Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ My Kitsune ❯ Chapter Four: Surprise! ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

SilverKyuubi says: I'm back guys! Thanks for the reviews. They are appreciated. I enjoyed watching Naruto Shippuuden, though I don't know if I like the fact that it's kinda drawn out. *pouts* Go Sasuke! ^o^

Warnings: Yaoi, shounen-ai. If your looking for a quicky, you won't find it here.

Pairings: SasuNaru (main), KibaShika (thank you Coriel-leigh!), NejiGaa

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't have left poor Naru-chan. And then it would have been a crappy story if I was in control of it. So thank god I don't own Naru-chan, eh? But I still borrow him from Masashi-sama!!

Thanks to:

Passing Reader- Thanks a bunch! I'll update ASAP!

NightstarAngel- Wow! What a coincidence...Yeah, I kinda figured that ya'll were twins after the first couple of 'we' s. ^-^ Thank you both for reading and enjoying My Kitsune though. I'll remember you guys really well.

Mixed-Starz- Thanks! I'm glad you like it. But really, Naruto and Sasuke-chan are the stars! I'm just the director. ^-^

KawaiiKoneko89- Don't worry. I have no intention of quitting on this story anytime soon. This idea is firmly stuck in my head, and I don't think I'll stop until I get it out.

Coriel-Leigh- Okay...I'm going to suspect you wrote two reviews in a row. Thank you for the suggested couples! Even after that whole deal with me asking everyone who they want, you're the only one who suggested anyone! Cookies for you! *grins* I hope you don't mind if I put Kiba as seme though...Shika's too lazy to be seme.

Enjoy Chapter 4!

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~*My Kitsune*~

Chapter Four: Surprise!

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'Sasuke...'

Another shudder went up Sasuke's spine, but it wasn't from the cold breezes passing. Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, and sounds seemed to dim until nothing could be heard and his mind could only focus on the sounds that he was waiting for.

He knew what he was waiting to hear, and somehow, he had been waiting for that sound ever since he came to this small harbor. And then he heard it. It was faint, but it was as familiar as the village itself.

It was the thump, thump of small footsteps padding across the wooden plank towards him. It could barely be heard, but Sasuke knew it was there. It was softened and sweet, and all the time comforting. He waited for him to be by his side...

His obsidian black eyes suddenly met with deep ocean blue, and a gentle thought caresses his mind.

'You didn't come home.'

-*-

Sasuke smiled softly, an unusual light coming into his normally dark and empty eyes as he stared back into dazzling saphire diamonds that met him. Sasuke always took the time to admire Naruto's eyes...they seemed to just draw you in, make you think of warm summer skies, or maybe a under a deep ocean where all you see is a magnificant blue.

They held him where he was, and he was always reluctant to turn away from them. They had reassured him for so long in his already troubling youth, and he never took it for granted.

He swore not to take anything he held dear to him for granted ever again.

The fox that stood beside where he was sitting on the harbor. The sun's last rays reflected wonderfully off of the fox in a rapture of burning auburn fur and flaming orange.

The sun's light reflected off of the kitsune's eyes, and gave them an eerie and warm glow. Naruto was truly a treasure to Sasuke.

"Yeah, I know. I just needed some fresh air and time to think." Sasuke responded to the concerning thoughts that had caressed his mind earlier. Even after all of this time, it still send shivers down his spine, because the mind was still so sensitive without its normal barriers. But then...those boundaries had been put down about years ago.

You'd think the raven would be used to it by now. It was still foreign to him when he felt emotions that were not his own, and having strayed thoughts pass through his mind when he least expects it...and when he most expects it.

Through their minds, the connection between himself and the fox was more intimate, and that in itself is a hard accomplishment for the Uchiha.

Naruto cocked his head to the side in half-curiosity, half-understanding. His ears perked one minute, then lay relazd against his head the second. His lovely tail was swishing behind him.

'Anything you want to talk about?'

Sasuke contemplated this. The things that were running through Sasuke's mind were nothing new to Naruto, and they had talked about it plenty of times in the past as well. The talking was done for him, and yet it seemed as if he would never be able to talk enough about his intentions and bad memories.

But talking didn't change anything, though it always did take pressure and stress off his chest. But he didn't want to talk about it now. He wanted to be in a warmer territory. 'No, not right now. Come on, let's go home.'

With these last thoughts sent to the whiskered animal, he stood from his seat and proceeded to walk towards home, Naruto following at his heels without question, feet padding quietly on the ground as he went. He offered comfort when he could, and never questioned when it wasn't wanted. He never wanted to push Sasuke, so he always kept quiet.

Naruto thought about his master. The fox knew he would feel better after he took his bath and ate dinner in some comfy pajamas. Tomorrow were the final exams afterall. Naruto was excited for Sasuke.

He would be there to greet him after school at the Academy, like he always did, but this time he was considering showing up in human form. Maybe noone would recognize him, and he was sure the raven would be happy if he did. It would be his graduation!

Uchiha Sasuke would finally be a ninja like he always wanted, like was expected of him. Even if he didn't like the fact that being a ninja was expected of him. But the fox knew that Sasuke was happy about being one too.

Darkness had finally reached over the land of Konohagakure. Children were coming in from playing, mothers were serving dinner to their families, fathers were watching a night show with the kids, shops were closing down, and the people were settling into a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere after a hard day filled with work and military activity.

They had finally reached the Uchiha compound. They went inside the Uchiha main house and Sasuke slid off his sandals. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, relieved to finally be home.

Naruto had once asked him if he would prefer moving out into a new and roomy apartment, to start over and get away from the memories. But Sasuke had declined, knowing that the memories kept him going toward his goal.

As much as it saddened him, he liked being reminded of the good memories. It was the bad ones he had trouble getting rid of. But he had stubbornly stayed, against Naruto's suggestions.

The Uchiha moved a hand to his left shoulder, massaging the tense muscles there. Despite the fact that he may have been a little more open with the other students than he was before, he still didnt't like them all that much.

He just wanted to be left alone, and others didn't seem to understand that. So he had to glare and give off a 'don't-touch-me' aura to get them to back off. Who knew that a day of glaring could get one so tense?

Sasuke stretched some more before moving toward the bathroom, preparing to take a bath. He looked over his shoulder to see that Naruto had shifted back into his normal form, shocking and beautiful blonde hair with the most amazing eyes.

He wore his normal attire. He had a short sleeved fishnet underneath an undone white, Chinese-styled over shirt. It held the Uchiha crest on the back of it, and smaller ones on each shoulder. He wore normal black pants that ended at his shins. His fox ears were poking out where normal human ears should be, giving him a cute look. His tail was swishing behind him.

Naruto cocked his head to the side and smiled at him

"Watcha want for dinner?" Sasuke stared blankly at the question. Actually it didn't really matter what Naruto made, because his cooking was really good.

"Onigiri, I suppose." Sasuke replied blandly. Naruto's smile turned into a pout. Sasuke felt a smile begin to tug at his lips.

"But we've had that for the last 3 days!! Can I make ramen tonight, pleeeease?" Naruto's voice took a shrily turn. He started waving his hands around in a dramatic gesture to show his displeasure at the topic of more onigiri. Sasuke resisted the urge to plug his ears.

"That stuff is so bad for you. You can't eat it all the time." Naruto's eyes squinted until they looked closed, and his face took on the expression of his cute demi-form. A bigger pout formed on his lips and he crossed his arms in a childish gesture. Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But try to hold off on the salt on mine." The blonde's face seemed to light up immediately, and a wide grin split his face. He danced off to the kitchen.

Sasuke shook his head at his friend's antics. The fox's obsession with ramen would be the end of him, Sasuke was certain. And yet as he thought this a small smile graces his lips.

He turned and went upstairs toward the bathroom to prepare for a nice, luxurious relaxation in hot water. He let the bathtub and went to set out his night clothes. He heard Naruto singing some lame song in the kitchen below.

'That dobe...' Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. His friend really was an idiot. The raven smelled delicious waves of food coming from the room below, and decided that having him around wasn't all bad. Even if he wasn't much of a singer...

After a nice relaxing bath and an over-enthusiastic Naruto gobbling away his ramen, Sasuke went to bed. He was in a fresh and clean pair of pajamas, courtesy of the blonde fox, and he snuggled into his bed after turning off the lights.

As he lay there adjusting to the darkness of the room, he admitted that he was a bit nervous of the Academy exams. He was confident that he would pass, of course, it was just that he was excited, but in a good way. It took a minute to realize why.

He had someone to celebrate that moment with.

Under the covers, a smile graced his pale lips at the thought. He heard the door to his room open, and he turned his head slightly to see the darkened silhouette of his fox friend coming into his room silently. He heard the shuffling of clothes being removed and then soon after felt a very lgiht swish of air against his cheeks, signaling that Naruto was standing right before him.

Sasuke glanced up. Even though it was very dark, he could see Naruto's bright azure eyes blinking mirthfully back at him. He could hear the smile in his voice as he wished him good night. "Good night, Sasuke." Sasuke smiled back up at him even though Naruto probably couldn't see it.

"Good night, Naruto. You're coming after graduation at the Academy, right?" The raven watched as Naruto's darkened form got on the floor.

"Of course. I'll be the first thing you see coming out of the building, dattebayo!" Sasuke heard the reassurance in the fox's voice, and felt a warm comfort wash over him. He let his fingers roll over the small orb hanging from his neck before the peaceful black of night weighed on his eyes and he fell asleep.

When Naruto heard Sasuke's breathing even out, he decided it was time for him to get some shut eye too. He had a surprise for Sasuke the next morning that he was sure he would enjoy when he got home.

The ramen lover smiled at the thought. He glanced once at Sasuke before shifting again into his demi-form. His hands became paws tipped with black fur, and his ears were long and soft, his jaw became more slanted to fit that of a muzzle, and his swishy black-tipped auburn tail flapped behind him. His azure eyes shone more prominently in the darkness.

He crawled into the basket with small blankets in it that lay beside Sasuke's own bed. The fox circled around in it a few times before lying down in a comfortable position, his head buried beneath his tail. He snuggled against the blankets before letting out a yawn and small sigh of contentment.

With that, he fell asleep, his soul feeling at ease once again with his master and best friend.

-*-

The fox thought that maybe he would have a heart attack from how nervous he was.

He was running around, trying to get everything ready for Sasuke.

It just had to be perfect.

He had made Sasuke the best onigiri he could, and several other foods from the more Western culture. He had gotten up very early that morning, before dawn and had set out into the market with some money so that he could go shopping for the groceries and other things he would need.

He had needed to wear a henge over his form so that his extremely abnormal tail and ears wouldn't show. He wouldn't want the whole population of Konoha to suddenly find out about him living in their village. They would break out and have a panic attack, acuse him of being a monster and try to promptly dispose of him.

Bad memories had long since been buried. It had been difficult at first to get over his resentment towards the village for treating him poorly in his early life.

Like an abused dog, it learns how to feel hate and resentment toward the man-animals and the rest of the world, including its own kind. Sometimes that's the only way it knows how to protect itself. If it doesn't close up its emotions and heart, its afraid that something will come in to destroy what little pieces remain after such ill treatment.

But Sasuke and the foxes that he had formerly lived with had helped him get over his fear of the man-animals and all other forms of life that held no threat.

But he knew that the people of Konoha did not so easily forget about the monster that had invaded their home so many years ago. Lives were lost, families had been torn apart, and hearts had been shattered to pieces.

It might have been different had they endured him for many years, but seeing as this was not the case, the pain would only resurface more severely had the villagers had to face him everyday. They could have learned to ignore him, to tolerate him.

But he had been gone for many years, and not yet forgotten or ignored if revealed. And so, as rare as it was to find him out in this state, he wore a henge to cover his peculiar half-animal parts that lingered on his body.

It would have been the first time in a long time that Naruto didn't greet Sasuke in the morning before he left on his way to the Academy, but Naruto had to go shopping.

The steak he was making would take several hours to cook smoke properly, and he needed to get the shopping done early in order to get it in the oven when Sasuke left.

But he had remembered to leave a nice, hot breakfast on the table. Two eggs, a piece of buttered toast, some pancakes, and a glass of orange juice. And then he went shopping.

He had hurriedly put on a black shirt without the Uchiha crest sewed on the back. Wouldn't due well for people to question Sasuke as to why there was a blonde running around with the Uchiha crest marked on his back like some form of property.

Although, in a way, he really was.

His henge was simple, giving him normal human ears and a tail-less back side. His hands were always a little clawed, due to the natural defences he had been born with, and his canines were a little sharper than normal humans', and so the henge covered this animal evidence as well. He still retained his light whiskered cheeks though. Sasuke said they fit well with him.

After the sun had just risen and before the last Uchiha had awaken in his bed, the blonde fox set out to eat a small breakfast before purchasing the items necessary for a nice, luxurious meal and some congratulation decorations.

He had first purchased the steak, and then went back to the Uchiha compund immediately to fine tune it and then put it in the oven and smoker to cook over well so that it would be finished and tender by the time Sasuke got home.

After dressing up the steak, Naruto went to buy the rest of the groceries of food and then some balloons and other things like that. He often did this for Sasuke's birthday, but today was also a special occasion. And then he made the house extra clean, and set everything up so that Sasuke would be happy when he got home.

'Speaking of which...' Naruto glanced at the clock hanging in the living room for him to see. It was almost 4:00...almost time for him to go and meet said raven at the Academy. Naruto's heart was beating rapidly in his chest from the excitement of it all.

He was so proud of Sasuke, and excited that he was becoming a ninja finally. Naruto almost slapped himself. He sounded like a mother fawning over her son. But he couldn't help it.

The ramen lover went a little hay-wire, looking around the house and making sure that everything was perfect for when the Uchiha got back home. He raced around the rooms, fixing insignificant little things, trying to make everything seem alright.

He was so nervous, he felt that if things weren't just right that Sasuke might not like his surprise.

Naruto looked over at the clock again and affirmed that it was indeed time to leave and go meet Sasuke at the Academy. They should be letting out soon, passing those students who have completely graduated from the courses of ninja studies and can now be classified as genin ninja.

The blonde rushed over to the entrance door, looking back to take in his work of the house, checking to see if there was anything he might have forgotten. Seeing nothing, he smiled and sighed, to possibly calm his nerves, and grabbed his black sandals that were sitting by the entry way, and closed the door.

Time to go meet Sasuke.

-*-

The raven had just finished his examination for the entries into genin ninja status. He kept a calm and assured expression on his face.

The requirements for the graduation exam were almost way too easy. He could perform those simple moves in his sleep.

Sasuke looked around the room again, checking for a clock. He spotted one, and saw that the session was almost over.

'Thank Kami...' Sasuke thought with a grim expression on his face. He was so bored now...he thought he might take Shikamaru's example and fall asleep after this stupid and boring speech.

He was seated among all of his classmates, listening to a few of the teachers that authorized over the Academy. The same, boring speech that he had listened to when he had started at the Academy before. The speech that tried to reassure all of the other students who had attended the Academy to take care of their knowledge of the ninja ways, help protect eachother and their country and village, yadda yadda yadda...

Sasuke's dark eyes were beginning to droop slightly. It was only out of reputation that he had managed to stay awake this long. Nobody would want to see their precious Uchiha slacking off, now would they?

He glanced again at the clock before looking at the thing lying in his lap. The ninja headband filled him with a spark of pride, and a little more determination. He was getting on up there...toward his goal. Toward everything that had ever been expected of him.

Being a ninja, restoring his clan, these things were expected of him. But he had wanted these things too. He wanted the empty houses to be filled with laughter and joy again. To have soft and kind smiles be flashed toward you as you passed by down the street, or went to pick up a special cookie from your aunt.

Sasuke shook these thoughts from his head. That would happen again eventually, some time from now. He had to be patient, and maybe his wish would come true.

'And also there's always him who'll help me along the way.' Sasuke thought with a slight, but warm smile on his face; something very rare to find. He was in a daydreaming state, and he hardly realized his lips turned upward at all.

" ..... and make sure that you always think responsibly. Listen to your intstructors and superiors in the future. You are all young, new shinobi now. There are a lot of responsibilities that will be put on your shoulders, and take care to follow through with them. I wish you all the best of luck!"

The huge applauding that followed the speech startled Sasuke from his bored trance. He glanced up before cringing at the sudden noises that came crashing into his ears all at one time.

The raven had always hated loud noises, though he should probably be used to it, considering the person he lives with. He saw things flying through the air, a sign of how the other students were excited at their graduation. The all clung happily to their new hitai-ates, and flashed them around, showing them off.

He got up out of his seat, automatically putting on his brooding type of mask. No ridiculous show of jumping around in glee, or yelling rapidly. Though, he couldn't say the same thing was happening on the inside.

His heart was swelling with pride in himself. He had finally become a ninja. Someone of great promise for the future.

His heart clenched in his chest more at the knowledge that there was someone to share his excitement with.

Determination coming into his mind, he set out the door of the Academy. He could hear a lot of noise from out there, and knew that the parents and family members had come to congradulate his classmates on becoming a shinobi. A proud shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village.

His mood delfated a little when he exited the door to outside, where he could clearly see the shining faces of proud parents, heads being ruffled, smiles being exchanged, laughter of excitement filling the area...

He made to move past them all, but something prevented him from moving far.

In a blur of yellow and black, a huge something crashed into him, making him fall backwards and on his ass, the shock and understanding not completely settling into his mind enough to make him embarrassed.

Pure, azure colored eyes were staring- glowing, towards him as Naruto was happily chattering ontop of him.

The people around them turned their attention to the Uchiha prodigy who was lying flat on his back, with a person that they weren't familiar with spiky blonde hair and tan skin talking away ontop of him.

"Oh! Congradulations, Sasuke!! I'm so happy that your finally got your headband! It's so cool. Can I see it? Wow! You know after all that whining and griping you did because you said that the Academy teachers were so boring and you knew all that they were teaching you? And now you got a pretty headband and your not gonna thank them? Now we get to go out in the world and kick ninja butt! Dattebayo!" The blonde raised his hands high up in the air to show his excitement.

When the realization of this situation finally dawned on the appalled Uchiha, he shoved the loud blonde off of him.

'Naruto.' He thought sharply, his anger and embarrassment making the tone he set in his mind louder than he would have liked.

The ramen lover stared back at him with wide blue eyes and a curious face for one second, before his face stretched in sheepish grin, his hand behind his head in nervousness at his sudden actions.

The raven's eye twitched in annoyance as he watched the blonde before him. Sasuke was using the Uchiha glare on him, which has unfortunately lost effect on the fox over the years. Naruto sat cross-legged while the Uchiha stood over him, glowering.

The people had been shocked at first, to see a strange boy jump the Uchiha prodigy. But after a couple of seconds, they brushed it off as child's play, and returned their attention to their families.

The Uchiha fangirls, however, didn't look as pleased at the whole pounce-on-the-young-Greek-god thing, and seemed a bit more unwilling to just brush it off.

After a couple of seconds at glaring at the blonde, and said blonde smiling back, Sasuke realized the attention was no longer on them at the moment, and he straightened his tense back, offering a hand to Naruto.

Naruto took it willingly, if a bit cautiously, as he was assisted in being lifted off the ground before following the raven through the crowd and towards home. He stayed quiet for a little while, and waited until they were out of hearing range of others before talking to Sasuke again.

"Sasuke! I really am happy that you graduated! That's still a really cool hitai-ate headband." Naruto again glomped the unsuspecting preteenfrom behind and Sasuke once again struggled with the blonde's weight ontop of him, though thankfully he hadn't fallen this time.

"Naruto! Cut it out!" Sasuke hissed toward the fox, releasing the death grip the fox seemed to have had on his throat.

He beathed heavily a few time, tryingt to regain some air in his lungs before turning back to the blonde in annoyance and slight confusion.

"Why were you there anyway? You know you're not supposed to go out in that form unless you feel its necessary." Sasuke looked expectantly at the whiskered-cheek boy, crossing his arms for effect.

Naruto only smiled. "But Sasuke, this was a necessary time to come out! It's your graduation!" The blonde pumped his hands in the air once again in excitement.

Sasuke couldn't help but soften his expression. Nor could he stop the special feeling he got that was clenching at his chest again.

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke made a show of scowling. He turned around and walked back towards his home in hopes that Naruto didn't witness the pleasantly startled emotion showing on his face.

That idiot would never let him live it down if he saw it...

'That moron...' He thought with affection glowing in his heart.

Naruto was actually supposed to stay inside unless he was in his fox form. He would follow Sasuke around everywhere in said form, and only very rarely would he come into the village in the form of a normal human, thanks to the henge.

It was something that they had agreed on. Naruto would stay inside the confines of their home, and do their best to keep Naruto's true identity a secret. They would be extremely hateful towards him if they realized who he really was...

So when Naruto decided to go out in the village in his henge form, the villagers never recognized him. They always looked at him in a curious manner, as they don't see him often and wonder who he is. Which is the way Sasuke wanted things to stay. He didn't want the fox to suffer what he did when he was a younger child.

It's difficult to keep secrets in a village full of ninja. It's even harder to explain someone who is unfamiliar in the village. But they managed. Since they lived in the Uchiha compound, no one ever bothered them there. It helped keep their secret safe.

To Konohagakure, Village Hidden in the Leaves, Naruto was an adorable fox with amazing azure blue eyes and black tipped feet, ears, and tail. He had been with his master, Sasuke Uchiha, ever since the prodigy was 8 years old. He always followed his master around, only leaving his side during Sasuke's time at the Academy. Even then he kept close. He was often found on the raven's shoulders, or trotting by his side.

To Sasuke, Naruto was his half-fox, half-human hybrid that stayed by his side since the death of his family. He was the kind blonde who had given him a piece of his soul in gratitude of the Uchiha's brief kindness.

He was the one who made Sasuke annoyed, made him happy, made him sad, made him want to cry, or laugh, made him want to be held, made him want to run, made him want to stay, made him want to hate, made him want to love...

There was no question that Naruto was Sasuke's world, and Sasuke had decided long ago to protect Naruto with everything he had.

Sasuke reached his hand up to touch the small orb that was hanging from his neck. It glowed slightly in a soft blue color. He smiled.

-*-

Naruto pouted as he trailed behind Sasuke. He was so sure that he would enjoy seeing him at the Academy today...and he called him 'dobe' again, dammit!

He crossed his arms in thought. He decided not to talk to his master until they reached the Uchiha compound...which was slowly starting to come into view.

When he went out in his more humanly looking form, Sasuke never called him by his real name. If smart people were to put two and two together, they would notice something strange. So Naruto pretended that they were strangers on the few times he went out in this form.

'Tch. Whatever.' Naruto pouted some more. But his frown soon turned into a full blown out smile. He was still confident that Sasuke would enjoy his gift.

They just entered the Uchiha estate, and he glanced over at Sasuke with a wicked grin on his face. Sasuke was still so unsuspecting...surely he would be surprised.

Sasuke walked in first. He went into the entry way, and slipped off his sandals. When he walked into the next room with a grinning Naruto behind him, the fox sensed Sasuke sudden stillnes as he looked at the living room.

The room was covered in balloons and ribbons, messily stretching in all directions, all of black and blue: Sasuke's favorite colors. There was a big banner that hung from the ceiling saying Congradulations Sasuke! It had some cheesy drawings on it. There was confetti everywhere.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's back, hoping for a reaction. When he saw his master just stand there numbly, he hopped on Sasuke's back, startling the raven and making him jerk forward with the sudden extra weight on his back. Naruto started chuckling.

"Do you like it?" The blonde said in a happy, but oddly quiet tone, as if he didn't want to scare the prodigy. He took in the Uchiha's expression of wide eyes and a mouth very slightly agape. As that was the most surprise the Uchiha would ever show in a million years, he took it as a good sign.

"Naruto...you-- you did all this...?" Sasuke's voice was very faint, and only with Naruto's extremely sharp hearing could he pick it up.

He smiled and laughed quietly. His grin spread over his whiskered face. "Yup!" He said with a light and happy chirp. He slid off Sasuke's back and turned to face him from the front. "Happy Graduation! You're an official shinobi now!" He strapped a party cone on his head and started dancing around.

Sasuke seemed to have snapped out of his reverie, and looked at the ridiculous blonde making an idiot of himself in front of him. The fox only grinned.

"....dobe...." Sasuke whispered with a small and hidden smile. His eyes were shining slightly.

Later that night, Sasuke was even more surprised to find such a delicious meal on the table. He had marveled at how tender the steak was, and how wonderful it tasted in his mouth. Naruto hardly touched his food, and kept staring at Sasuke with a gleeful smile on his face as he watched him eat. It made him self-conscious at first, but he understood Naruto's joy.

He would never admit it aloud, but he had been honestly surprised at Naruto's idea.

He knew the blonde was planning something. He didn't know what it was, because his mind was so random, but he knew he was doing something for his graduation anyway. Still...he wasn't expecting this.

He had to first take in the whole scene, and when it registered later at how much work the fox had put into this made him feel truly touched. And happy.

He smiled under the sheets of his bed.

He glanced down on the floor and saw the even breathing of the fox that lay in his basket. The fox would never know how much he appreciated the gesture that had been shown to him.

Sasuke thought about his graduation. They were to be sent to the Academy two weeks from now for the next step orientation. They were to be given intructors to help teach the young shinobi how to fine tune everything, and to teach them. He felt excited. It was his time to shine. Both of their times to shine, he thought with a glance toward Naruto.

'Thank you, Naruto' He thought towards the blonde. He yawned, and re-snuggled under the warm blankets, letting the good mood of today give him a relaxed feeling. He could hear a faint sound of amusement ringing through his mind.

'You're welcome, Sasuke.' Sasuke grinned.

He should have known that idiot wouldn't sleep before he got a thanks.

_________________________________________________________________ ______

A/N: And here is the long awaited Chapter 4! I spent a little more time on this than normal, so I hope you guys like this. Chapter 345 of Naruto comes out tomorrow! (supposedly...grr..) The conclusion of Sasuke and Orochimaru's battle. Go Sasuke!

Later.