I'm dropping this FIC,
Chapter 56: Strange Bonds
"Looks like he's not home..."
"So... what should we do? Should we find Ino first?" Hyuga Hinata asked softly.
Hyuga Kiyonari considered this. "Let's check a few places Sasuke might be—training grounds and such. We're already here."
The two began wandering through the village, checking location after location, but Sasuke remained nowhere to be found.
As dinnertime approached, Kiyonari sighed helplessly. "Forget it. Our luck's not great today. We should just find Ino and Sakura first—"
An argument erupted from nearby.
The voice was distinctive and oddly familiar. Was that... Uzumaki Naruto?!
Kiyonari stopped mid-stride and immediately headed toward the commotion. Hinata followed close behind. They rounded a corner, and the scene before them made them freeze.
Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were locked in fierce combat—rolling across the dusty ground, grabbing each other's collars, neither willing to let go first.
"Stop! Stop it!"
Kiyonari rushed into the fray, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder with one hand and Naruto's arm with the other, forcibly separating them.
Sasuke shook off Kiyonari's hand and climbed to his feet, turning away with a cold snort.
Naruto, still restrained by the arm, glared furiously at the back of Sasuke's head while muttering incomprehensibly under his breath.
Kiyonari took a deep breath, keeping his tone as calm as possible. "Can someone tell me what happened?"
Sasuke remained silent for a moment before speaking with obvious discomfort. "I saw this idiot... groveling outside a shop, begging the owner to sell him something. I don't know why... but seeing him act so pathetic just pissed me off."
He sounded genuinely confused.
Normally, he wouldn't care about such things. But the moment he'd seen this guy—whose name he didn't even know—looking so pitiful, uncontrollable rage had surged from deep within.
Even knowing he was in the wrong, he still didn't want to apologize.
Naruto blinked, his expression becoming evasive. "Actually... same here! I just saw that smug bastard with his self-important face, and I couldn't help getting angry."
Kiyonari's reaction: What the hell is this?
This was like... a golden retriever puppy abandoned on the roadside in a rainstorm, soaking wet and homeless. Another dog walks by thinking to comfort it, but has such low emotional intelligence it kicks the puppy instead.
Sounded bizarre. But with these two? Made perfect sense.
Past life karma.
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down." Kiyonari sighed with acceptance. "Since we've cleared things up, apologize to each other and we'll call it even."
Sasuke and Naruto made eye contact, simultaneously snorted, and looked away.
After a long pause, Sasuke—clearly more in the wrong—spoke first. Though his expression remained sour, his tone was genuinely apologetic. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. Also, my name is Uchiha Sasuke."
This was probably the first apology this person had received in his entire life. The anger immediately deflated from Naruto's chest. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. And... I shouldn't have attacked you either... Sorry."
"How about this—I was planning to treat everyone to dinner anyway. You both should come too." Kiyonari clapped his hands together. "Consider it celebrating your 'friendship through combat.' Sound good?"
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly. But the brightness only lasted a moment before rapidly dimming. "I'd better not."
He worried that bringing along the unwelcome "demon fox" would get him thrown out by the shop owner—worse, it would put the kind Kiyonari in an awkward position. Better to refuse from the start.
Sasuke also declined. "No need. I'll eat at home."
"First of all, I just came from your house. The door's locked. Where exactly do you plan to find food?" Kiyonari then looked at Naruto. "As for you, Naruto—stop overthinking random stuff. Just follow me."
Sasuke's expression stiffened. He nodded. "Fine."
"Oh!" Kiyonari slapped his forehead, his tone quickening. "It's almost dinnertime, and we still need to find Ino and Sakura. Let's pick up the pace."
Naruto hurried to catch up, his face showing pure curiosity. "Ino and Sakura? Who are they?"
For him, meeting new people was both fresh and somewhat nerve-wracking.
"Friends of mine. Two girls with very easy-going personalities."
Sasuke frowned. "You just met them recently. Why are you treating them to dinner?"
Kiyonari smiled, cutting through his real meaning. "You want to know where I got the money, right?"
Sasuke turned away. "I wasn't concerned about you. And I'm not helping pay either. If you can't cover the bill, the embarrassment is yours alone."
Naruto couldn't resist interjecting. "Sasuke, can't you just be honest for once?"
"Mind your own business!"
With that, Sasuke quickened his pace, breaking away from the group. They hurried to catch up. Soon, they spotted two girls outside the Yamanaka flower shop.
"Ino, Sakura." Kiyonari waved in greeting.
Ino approached first. Her gaze automatically gravitated toward the two handsome boys—Kiyonari and Sasuke—but the next second, she caught sight of dust still clinging to Sasuke's hair and wrinkles in his collar.
Her eyes swept across the group, quickly identifying the suspect—Uzumaki Naruto, whose face bore smudges of dirt and whose collar showed identical wrinkles.
"What exactly did these two get up to?"
"Oh, let me introduce everyone." Kiyonari pointed at the golden-haired boy. "Uzumaki Naruto. Um... I guess you could call him Sasuke's rival."
"Who's his rival?!"
"Who's his rival?!"
Both voices rang out simultaneously, carrying nearly identical tones of disgust.
"Okay... I get it."
Ino nearly burst out laughing at their perfectly synchronized denials. She raised both hands in surrender, making a "you win" gesture.
She quickly recovered her composure and extended her hand with easy confidence. "Hello. I'm Yamanaka Ino. Nice to meet you."
Naruto stared at the clean, pale hand before him. Remembering he'd just been rolling on the ground with Sasuke, he vigorously scrubbed his hand against his clothes before extending it, carefully taking hers.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."
But Sakura, standing nearby, didn't share the same welcoming attitude. When her gaze fell on Sasuke's disheveled clothes and hair, concern and displeasure practically overflowed from her expression.
"I'm Haruno Sakura."
***
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