1928

Naruto stood on the landing, watching Sai working outside the Chinese laundry, scrubbing a mass of white shirts.
Mrs. Chin came out and said something to him Sai stood up and went inside.
Naruto turned around as Kakashi came out, his mismatched eyes scanning the street below.
“You now this is not my choice, kiddo, right? If it were up to me, you’d be staying here.”
Naruto nodded. “I know, sir…” Kakashi reached out and ruffled Naruto’s blond hair.
“Mr. Jiraiya will take good care of you, and you’re welcome to come visit when you’re in this district. My door is always open to you.”
Naruto nodded solemnly. “Mr. Hatake…I was wondering…have you found out who killed my mother yet?”
Kakashi’s eyes widened, but he shook his head. “No, we haven’t gotten any new leads…”
Naruto stared at the ground. He knew from the other night that was a lie. “Okay…” He said quietly. Kakashi touched his chin gently.
“Don’t ever change, kid. You‘re twelve, as of today, you gotta be a man, but don‘t ever lose your innocence.” He said with a dashing half-smile. Naruto grinned back hollowly.
“Mr. Hatake, can I say goodbye to Sai?”
Kakashi nodded, and Naruto went down the wooden stairs and down to the front of the Laundry. Mrs. Chin looked up when he opened the door.
“Hello, Mr. Naruto!” She said, tearing herself away from her Chinese newspaper. Her hair was set in curlers and wrapped in a towel. She looked almost comical to Naruto.
“Hello, Mrs. Chin.”
“Are you here to see Sai?”
“Actually, yes, I’m moving and I wanted to say goodbye.”
“Okay, kiddo, he’s on break. He should be out back.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Chin.”
He left, going around the side of the wooden building, the smell of soap and starch filling his nose.
He spotted a table sitting in front of what looked miles and miles of clotheslines, draped in clothes and sheets.
He saw Sai’s lunchbox sitting unopened on the table. He must have been among the sheets.
Naruto ducked beneath the stiff white fabric, searching for his friend. After a little while, he heard noises beyond the sheets. Quietly, he peeked around the side of the sheet.
Sasuke was leaning with his back to the wall, his penis hanging out of his pants, breathing heavily. Sai was kneeling on the ground before him, naked. Sasuke’s hands were fisted in Sai’s hair as Sai licked and nibbled at Sasuke’s cock.
“Hai…Sai-kun…” Sasuke thrust into Sai’s mouth, who moaned and sucked harder on the older teens cock. Naruto rubbed his groin, feeling an odd tingling sensation between his legs as he watched the two boys.
“Enough, Sai.” Sasuke pulled the boy roughly off of his cock, throwing him face down on the ground. Sai pulled himself up slightly, but Sasuke pushed him back down, kneeling behind him. Sasuke pulled Sai’s hips up level to his cock, inserting his fingers inside Sai’s opening. Naruto looked down between his legs, spotting a growing lump in his pants. Sasuke began to thrust his fingers in and out of Sai’s opening. Sai let out a moan and Sasuke slapped Sai’s cheeks.
“Shut up, do you want to get in trouble?”
“N-no, Sasuke-sama…” Sai moaned, the red handprint on his hip fading to white.
Sasuke pulled his fingers out of Sai’s ass and positioned his dripping cock at Sai’s entrance.
“Now, what do we say when a client wants this, Sai?” He asked, pushing his member deep into Sai. Sai tried to scream, but Sasuke reached around, placing two fingers into Sai’s open mouth.
“We do not scream.” He said coldly, thrusting into the younger teen.
Sai bit his lip, positioning his face on his hands so it wouldn’t scrape in the dirt. Sasuke pulled out so that his shaft was exposed, but the head remained inside.
Naruto both hated and envied Sasuke. He hated him for hurting Sai, he envied Sasuke for being able to touch Sai so familiarly.
“Sasuke-sama…do…do client’s really do this?”
Another slap.
“Don’t be an idiot.”
Naruto trembled, his heart aching, He wanted to be the one to touch Sai, to run his hands down the older boy’s sides, to feel the soft, pale skin.
Naruto shook his head, dismissing these thoughts. Sai was a boy. And boys shouldn’t love other boys…should they?
He watched as Sasuke thrust into Sai, who was moaning and biting his lip. Sasuke adjusted his angle and thrust in harder. Sai had no choice but to move his hands, his face scraping against the dirt. His arms stretched out in front of him, his hands fisting in the dirt. The dust swirled around his body as it hit the dirt repeatedly. Tears were leaking down Sai’s face as Sasuke thrust in one last time. Naruto watched with fascination as a milky white fluid leaked out of Sai’s opening. Sasuke wiped himself off on one of the sheets, re-buttoning his pants and leaving Sai to lay face down in the dirt. The alleyway was silent, the only sound came from the pigeons on the tops of the high brick buildings. Sai tried to move, a low groan escaping his lips. Naruto hesitated, contemplating whether or not he should go out there and help his friend. He didn’t want Sai to wonder about the lump in his pants, either.
Naruto stood up, pulling back the sheet and walking forward. Sai looked at him from his place on the ground.
“Naruto…” He whispered, his voice low and raspy, the tears mingled with dirt on his cheeks.
Naruto knelt by his friends side. “Sai…what happened?”
Sai struggled to get up, his arms shaking, his face reddened with embarrassment. She stood shakily on his legs and limped over to the wall. Tears were leaking steadily down his face.
“Go away.” He sobbed. Naruto blinked at him, knitting his eyebrows. Sai bit his lip as he bent down to retrieve his discarded clothing.
“Sai…I’m moving. I’m going away for a long time.”
Sai avoided his gaze as he pulled his clothes on.
“Sai…” He fell quiet, his heart filling with desperation. He had to get his friends attention…he had to make Sai remember him…
He grabbed Sai’s upper arm, spinning him around. What came next neither of them expected. Naruto crashed his lips against the older boys, wrapping his arms around his neck. Sai blinked for a moment before leaning into the kiss and wrapping his arms around Naruto’s waist. Sai pulled away from the kiss, repositioning Naruto into a hug.
“I’ll miss you! Come back and see me, if you can…” Sai whispered. Naruto pulled away, waving to his friend before disappearing into the sheets.
Jiraiya was waiting with Kakashi on the landing. They waved down at him and he waved back, climbing the stairs.
“Did you say your goodbyes?” Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded, picking up his carpetbag full of clothes retrieved from the crime scene.
“Okay, let’s go.” Jiraiya said with a smile, putting his arm around the boy and taking him down the stairs. The cut through the alleyway out to the curb. Naruto was just climbing into the car when he saw Sai come running down the alleyway towards the car. Jiraiya closed the door, getting into the drivers seat and starting the engine. Naruto pressed his hands up against the glass as the car pulled away, Sai running after a short ways.
Naruto stared sadly out the window at his friend, his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t realized until now exactly how he felt about Sai. He turned around and faced the front. Jiraiya glanced over at him.
“Don’t worry about it. That, too, shall pass.”
Naruto blinked his azure eyes up at the older man.
“What if I don’t want it to?”
Jiraiya chuckled, patting Naruto on the knee as they drove up the steep Butte streets.