saying to him. He was confused at what the redheaded female was saying. He said nothing as he took the phone from Kin's hand and pressed play on the screen.
It was a video of Naruto. At just seeing the blond on the screen, Sasuke could feel his heart beat a morsel faster. He could see that Naruto was mumbling to himself, seeing the blonde's lips moved but no sound could be heard. The camera moved to show that Gaara was sitting by a bench. Sasuke frowned at seeing Gaara and Naruto in the same space. He felt something churn in his stomach as he heard Naruto and Gaara talk to one another.
"Is Yuki-san not-"
"Oh, no. Me and Haku-chan are just friends. I mean, I do like someone but he-" Sasuke continued to watch silently. When Kiba found all that information about the blond, he knew what happened in Naruto's old school when everyone found out that Naruto liked more than just females. He knew he probably made it harder for Naruto by announcing such a delicate and private detail to everyone in their school. He wanted revenge, he now knew how much of a ridiculous excuse it was and how idiotic he was to do it.
"He? Is it Sasuke?" Sasuke swallowed hard at the question. Naruto's reaction did not escape the dark haired teen, it hurt him.
"What? No! If there's anyone I like, it's you!"
"I… I mean…" Some part of him suspected it. It wasn't as if it surprised him, but it still hurt him to hear it. Naruto's confirmation made it real, made it hard for him to deny it to himself.
"You like me."
The video stopped there, Sasuke was left staring at a black screen. He felt hurt, betrayed, angry. He had a whirlwind of emotions as those words continued to echo in his head. He felt the last shred of his hope wither as he looked back at all the events between Naruto and Gaara, it all made sense.
"Sasuke-kun, that commoner is nothing, please just kick him out of the school. He is not wanted here." Karin practically whined was it not for the fact her head was held high.
"Karin is right, Sasuke-sama. That trash is just trying to put all four of you against each other!"
Cold dark eyes glared at the two girls in front of him. Both girls leaned back, frightful at the look the dark haired teen was directing at them. "What kind of outcome did you expect when showing me this, Karin?" Sasuke's voice was cold, menacing. Karin looked spooked at the tone, she eyed at her companion and back at Sasuke, frowning.
"I just-"
"You thought wrong, Karin." Sasuke stood from his chair, towering over both females by just a few centimeters. Those small centimeters made a huge difference to his intimidating demeanor. "Don't you dare mess with him again, go it?" Sasuke shoved the phone to Karin's hands as he made his way between both females and began to exit the room.
He knew Karin wanted a rise out of him, and she succeeded. He could feel a pain in his chest as Naruto's words echoed in his head. Gaara had Ino, surely Naruto knew. With a great exhale, Sasuke made his way towards the sports building.
His mind was racing with so many thoughts and so many new emotions that he thought he had gotten rid of, but no, it seemed that Naruto had taken a strong hold of him more than he thought. He passed by the quad and was near the sports building. Once inside, Sasuke made his way to the gymnasium. Inside, he was able to see a mop of blond hiding behind the bleachers.
There gymnasium was eerily quiet, they were the only two in the area. Naruto's back was facing him, his head was resting on crossed arms that were being held by Naruto's knees. No doubt that the blond was probably sulking. Sasuke slowly made his way to Naruto's side, staring down at him. He could still feel the pain in his chest as coal colored eyes looked at the blond hair. Naruto seemed to have sense his presence. Blue eyes slowly revealed themselves behind long blond eyelashes. At the sight of those bright blue eyes, Sasuke's anger seemed to subdue. Sasuke could feel warm heat pool in his gut, he tried to ignore it.
"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice was soft-spoken. Blue eyes stared at Sasuke's own a few moments before lowering his gaze and frowning. Sasuke said nothing as his body moved on its own and sat next to the blond. The dark haired teen sat close to Naruto enough to press his arm against the other. He felt his skin feel warm at the touch, the warmth in Sasuke's gut increased. "Are you here to mock me?" Naruto's voice was muffled by his arms, to Sasuke he sounded sullen. Sasuke breathed out, the ends of his lip lifting. He copied Naruto's action, staring at the wall in front of them.
"No. I want to announce a truce." Naruto lifted his head and turned to look at Sasuke with a confused look on his face. Sasuke diverted his gaze toward the blond, his smirk still in place.
"A truce?" Sasuke shrugged indifferently.
"Summer vacation starts the day after tomorrow, its only logic to end it." Naruto said nothing as he continued to stare at Sasuke's profile. After a few seconds, Sasuke slowly turned his head, his eyes looking soft for the first time. "It was only a matter of time before it got any worse, don't you think?"
For the first time since he met Sasuke, Naruto was able to see a different side of the teen. His eyes did not hold any malice like they normally did, nor was there a distasteful look on his face. For the first time, Naruto was able to truly see Sasuke. The slight red around his pupils, the darkness of his eyebrows, the fact that Sasuke's hair was so black, it shone with a slight blue hue.
"I was going to win either way." Sasuke's tone did not indicate any note of mock, only playful banter, a small smirk on his lips. Naruto narrowed his eyes, a pout on his lips.
"Like hell you were!" Sasuke huffed, trying hard not to laugh. He continued to stare at the blond, his thoughts screaming at him to tell Naruto what he had seen just minutes ago, to tell him what he had been feeling for him for some time. The more he stared at Naruto, the more Sasuke could see that Naruto's cheeks were showing a slight pink shade.
The intensity of Sasuke's gaze made Naruto feel strange, it made the pit of his stomach feel warm and frivolous. Those dark coal eyes were so much softer, he could see a mix of loneliness and affection. "Naruto, I…" Naruto waited, Sasuke sighed and looked away, a frown on his lips. "I'm…"
Naruto smiled widely, his hand patting Sasuke's back. "Apology accepted, Teme."
"Dumb-ass! Who said anything about apologizing?" his eyes did not show any anger, Naruto narrowed his eyes, his face coming closer to Sasuke's.
"Then what the hell was all that truce thing?"
"I was trying to be nice, Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke responded with gritted teeth, Naruto scoffed and leaned back against the bleachers, closing his eyes as a sigh escaped. Sasuke did the same, looking up at the ceiling. "You like Gaara." it pained Sasuke to say it out loud, it truly did. He could feel Naruto shift, Sasuke didn't move.
"Who told you that?" Naruto didn't sound mad, he sounded troubled.
"I won't tell anyone if that's what you're scared of." Sasuke stared at Naruto with the peripheral of his eye. He saw Naruto grimace. Sasuke sighed and stood. "Having feelings for someone is such a pain." Naruto stared at Sasuke and saw a sad look on his face. It was a momentary look, after that, Sasuke was back to that apathetic mask and made his way out the gymnasium. Naruto stared with a small frown. Just now, Sasuke seemed unhappy.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Summer had finally started and Naruto could not have been happier. He never knew that he would miss having time to be with his friends. His days revolved around hot, sweaty days, work, hanging out with his friends and complaining about the heat while watching TV in his own living room. Since the first day of summer vacation, Konohamaru opted in locking himself in his own room, dedicated to playing video games all day and night. The young brunette would only leave the room to eat or go to the bathroom, and even then, they were quick tasks. During summer nights, the club was more than busy, resulting in his grandparents and himself working late in the nights.
With his nights and late afternoons being occupied, Naruto would hang out with his friends during the mornings, going to parks and the community beach or going out to eat ice-cream. Naruto was more than ecstatic to be with his friends, considering how much time and energy Koden seemed to take from his everyday life. He was content at the fact that his summer was F4 free, or so he thought…
It was two months after the start of his summer vacation when he came home from hanging out with Lee. The tall teen had invited him to accompany him to the dojo he went with. Lee had been learning martial arts since he was 10, being invited to speculate the teen's matches was a norm for him and his friends. They were now walking back home.
"I don't get it bushy brows, Sakura just accepted, no conditions or nothing?"
Both teens were walking side by side. Lee held a small bag about his shoulder, sweat beading down his face. Naruto clasped his hands together behind his head. The tall teenager only shrugged but a smile was evident on his face. "Hai, she truly is a wonder, Naruto-kun. Her eyes are the most beautiful things I have ever seen." Lee had a bright look on his face as his eyes glazed.
Naruto remembered that after the welcoming party for Ino, Sakura had stopped hanging around Karin and Kin. He would see the bubblegum haired female roaming the halls in her lonesome. He had not questioned it and the thought left his mind. It wasn't until one day, Naruto was on his way to work and saw Sakura inside the ramen shop. He had been confused and wary of the female's presence. He went inside only to see that Sakura looked as if she were caught and left quickly without any word.
He later asked Lee why Sakura had been in the shop. Lee, at first, seemed distressed whether or not to tell Naruto. The days went by and Sakura continued coming to see Lee. Finally, Lee told Naruto why Sakura had been visiting him time after time.
"Does she… like you?" Lee had told Sakura how beautiful she was and with his eccentric personality, it seemed he got the female's attention. She had come to Lee and told him about her personal situations, he was her confidant, someone to listen to her.
Lee looked at the blond for a moment, a small smile playing on his lips. "I like her, I think it's enough." Naruto continued to stare, still wary for his friend. "Sakura-san confides in me and I am grateful for such a thing!" Naruto tried to smile, keeping silent about his doubts. "Ah, we're at your house, Naruto-kun!" Naruto looked to the side and saw that Lee was in fact correct. The blond smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Thanks, Lee. You wanna come in? Pretty sure Obaa-chan made some steamed dumplings." Lee lifted a hand up to reject the offer.
"No thank you, Naruto-kun, I must go help Otō-san at the shop." Lee bowed and retreated. Naruto watched the teen leave, waving him goodbye. Naruto made his way inside his home, taking off his shoes and laying down in the middle of the living room floor. He closed his eyes and suddenly, he could hear a voice. It was Sasuke's voice.
"Naruto, I… I'm…" He had a nagging feeling that Sasuke wanted to tell him something, something personal. He didn't know why, but Naruto couldn't help think of one Sasuke Uchiha almost all summer. All Naruto could do as he closed his eyes was see Sasuke's small smile, his eyes looking at him in a totally different manner than from when he first met the teen.
"Dammit, Naruto, you're going to get sick lying on the cold floor like that!" His grandmother pushed his torso, making Naruto open his eyes in surprise.
"Obaa-chan! That hurt!" His grandmother said nothing as she made her way around the blond and sat down by the table to finish the fruit she had in her hand. Before she could do that, however, the blond woman placed the fruit on the table and rummaged around her apron pocket. Finally, she took out a white rectangular card with a rainbow on the side.
"Here" The blond woman placed the card near Naruto and resumed with her fruit. Naruto sat up from the floor and eyed the paper with a confused look.
"What is it?"
"Hime, did you give it to him yet?" Jiraiya's voice boomed from the small hall that led to the kitchen, seconds passed before Jiraiya made his presence known. "Ah, Naruto, that came in today in the mail. You won't believe who it's from!"
Naruto picked the car up and flipped it as his eyes scanned the lettering. In beautiful font, the name on the card read Ino Yamanaka. His eyes widened, his fingers fumbling with the opening of the envelope. He was confused, why would Ino Yamanaka try to contact him?
"Why didn't you tell us that you knew Yamanaka-sama?" Naruto looked at his grandfather's excited expression, Naruto pursed his lips in uncertainty.
"I don't, she's a family friend of those F4 guys. I just don't know why…" Naruto stopped halfway as he read the letter. It was an invitation to Ino Yamanaka's birthday for the weekend.
"A party?"
"Hime, I don't think he even has nice clothes for a party like that."
"You're probably right."
Naruto turned and saw that both his grandparents had been huddled behind him, reading the letter over his shoulder. Naruto backed away from his grandparent's closeness and looked back down at the letter. "Who even said I wanna go?" Both adults stared at the small blond with shocked expressions on their faces.
"And why is that?" Naruto looked up at his grandmother's disapproving stare and frowned. He didn't want to go, not when he was positive that Gaara would be there. He almost cringed at the reoccurrence of his confession to the redheaded teen. He was so stupid to let that slip out of his mouth and he was such a coward to ignore the teen after that. He knew he couldn't tell his grandparents that, not without being bombarded with questions that Naruto still was not confident to answer. The blond racked his brain for an alternate answer and came up with just one.
"Obaa-chan, I'm not one of them." Tsunade looked puzzled at the confession, Naruto looked down, hiding his frown. "I'm not from a high class family like them. I don't belong there." Naruto felt that too was true. He was hated in his school, he was a commoner, and he didn't have anything in common with his Koden classmates. He knew that, and his classmates seemed to make it damn near impossible for him to forget that. He could feel himself feel worse as those thoughts came to mind. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that Naruto looked up and saw Jiraiya with a small frown on his face.
"Are you not driven to prove people wrong? Do you not bleed like the rest of them? Don't tell me you started to care what other think, Naruto." Jiraiya was staring down at him in such an earnest manner. Naruto couldn't help the small smile that slowly appeared. He shook his head, the older man smiled. "Then, you shouldn't care whether you belong there or not. It seems that you got the attention of Miss Ino Yamanaka, you should be polite to accept her invitation." Naruto was hesitant but nodded none the less. Jiraiya smiled and patted the blond on the back. "Good, now get ready for dinner and we'll discuss this later." Naruto smiled and made his way to his bedroom.
Once inside, Tsunade spoke up. "A party to Ino Yamanaka." Tsunade was just as surprised as Jiraiya, his smile still in place. The man gave a breathy laugh.
"Who would have thought?" Tsunade smiled. "Do you ever wonder if he would be like this if his parents were still here?" Tsunade immediately frowned at the mention of her son. She looked down as she tried to remember her son's face. She didn't have to think too hard considering that Naruto was the spitting image of his father. They both had the same blond hair, the skin color and the same bright blue eyes. His fiery spirit, however, was an attribute Naruto got from his mother. Tsunade could tell stories of how headstrong and dedicated that woman had been.
She had been a bit spooked at feeling arms wrapped around her, the blond woman turned and saw her husband nuzzle his head on her neck. "I'm sure they would have been proud. You're doing a fine damn job with both those boys." Tsunade smiled sadly as Jiraiya kissed her cheek.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Naruto had been awakened the next morning by trickling water. He could feel drops falling down his face. He opened his eyes only to see that his grandmother had a small, wet towel over his head, the excess water dripping down to his face. "Obaa-chan!" The older woman backed away, a smile on her face as she tried to hide the rag behind her back. "What the hell was that for?" Naruto sat up, trying to wipe away the water from his face with his covers. Tsunade gave a small smile.
"I had to wake you up some way or another. It's already late and we have yet to find you something for that girl's party." Once Naruto sat up, Tsunade only nodded and left the bedroom. With his grandmother gone, Naruto thought it best to get ready, if not, he was sure his grandmother would come back either way. With a deep sigh, Naruto took out the appropriate clothes and headed to the bathroom.
Minutes passed by when he heard a knock at the door. Since he was still brushing his teeth, the one to answer the door was Tsunade. "Hello auntie." Immediately, Naruto knew it was Shikamaru. Naruto hurried and made his way to the kitchen to greet his friend.
Shikamaru looked as if the teen had not been sleeping well. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled. "Shika, what happened to you?" The lanky teen sighed deeply and rubbed at the back of his neck in distress.
"My old man came home late last night and my mom woke me up to lecture the both of us. I don't know why I had to be there since I had nothing to do with it but you know how she is." Naruto laughed. Shikamaru tried to glare but couldn't with the how sleep deprived he looked.
"It's not funny, Uzumaki. She gave a full two hour lecture at 3 in the morning." Shikamaru yawned, tears forming at the end of his eyes. Tsunade stood next to the tall blond, her hands on her hips. "Auntie, can't I have a cup of coffee?" Tsunade harrumphed.
"No time Shikamaru, we have to look for some nice clothes for this knucklehead before the party tomorrow." Shikamaru furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Party? What party?" The dark haired teen turned to stare at the now embarrassed blond. said blond looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet in a nervous manner.
"Ino Yamanaka invited me to her 18th birthday party." Shikamaru raised a brow. Naruto could feel his cheeks heat even more. He felt defensive, ashamed. "I don't even know why!"
"You kidding me? You're Naruto Uzumaki, even my mom dotes on you. More than me, that's for sure." Shikamaru huffed and rubbed at his neck. Tsunade patted the ponytailed teen with a smile.
"It's settled, knucklehead, we're ganna go buy you some fancy clothes." Naruto said nothing, however, that dread still settled in his stomach.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
They had gone through five clothing stores and one grocery store. He was bored, hungry, and tired from all the walking. He tried everything his grandmother would shove his way and it seemed that nothing satisfied the blond woman. They all called it quits by the time it was mid-day. They were all frustrated and exhausted, their hands empty handed.
"Obaa-chan! No more, please!" Naruto had laid on his stomach in the middle of the kitchen floor, his face facing away from his family and friend. He heard his grandmother sigh and sit beside him.
"How is it possible? There wasn't one thing we could find."
"Auntie, you didn't like anything we found. All the things you did like were expensive enough to put your business in debt."
"Naruto-nii, is that you?" one of the doors in the hall opened and out came Konohamaru. The brunette teen seemed to have bags under his eyes and his hair greasy. Everyone in the room stared at the young teen as he came closer, the boy was still in his boxers and a large overgrown t-shirt.
"Why are you still in your boxers? Have you taken a shower yet?!" Konohamaru ignored his grandmother as he made his way to the kitchen and came back with a large box.
"This arrived while you were out." Everyone around surrounded the large wrapped present and watched with great intensity. There was a white envelope with a rainbow in the corner tapped on the side. Naruto furrowed his brows as he picked up the envelope and opened it, inside was a card. "Eh? I didn't know nii-san knew famous model, Yamanaka Ino." Naruto could feel his cheeks burn as he muttered an "I don't"
The letter was signed by Ino Yamanaka with the words of I hope you like it. See you tomorrow! Naruto could feel his stomach churn. The blond looked at the present and opened the top part of the box. Inside, there was a dark grey buttoned shirt, a golden colored shirt and black slacks. Naruto took each piece of article of article slowly, trying to see the sides and noticing that they were all perfectly his size. Naruto could hear the soft sounds of amazement behind him as they all stared at the clothing.
"Yamanaka-sama's style is beautiful." Naruto still couldn't help the uneasy feeling in his stomach, a small sigh escaping his lips.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
His eyes searched around the large room. The walls were painted a tasteful blue color with a high chandelier handing in the middle of the room. There was soft music playing in the background. Walking around were servers with plates, offering food and drinks. One of the servers passed his way and gave him a charming smile, he returned the gesture with his own, his eyes taking in the athletic physique of the server.
They stared at each other for a moment before his focus changed to the new comer by the door. He was shocked momentarily as he looked over at the guest. With the server out of mind, the brown haired teen walked to greet the newcomer. He gave a gentle smile. "Naruto-kun, you're here." Naruto gave a sheepish smile as his hand automatically made its way to the back of his neck.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." Naruto felt uneasy in the clothes and even more in such a setting as he was at the moment. There was so many unfamiliar faces, he was still questioning as to why he even came here in the first place. Neji smiled and took a hold of Naruto's arm.
"Well, we're all glad you're here. Come, you can sit with us."
"Us?" Naruto's eyes wandered as Neji was leading him father and father from the entrance. The closer Neji led him to the table, the clearer he could see dark orbs looking at him with a strong intensity.
"Hey, it's Whiskers! Long time no see, buddy!" Kiba greeted him wholeheartedly but his blue eyes still settled on Sasuke.
"Tsk, did Ino try and complete her charity work for the year by inviting you?" Naruto's expression quickly changed as he glared at the tall Uchiha, Sasuke did the same with a grin on his face. Neji and Kiba both gave nervous smiles at Sasuke's comment. They could practically feel the tension between both teens.
"You wanna go, Uchiha?" Sasuke breathed out smugly, raising his head upwards so he could look down at the blond.
"Only an idiot like you would want to fight at a formal event." Sasuke raised a brow, his eyes traveling down Naruto's form and back up at those blue eyes. "You wouldn't want to ruin the clothes Ino gave you, would you?"
Naruto was taken aback at the comment, his cheeks burning. Naruto didn't comment as he looked away from the dark haired teen.
"Hn, at least this time, you're decent looking with those clothes." Naruto turned back to look at the dark haired teen and saw the small smile Sasuke was giving. He didn't know why, yet, it made Naruto's cheeks feel even hotter, he looked away once more. Neji and Kiba were staring at the light skinned teen with surprised looks on their face. Sasuke's eyes left Naruto and stared at both brunettes, his smile being replaced by a grimace. "What?" dead-panned asked the teen, a glare slowly showing.
"Whiskers, I-I think Sasuke just complimented you, dude." Sasuke looked away glaring, his arms crossed. Neji gave a low chuckle.
"There surely is a first time for anything." Kiba raised his brows in astonishment. Sasuke and Naruto simply looked away from each other, pink coloring their cheeks.
The sound of awes and gasps took the attention of all four teens around the table. They turned and saw Ino entering the large hall. She gave a small smile as she walked to a small podium where everyone could see her. Gaara had been following the female blond just steps away, his head was down, and he had a small frown upon his lips.
Naruto could see the small frown from where he was. He could feel his heart tremble at seeing Gaara's gloomy expression. He wanted to ask what was wrong, wanted to ask why Gaara looked that way. Blue eyes shifted to look at his companions only to see the same confused expressions.
"Minna*," her voice was silvery as the first time he met her. Everyone was quiet, wanting to hear the young woman. "I want to thank everyone for coming to celebrate my birthday. I wouldn't be here without the help of everyone in this room." She gave a wide smile. A moment passed before she turned and looked to where Gaara was. Gaara's head was still lowered, not moving from his spot. Ino frowned slightly at the sight, she turned back to the crowd and smiled once more. "I know my parents could not be present today, but I know in my heart that they are happy and proud with the choices that I have made." Naruto saw Ino turned again, staring at Gaara. His heart pulsed hard against his chest, sensing something wrong. "Which is why I have decided to quit my modeling career and put my full attention in my law studies. My dream was to be a successful lawyer and now I have that opportunity to make that a reality. I have decided to permanently move to Greece. So please, everyone, thank you for your support. I shall be leaving as soon as possible." Ino bowed, nearly everyone in the room clapped. Naruto stared wide eyed, his mouth opened in shock.
Naruto stared at Gaara who, finally, looked up, glowering at everyone in the room. His hands were balled into fists, his mouth a tight line. The redhead silently left minutes later, no one but Naruto and the F4 took notice of the departure. Naruto looked back at the rest of the F4 and noticed that they too were shocked by Ino's announcement.
"I-I can't believe this…" Kiba broke the silence, his eyes darting between Neji and Sasuke. "It's not true, right? Ino-nee isn't really leaving, right?" Their gazes went back to Ino who was giving a smile and talking to those that came up to her.
"Gaara must be heart broken, do you think he knew?" Neji turned to Sasuke for an answer, Sasuke raised a brow and shook his head.
"I highly doubt it, he didn't mention anything to me. Besides, he seemed so happy the last couple of days too." They all frowned and sighed. Naruto could only look down at the floor and lock his jaw in frustration, realizing how betrayed Gaara must feel at the moment.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
He felt wounded and alone once more. He didn't know what to say, or what to do with these feeling pooling inside him. He was angry and sad, he wanted to scream and at the same time, he wanted to be alone to swallow the growing lump in his throat. This was the first time he heard the news of Ino leaving. He had thought everything was fine, that she was going to stay, with him. He was wrong once more and he felt just as stupid to think Ino would ever stay with him.
He had felt alone for such a long time, he felt isolated and hated but Ino helped him. She had brought him back from his depression, she had taken care of him, had been patient with him and he felt loved. In reality, that's what he wanted, he had wanted the love of someone for so long and Ino had provided that for him. She gave him the love he needed and with that, he began to love her and cherish her.
Then again, Ino did not feel the same way he did. Although she had taken care of him and stayed by his side during such a hard time, her eyes and heart were always on Sasuke. At first, Ino would try to get Sasuke's attention whenever she could. Once the young Uchiha made it clear that he had no feelings for the blond female, she had stopped her advances and seemed to settle with Gaara's presence. Gaara knew, nonetheless, that Ino still harbored feelings for the Uchiha. He, in his own manner, kept silent about it and made the best of the situation.
"Gaara?" the door opened to reveal the pretty female that overran his thoughts. He didn't want to look at her and yet all he wanted was her to be by his side.
"Leave." His voice was just above a whisper, Ino was quiet for an instant before she too murmured.
"Is that really what you want me to do?"
There was silence before Gaara spoke once more "No." There was the sound of the door creaking and Ino coming in. Gaara felt a soft touch on his shoulder, he tensed, feeling hurt. Her words still echoed in his mind, he didn't want her to leave, he didn't want to be alone again, not again.
"Gaara…" her words trailed, Gaara said nothing as his throat constricted. He could feel a burning sensation in his eyes, he tried hard to hold his emotions in. He couldn't imagine of Ino leaving him, didn't want to imagine it. His chest was hurting, it was getting hard to breath.
"You… you never loved me." Ino's hand retracted at hearing his words, she remained quiet. "You never thought of me as a lover or in any intimate way. I was just there, I was just someone to take pity on."
"That's not true!" Ino's voice sounded closer to Gaara. The redhead lifted his head and stared into light blue eyes, she was in front of him now. Ino gave a small smile, her hands reaching to Gaara's shoulders as she got closer to the redhead. "I never took pity on you, you're someone special to me and I didn't want you to distance yourself from me, your friends."
"And what exactly am I to you?" Ino was confused at the question, however, she tried to give a small smile.
"Gaara…"
Gaara pushed away Ino's arms and shook his head. "No, I want to know what exactly am I to you." He grabbed hold of Ino's arms and searched Ino's face. "I've been in love with you for such a long time, and yet you never once rejected me or confirmed the same feelings."
"It's… Gaara it's more complicated than that." Gaara narrowed his eyes, letting go of Ino as he watched blue eyes avert his own. He stood and looked down at the blond
"I'm not a jealous man and yet I hate that I envy Sasuke, that I have to compare myself to him to get your attention. To have to see you chase after him and many others. I have feelings for you and all you seem to do is just throw me to the side."
"Gaara, listen, I do care about you, I do love you." Gaara watched as Ino got up. She was close, her hand was up as if trying to reach for him. "I didn't know you were hurting so much." Ino got closer, her hand reaching up to touch Gaara's cheek. Gaara leaned against Ino's touch, feeling Ino's warmth against his.
"I've loved you for such a long time, I've wanted to hold you and kiss you for as long as I can remember." Ino frowned, her forehead touching Gaara's. Her hands cupped both of the redhead's cheeks as she closed her eyes.
"Gaara…"
"Can I kiss you?" Gaara could feel the slight warmth of Ino's cheeks as his lips got closer to Ino's. He had waited for so long to hold her close like this, to feel her warmth against his. To show her how much he loved her. Ino came closer, her lips brushing softly against his. His lips tingled at the touch, he had been waiting for this, had wanted this for a long time. Ino pressed her lips harder against his, his heart hammered against his chest, his body felt warm. He wrapped his arms around Ino as time stood at a standstill.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
There was a large lump in his throat as he stared from the slight opening of the door. He was frozen still as he stared at both teens in the room. He knew Gaara was in love with Ino, he had accepted it and yet, he was still aching. Naruto finally caught his breath after a moment. A tan hand pressed against his hurting chest, wanting to calm down the painful throbbing.
"Naruto?" Naruto jumped at the sudden voice. He turned and saw Sasuke frowning. The young Uchiha looked concerned which was rather unusual for the blond. Naruto said nothing as he looked to the ground, a frown on his face. Sasuke came closer, his head skewed to try and see the blonde's face. "What is it?"
"It's nothing." Naruto mumbled, not wanting to meet Sasuke in the eye. He didn't want Sasuke to have the upper hand, to have another opportunity to mock him.
"You're lying." Naruto looked up, his frown still in place. Sasuke's brows furrowed. He was about to speak when Ino's voice rang though their ears.
"Ah, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, you're here!" Naruto's eyes widened at the voice, Sasuke took notice but remained quiet. Naruto turned and gave a wide smile, wide enough for his cheeks to hurt.
"Ino-sama! Thank you so much for the invitation!" bright blue eyes traveled to the couple in front of him. His eyes wandered and set on the clasped hands that belonged to Ino and Gaara. His chest quaked at the sight.
"I see you got the gift I sent you, I knew it would suit you well."
"Tch, I knew it." Sasuke whispered clear enough for Naruto to hear, the blond turned and glared at a smirking Uchiha.
"What are you two doing here?" It was Gaara that questioned their presence. Sasuke only glared at Gaara, as he got closer to Naruto. He put an arm around Naruto and pulled him close.
"We were just looking for Ino, I'm taking Usuratonkachi here home. Thanks for the invitation Ino. Let's go Dobe." Before Naruto or anyone else could say anything else, Sasuke had taken a hold of the tan teen's hand and led him away from the two teens.
Gaara and Ino were left surprised as they watched Sasuke drag Naruto away. "Are Sasuke and Naruto…" Ino let the sentence fade as Gaara looked at Ino's baby blue eyes and gave a small smile. She smiled as well and tightened Gaara's hand with hers. "We should get back." Gaara nodded as Ino led the way.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
"Te-Teme, wait!" Sasuke had a tight grip on Naruto's wrist as he was being led out of the building. Naruto looked to Sasuke only to see that Sasuke was looking ahead with a grin on his face. Naruto suddenly realized his situation as Sasuke's warmth reached him, his cheeks feeling hot in the process. "I said wait, dammit!" Naruto stopped on his tracks, making Sasuke get pulled behind as well. Sasuke only turned and grimaced at the blond in front of him.
"What now, Dobe?" Naruto only crossed his arms and scowled at Sasuke.
"What the hell was that, huh?" Sasuke raised a brow as he too crossed his arms together.
"You mean saving you from the embarrassment of being caught by Ino and Gaara? You're welcome, idiot." Sasuke smiled proudly, it made Naruto's scowl deepen. "I'm going to go for a walk before Iruka picks me up, you're welcome to join," Dark eyes stared at the smaller teen that still stayed in place, Sasuke gave a small gesture of a shrug. "Or you can go back to Ino and Gaara." Sasuke began to walk away from the blond, beaming at the knowledge that Naruto would follow seconds later.
Sure enough, Naruto ran behind him and called out to the young Uchiha. "Teme, wait up!" Naruto was caught up to Sasuke and immediately looked away as the tan skinned teen puffed his cheeks out. "You-You better take me home later, asshole." Sasuke stared at the teen, his grin still in place. Both walked in silence for a while as they entered a small park nearby. The only sounds around them were the cry of crickets and their footsteps as they walked side by side. Naruto looked down, his mood still melancholy as the image of Ino and Gaara resurfaced in his mind. He felt pressure atop his head, a hand pressing down his cranium.
"Idiot, that expression doesn't suit you, quit it." Sasuke let go one Naruto grunted in slight pain. Naruto's hands reached his head, fixing the messed up hair.
"Bastard! That hurt!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Then stop making such a pathetic face." Naruto glared.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Sasuke only chuckled.
"You know, for such a smart guy, Gaara sure is an idiot." Naruto's glare was gone, Sasuke only continued. "I mean, the guy has been pining for the same girl for years and even when she would date other guys, the guy was still on the sidelines, just waiting like some pitiful love sick puppy." Sasuke eyed the blond from his peripheral and saw Naruto looking down, frowning. Sasuke wouldn't have admitted it out loud but just seeing Naruto down in that manner made Sasuke feel horrible. "Hn, we're here." Naruto furrowed his brows in a questioning manner and gawked at the raven haired teen. Sasuke only stared straightforward as he tried to sit on the soft grass. Once down, Sasuke looked up at the blond. "Sit, might as well enjoy the view."
Naruto was puzzled. It seemed Sasuke could tell what he was thinking as the young Uchiha only smiled slightly and pointed straight ahead. Naruto directed his attention to the view in front of him and widened his eyes in mild surprised. They had arrived to a small secluded mountain hill, demonstrating a little town below, the lights still beaming brightly from above. "Wow" Naruto could only gawk at the view. Sasuke only smiled at seeing Naruto's eyes light up brightly. Moments later, Naruto sat down next to Sasuke, bending his knees up close to his chest and resting his chin. There was silence as both stared at the scenery in front of them. After some time, Naruto spoke softly. "Thanks for all that back there." Sasuke looked rather arrogant at Naruto, placing his hand near his ear.
"Eh? You say something Usuratonkachi? I didn't quite get that!" Naruto fumed at Sasuke's mocking retort.
"You know what! I take it back!"
"Idiot, you can't take back what you said!"
"Oh, I thought you didn't hear me! Which one is it, Yarou?!" both were glaring at each other very closely, their noses mere centimeters away from each other. Finally, Sasuke could see those bright blue eyes up close, Naruto's golden lashes fluttering every time Naruto blinked. Being this close and taking in Naruto's face, it made Sasuke's chest flutter. Their stare lasted a bit too long, causing Naruto to feel awkward and back away. There was an evident rouge color on those normally tan cheeks.
"You'll be alright." Naruto stared at Sasuke with an expression of confusion, Sasuke only looked away with slight embarrassment. "Not-not that I care or anything, idiot" Sasuke cursed at himself as he stumbled with his words. Why was it that he could never speak right with Naruto around? He heard Naruto laugh as he lay on the grass. Sasuke only stared as the blond rested his hands behind his head as a makeshift pillow. Naruto maintained his eyes closed as his laughter dwindled. Sasuke looked straightforward once more, clenching his hands into tight fists. "Gaara doesn't seem like he's worth it."
Naruto grunted as he opened one eye. Naruto could see the slight rouge on Sasuke's cheek, it made Naruto open his other eye to fully see the young Uchiha. Sasuke turned once more to look at him, Sasuke's stare intrigued the blond. Sasuke's normal glare was now a soft gaze, with reddened cheeks and an easygoing smile, the mere sight made his pulse race. "Sasuke?"
"Maybe you should focus on someone else." Naruto didn't understand why or when it happened, nevertheless, he could see the pure honesty Sasuke was displaying at this moment, the wall he had up was now crumbling down in front of his own very eyes. As seconds passed, Sasuke's expression changed to one of uncertainty, his eyes shifted to the ground and a small sigh escaped his lips. "Forget I said anything. C'mon," Sasuke got up, dusting the back of his pants in the process. "I can take you back home if you want." Sasuke held his hand out to help Naruto up. Blue eyes stared at the hand and back at Sasuke's face. Naruto smiled, Sasuke did the same once Naruto took his hand and got up. "We are now even."
Naruto registered Sasuke's sentence, once he understood what Sasuke meant, the blond pouted. "What? Like hell!" Sasuke only smiled at the blonde's expression. He knew Naruto probably didn't feel the same as he did for him, but seeing that bright smile, seeing him in this manner, maybe it wasn't so bad to have feelings for this idiot.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
His heart rate continued to pulse at a high rate. He couldn't understand why Sasuke was making him feel differently at the moment. He should hate him, right? He didn't like him, right? He-he liked Gaara. Naruto covered his eyes with his arm, a loud groan escaping him. Why couldn't he have stayed at Konoha Gakuen with his friends, without all this mess.
"Hey, Nii-san, there's someone on the phone for you!" he heard a loud knock by his door, Konohamaru's muffled voice behind it. When Naruto didn't answer, Konohamaru knocked again. "Nii-san! I think it's the Uchiha Prince, you gotta pick up!" at hearing the name, Naruto abruptly got up and opened his door, his searching his cousin's face.
"Sasuke?!" Konohamaru only lifted the house phone to Naruto's face, the blond snatched it and closed the door in one quick motion. Before he could answer the phone Konohamaru retorted with a "You're welcome!" from behind the door. Naruto could practically feel the burning heat on his cheeks as he placed the phone on his ear. "Hello?" he heard a small release of air from the other side of the line.
"Tch, surprising it's a working number." Naruto frowned at the response.
"What does Teme want now?" Naruto heard Sasuke chuckle, it only caused the blond to growl. "I'm hanging up!"
"Dobe, don't get so prissy, there's a reason I called." Naruto grumbled under his breath, he could essentially hear the stupid smirk on that pretty boy's face.
"Well? Out with it, Uchiha."
"Ino is leaving for Greece on Wednesday, she asked for you to see her go too"
"See her go? But I thought…" Gaara's face appeared in his mind. Ino wouldn't leave Gaara behind, right? Not when he finally admitted his feelings for her. He heard a sigh from the other end.
"It seems not even Gaara can stop her from leaving. They got into a fight about it." Naruto sulked, Sasuke seemed to have sensed his reaction. "She was going to leave either way. She's stubborn like that to say the least." Naruto said nothing as he looked down at the floor. He could only imagine how Gaara felt, being left alone. Then again, Ino wasn't to blame, she wanted to make her own path and that meant leaving Japan, leaving the ones she loved to accomplish something she loved.
"When… when is she leaving?"
"Wednesday morning."
"I'll be there." There was a silence between the two before Naruto spoke once more. "And Sasuke?" the teen on the other line hummed. "Thanks for last night." There was more silence and then the line was cut off. As Naruto put the phone to the side and plopped down on his bed, he the images of Gaara, Ino and Sasuke played in his head. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something between him and Sasuke was changing. Something that made him feel strange.
A/N: Thank you for reading, I really hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry again if this chapter is weird, I didn't like writing it too much. I don't know, it kind of went in another direction, but we'll see. I shall try and update as soon as possible. Please be patient. Let SasuNaru live!