"...You've never seen a coloring book before?" Sasuke was incredulous. Even he had a coloring book as a child. Of course, if his brother hadn't killed the entire Uchiha clan, he'd probably be a pretty average kid by normal standards. Not by Uchiha standards. But normal standards, yes. But now he's digressing. "What drawer did you find that in?"
To Naruto, it had appeared as though Sasuke had formulated a plan, so he didn't mess with his head. "No drawer, I found it waaay back on this shelf here." In his demonstration, Naruto had manage to pull out a few more coloring books and a one-gallon bucket of crayons.
"Perfect. Come on." Sasuke took Naruto by the hand and dragged him into his bedroom. He selected a book, flopped onto the floor, and looked at the boy. "Step one, find a blank page." Towards the back of his selected book, there were a few. He had been a relatively happy child. "Step two, take crayon to paper." Sasuke proceeded to follow his own instructions and color.
"...I'm gonna turn on the radio first." Naruto pressed the button on the device. Then, he turned it to a more upbeat station. Then, he turned it to a station that didn't make him want to kill himself then and there. Next, a tolerable station. Finally, he found one he liked, a station playing Chicks Dig Guys That Are Queer, and plopped down in front of Sasuke so that they were facing each other.
"So, why did you come over?" Sasuke tried again.
"What, I can't visit my best friend from time to time?"
"I'm your best friend?" This was news to Sasuke.
At that moment, Bloodhound Gang's song ended. Naruto recognized the next song, and wished to God that they'd cut it off with news that the Hokage had a heart attack and died. "Umm, yeah."
Hoo Ha!
Nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah
"Wow. I hate you, and I'm your best friend. That's cool." Sasuke was impressed with himself.
"Well, you're making me color in a coloring book. I don't think you think I'm that bad."
Nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah
Have you ever been in love? Hwah!
"What song is this?"? Sasuke asked, finally noticing that Naruto's head was dipped excruciatingly low.
"Umm... I dunno. Some Aqua song, I think." Here it comes...
He's my best friend best of all best friends, do you have a best friend too?
He tickles in my tummy, hes so yummy yummy
hey, you should get a best friend too.
Sasuke was silent, letting this song, Naruto's bent head, and their conversation sink in. Why did Naruto have to pick THIS station?!?!?!?
Hoo ha! Hoo Ha!
Hello baby can I see you smile?
I'm going to a party and its gonna be wild. (okay!)
Can I come, I am sitting alone
No, Friends are never alone (thats right!)
Maybe some pretty girls are in your world,
excuse me I could also be your girl
Lately, everyone is making fun
Nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah!
He's my best friend best of all best friends, do you have a best friend too?
He tickles in my tummy, hes so yummy yummy
hey, you should get a best friend too. (a best friend)
Sasuke was comepletly silent until this point. "So... Naruto. I'm your 'Best Friend', huh?"
"Ummm... yeah."
Sasuke continued. "Your best of all best friends?"
"Ummm... kind of...?"
Sasuke's anger whelmed his voice more. "You think I 'tickle in your tummy'? Because I'm so 'yummy yummy'?"
"Uhhh..." Naruto bent his head even more. He was going to DIE!!!!!
"Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"You're sick."
"Okay, Sasuke."
"Really, really sick."
"Okay, Sasuke."
"You could've at least told me you were gay."
"Are you kidding?" Naruto screamed, finally looking up, his face bright red.
Outside, Ino stopped, wondering why Naruto's voice was coming through Sasuke's open window.
"Telling you that would be the same as Hinata revealing her feeling to me!!!"
Hinata and Sakura also stopped, wondering what was going on and, more importantly, how long Naruto had known about Hinata.
"You knew about that?" Sasuke questioned, surprized.
"Of course I did! It's only the most obvious thing in the world!"
Town women came to comfort the poor, crying, chibified girl.
"Then why would you let her go on thinking you were straight?" Town women gasped.
"..."
"Well?"
"I figured once she had enough courage to tell me, she'd have enough strength to understand." Naruto explained, blushing again.
"See, hun? It's okay. He didn't want to hurt your feelings! He values your friendship!" Kakashi explained, rubbing Hinata's back.
"D-d-d-don't go m-m-m-m-m-m-molesting N-Naruto n-n-n-now that he's g-g-gay, Kakashi-san." Hinata stuttered, the really bad joke making her feel a bit better.
"Wow. You're a nice person. I'm straight though."
Naruto threw a crayon at the black-haired boy. "Duh! As if that isn't the most obvious thing in the world!" Naruto was begining to get a new favorite phrase. "Your goal in life is to avenge and revive your clan! Guys don't get pregnant! You can't afford to be gay!"
Many town women rejoiced.
"Why do you like me, anyway?" Sasuke closed his window, hearing the cheers. When had that opened?
"You... You're... ahm."
"Stop acting like a teenage schoolgirl and spit it out."
"You're... the only person who'd ever really... acknoledge my existance." Naruto explained. "Do you know how much it hurts, to have the people who are supposed to take care of you ignore your existance for months at a time? To have never known your parents? To have an entire village who want to kill you dead? To be loathed by people you never did any wrong to, people you had always been nice to? To try your best and be called a failure for that same best? To watch as others are rewarded for what you are punished for? To be treated as though you don't exist? To see that look on every face that looks at you?"
Sasuke couldn't answer.
"It sucks. That's how it feels." Naruto finished that part frustratedly. "You insult me, but... it feels more like constructive critism. You tell me what about me sucks, everyone else just says it's me. I can improve if someone tells me what's going wrong. You're the only person that ever really does that. I've always thought that was really nice of you." Naruto sighed. "That's what I love about you. You're a really sweet person. Look at this!" He gestured to the books and crayons on the floor.
Sasuke nodded. "You know what? I was going to stop doing whatever you said when I asked that question. But I think I'll keep on 'constructively critising' you. Just because." Smirking lightly, Sasuke returned to his coloring book. "...Sorry."
"What?" Naruto questioned, feeling esspecially wonderful after the vent.
"I at least knew my parents. That must suck for you."
"Yeah..."
"You never let on about that though. No one would ever know." Sasuke pointed out.
"The way it should be." Naruto stated. "I don't want people's sympathy, I want their respect."
"It's cool how you can still act so optimistic with the way everyone in the village thinks about you. Really cool." Sasuke offered, not wanting his friend to take him the wrong way.
"Of course you'd think that. You've had to deal with this too. Kind of. Not as bad though." Naruto let the silence elapse for a moment, Paula Cole's Sunny Came Home playing in the background. "Have you ever read a book called A Stir of Bones? By Nina Kiriki Hoffman?"
"Huh?" Sasuke hadn't know Naruto read.
"It's this really good book I read at the library once."
"We have a library?"
"Yeah. It's about this girl, her father beats her mother when she, the girl, misbehaves. And she can talk to houses. And the dead. And she's got this really super thick mask/armor thing. She can say something and totally feel the other way. She is her father's perfect little girl. Then her friends do this wicca serimony to give power to heal her mother when she gets depressed and trys to kill herself next to the bones of the dead guy. I love it." Naruto explained. "It's given me this whole theory about masks. My mask is a completely deiiferent person. Comeplete opposite of how I feel. There's lots of different types. Gimme a person, I'll tell you what kind of person they really are." Naruto sighed. "I hate acting happy some days."
Sasuke nodded. This was a lot to take in.
Naruto and Sasuke walked up, later than Kakashi, who was only four hours late this time. They'd somehow met up on the way to the grounds and decided to have an argument over whether or not ramen counted as breakfast food. To solve it, they went to Ichiraku. Naruto won, so Sasuke paid for it. Then they had to stop at the library to get that book. It took half an hour. So, it was understandable that they were late.
"Sooo... Naruto's gay." Sakura's statement knocked the boy of his friend's shoulder.
"And I'm not." Sasuke confirmed. "And that's okay."
"You sound like the host of a children's show." Naruto told him.
"That was the point."
"Okay."
"This is too wierd." Sakura stated before promptly fainting.