When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 2 -

As Naruto Uzumaki stepped out of Konoha High to greet the late summer afternoon, his mind remained focused on his earlier encounter with a certain Uchiha. He hadn't really thought about it at the time, but it now occurred to the blond that he had never even asked to make sure if Sasuke was all right. Even though he and Sasuke did not exactly get along all that well, it was unacceptable to do someone harm and try to brush it off with a joke. He would have to apologize to the Uchiha, that much was clear, but of course this left Naruto with another problem: what in the world could he say to make things right?

"Something bothering you, Naruto?"

Naruto snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his name and looked over his shoulder to find a brown-haired boy with a big, toothy grin walking beside him. "Oh, hey, Kiba. How long have you been there?"

"Since we left school. You seemed a little distracted, so I decided not to bother you," Kiba said, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder to force him to a stop. "Now, do you want to tell me what the hell's going on?"

Naruto stared up at the boy for a minute, amazed by how observant he could be in spite of his carefree attitude. When he thought about it, they were a lot alike: both were sub-par students sent to the most prestigious high school in the region by their over-enthusiastic parents, they both had a similar happy-go-lucky view on life, and both were quite terrible at masking their emotions. Knowing this, Naruto did not even try to beat around the bush, but instead looked straight ahead and started walking once more with a sigh.

"All right... I was just thinking about that... thing with Sasuke earlier."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that! Hit him right in the nose!" Kiba exclaimed, giving a quick punch at the air. "'Bout time someone brought the bastard down a peg..."

Oh, God... what kind of rumors are going around now... "No, no, no! It was an accident. I wasn't paying attention and I ran right into him. I never really apologized to him, though, so I just thought –"

"Okay, okay, I get it already," Kiba said, patting his friend on the back. "You feel guilty. I was just giving you a hard time. So, I take it you're gonna go over and talk to him?"

"Well, I don't know... I mean, what would I say? He probably will just slam the door in my face."

"So what? I'd be surprised if he didn't," Kiba replied with a flash of his fanged smile. "At least you would've tried, right? Who cares what that bastard thinks?"

Naruto considered this for a second, realizing that, in spite of how crazy it sounded, Kiba had a point. It was better to at least apologize and get rejected than not to try at all. Glancing to the side, the blond returned his friend's grin, saying. "You know what, you're right? I'm gonna apologize to Sasuke whether he likes it or not."

With that, Naruto took off running with renewed determination. Even if Sasuke decided to refuse the blond's attempts, at least he could sleep that night with a cleared conscience. Before he got too far, however, Naruto came to an abrupt halt and turned to face Kiba sheepishly.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Sasuke lives, would you?"

Kiba laughed and shook his head briefly before replying. "He lives over on the other side of town. It's the big house, you can't miss it."

Big house... "Okay, got it!" Naruto replied cheerily as he started running once more, leaving a dumbfounded Inuzuka standing alone with his thoughts.

"You amaze me, Naruto... you really do..."

xxxxxx

"Have a fun day at school, Sasuke?"

"Go to hell."