Under the Mistletoe

Chapter 1: Winter Cold

The sun shone brightly in the late morning sky, making the entire village shine, as the rays bounced off the dazzlingly white snowflakes. Few people were out and about on this cold, late November day, and those who were looked like Eskimos, all bundled up with coats, gloves, hats, furs, and heavy boots. Nobody seemed to welcome winter with open arms this year, let alone willingly go out in the frigid weather; except, that is, for Naruto Uzumaki.


The blonde teen trudged through the snow, having finished his early-morning training, and was heading back home for some nice, hot ramen. The wind bit at what little skin he had exposed. Since the first snow, he had been wearing a scarf around his face, looking very similar to the mask his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, always wore. It kept the budding ninja warm, and that’s all he cared about, just like with the heavy coat he had gotten from his good friend, and mentor, Iruka. It was longer than his old coat, but still donned his signature color, orange.


He squinted as another cold wind blew by, doubling his pace as his stomach growled. ‘Almost home,’ he thought. ‘Hang in there stomach! I’ve got some delicious ramen waiting for us at home. Man, just thinking about it is making me drool!’


Another growl answered him.


Naruto rounded a corner and smiled as the stairs, which led to his small apartment, came into view. His eyes then caught sight of someone leaning against the wall close to the flight of steps. It was the stance more than the face, which told Naruto who it was.


“Sasuke,” he asked, a little surprised to see his comrade, “is that you?”


The raven-haired teen looked up, dark eyes seeming to pierce right through the other. ‘Man, I hate it when he looks at me like that! It feels like he’s reading everything about me.’


The blonde walked up to his teammate. They had each grown since their Genin days, and Naruto had finally caught up to the Uchiha clan member in height, Sakura just a little shorter than them. The goof-ball’s voice had dropped an octave or two over the years, and he had been so happy when his tone had finally decided to stay at one pitch; the cracking from one octave to another at almost every word was really starting to annoy him, not to mention the laughter from everyone around him.


“What, uh, brings you out here?” Naruto asked his colleague, not understanding why the Uchiha would stand outside in the freezing weather, obviously waiting for him.


Sasuke looked down, his cheeks turning a light pink. ‘Must be from the cold.’


“I….” He turned his eyes to the blonde again. “I just… wanted to ask you something, Naruto,” he whispered.


“Well, what did you want to know?” He crossed his arms as another blistering wind whipped passed.


“Um, well…. I was just wondering… after you achieve your dream, you know becoming Hokage and everything…. What will you do?”


“Hmm? What do you mean?” Naruto gave his friend a confused look.


The other’s cheeks grew pinker. “After you’re Hokage, if it happens anyway, what will you do? What are your plans for the rest of your life?”


“Hmm….” Naruto turned his gaze away, thinking. “I guess I’ve never thought about it.” He looked back at Sasuke. “Becoming Hokage is such a big deal that I never even considered to look beyond that. I’ll probably be too busy protecting the village to really have any kind of life.”


Uchiha looked away. “Not even… a family?”


The blonde scowled. “Well, if Sakura would come around, but she’s still under the impression that you’ll fall for her someday.”


Sasuke’s cheeks still looked very pink, and his eyes stared intently at the ground, seeming to consider his friend’s words.


“Say, Sasuke, what’s with the questions all of a sudden?” Naruto asked. “Why are you suddenly interested in my future?”


“I was just curious,” the raven-haired teen answered, digging his hands deeper into his pockets. “Our futures will be here quicker than we realize.”


“Hmm….” The blonde looked closely at his friend, considering him. ‘Maybe his brain is frozen, or something, and that’s way he’s acting all weird.’ “How long have you been standing out here, Sasuke?”


“A while.”


“Well, why don’t you come to my place? It’s just up the stairs and I’ll let you warm up before you head home.”


Uchiha looked at him in surprise. “N-no, I’m okay, Naruto, you don’t—”


Naruto grabbed one of his arms and began dragging his friend up the stairs. “You’ve been outside for too long, Sasuke. I’ll even make you some ramen to help warm you up. Master Iruka even got me some hot chocolate, really nice stuff, too. I’ll make you a mug.”


“Naruto—”


“Nope, not gonna hear it! You’re coming and that’s that!”


In no time, the embodiment of the nine-tail fox had Sasuke sitting at his small kitchen table inside his tiny, but warm, apartment. As he prepared the meals for the two of them, Naruto noticed the raven-hair looking around at the abode. Posters still plastered the walls from his younger years, things like “TRAIN HARD!!” and “DO YOUR BEST!!” were scattered everywhere, many of them listing a training regimen of various exercises and meditations to help make you stronger.


He turned and set a cup of ramen in front of his friend. “I just can’t seem to take them down,” the blonde explained. “Those posters gave me lots of motivation while I was growing up, and they’re still inspirational today.”


Sasuke smirked. “Even the one that says, ‘Kick Sasuke’s Butt’?”


Naruto blushed. “Oh yeah! I… haven’t gotten around to taking that one down, yet!” Although he still kept it up as a constant reminder to keep up with his friend and rival. He sat across from the Uchiha member and began to eat up his favorite ramen, only stopping briefly to sip the delicious hot chocolate Iruka had given him.


When he finished, only about ten or twenty minutes later, Naruto looked up to see Sasuke staring at the cup in his hand, which wasn’t even half-empty yet, chopsticks dipped into the still steaming noodles as if half-way into another bite.


“What’s wrong, Sasuke?” he asked, looking straight at his friend when he raised his eyes. “Don’t you like that kind of ramen? Is it still too hot?”


“N-no, it’s not the ramen, it’s… it’s nothing.” He took another bite; eyes intently focused on the cup, as if staring might help him eat faster.


It was then Naruto noticed the pinkness was still on his friend’s cheeks. “Are you feeling okay, Sasuke?”


“Yes, I’m fine,” the other answered through a mouthful of food.


The blonde stood, not convinced. He strode over to his friend and took off Sasuke’s headband, who froze as a hand was placed on his forehead.


“Are you sure?” Naruto asked again. “You do feel a little warm. Maybe you were outside in the cold for too long.”


The raven-haired teen placed his cup down and squirmed away from the blonde, standing a few feet away from him. “I told you I’m fine, Naruto!”


“Well, you don’t seem fine to me! I think you’ve got a cold, Sasuke, and I don’t want you getting sick on us!”


“I’m not sick!” Sasuke insisted.


“Then what’s the matter!” Naruto demanded. “I’ve never seen you eat so slow before, and you’ve been daydreaming a lot lately, so there’s got to be a problem.”


The raven-haired teen’s cheeks blazed pink. “There’s nothing wrong,” he whispered, glaring at the other teen, “and even if there was, it would be none of your business.”


The two glared at each other, a clock by Naruto’s bed ticked away the seconds, the only real sound in the room. The blonde would never admit it out loud, but Sasuke’s remark had hurt him. ‘None of my business,’ he thought. ‘Aren’t we on the some team? Don’t you trust me, Sasuke? After all this time, after all we’ve been through; you still don’t trust me? If you’ve got a problem, you should tell me! I need to know, so I can watch your back, that’s what a team does, right? Look after one another?’


“I’m leaving,” Sasuke said, suddenly, reaching for his coat hanging on the chair. “Thanks for the ramen.” He quickly headed out the door, back into the wintry weather.


The blonde didn’t stop him. He couldn’t figure out what to say to him, how to tell him he was simply concerned, and not trying to tell him what to do or anything. He looked down on the table to see Sasuke’s ninja headband still lying on its surface.


“He’ll be back,” he said to himself. “I doubt Sasuke will go very far without it.”


Sasuke didn’t return.