When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 38 -

Naruto and Sasuke were riding on a tandem bicycle. That was enough to tell Naruto that he was dreaming, but he didn't particularly care. Sasuke was in front, and he was riding behind him, wrapping his arms around the teen's waist as they rode along. It was a bright, sunny day, and they were heading down a hill in the middle of the countryside, flowers in bloom along the path, with cute, Disney-esque birds fluttering around them. The wind blew through Naruto's hair as they sped along, and he hugged Sasuke tighter all the while, when suddenly they struck a rock. In an instant, they went tumbling over the handlebars, rolling down the hill until Naruto struck something hard.

That's when Naruto woke up. He was clutching his pillow to himself, lying on the floor with the sheets tangled around his naked body. The pillow was covered in his drool, but that wasn't what bothered Naruto as he sat up. No, the problem was that something was missing, something very important.

"Sasuke?" he asked, looking around in confusion. "Hmm... maybe he went to the bathroom?"

Standing up, Naruto headed over to his dresser, where he pulled out some clothes. Green shirt, blue shorts, and some red boxers. Good enough. Now that he was decent, he headed across the hall to the bathroom, where he could hear the shower running. He rapped on the door.

"Sasuke? You in there?"

"No! It's Kiba!"

"Kiba! Have you seen Sasuke anywhere?" the blond called back before pressing his ear up against the door.

"Can you give me five minutes to finish showering? Geez!" Kiba snapped before bursting into song. The mangled tune of 'I Will Survive' was enough to get Naruto to leave the Inuzuka alone.

Heading into the living room, Naruto scanned the area, hoping Sasuke had woken up early and decided to watch some television. Instead, he found only Akamaru, who came walking up to the blond with a whine.

"Now what's the matter with you, boy? Do you want breakfast?" Naruto asked, patting the puppy on the head. "Did that Kiba forget to fill your bowl?"

Shaking its head, Akamaru trotted over to the door, where he began to paw at the door. His whine grew louder.

"Oh, I see. You want to go for a walk, huh? Well, just let me put some shoes on and I'll be right there, okay?"

Barking in irritation, Akamaru shook its head again and darted past Naruto, disappearing down the hall. Watching the dog in bewilderment, the blond waited a moment until it reappeared, a piece of cloth clenched in its teeth. It dropped it on the floor and whined once more. Tentatively, Naruto bent down and retrieved the cloth, unfolding it in front of him. To his surprise, it was quite clearly a pair of underwear – Sasuke's boxerbriefs.

"Huh... well that's strange. I wonder if he decided to go commando today," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Well, thanks, Akamaru. I'll remember to give these to him when he comes back, all right?"

Suddenly, Akamaru nipped at Naruto's ankle, causing the blond to hop in shock. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" the blond asked, rubbing the bite-mark vigorously.

Again, Akamaru hurried to the door and began to bark, looking back and forth between the cloth and the door with a sense of urgency. Not quite following, Naruto did the same, studying the underwear in his hand and the door in an attempt to follow the puppy's logic. Finally, something clicked. "Wait... you mean Sasuke left?"

His eyes brightening with glee, Akamaru barked in confirmation.

"Hmm... that's strange. You'd think he would've told me if he was going to take off like that," Naruto said, placing a hand to his chin. "Well, I guess I'll just have to track him down, then."