Night gave way to day, and before long, morning arrived.
Sasuke slowly woke from sleep and instinctively reached beside him, only to find empty space.
Not only that, the bedding beside him was cold. Naruto couldn't have just gone to the bathroom.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he sat up.
"Narutooo?"
There was no answer.
Sasuke got up and rubbed his eyes as he walked to the kitchen, but Naruto was nowhere to be seen there, either.
"Morning training? No way."
Waking up first thing in the morning without seeing Naruto left Sasuke a little disgruntled.
He checked the clock. It was only five ten.
"Hmph. Just wait until you get back. I'll show you."
Despite saying that, Sasuke quickly washed up and changed, then went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Less than half an hour later, Sasuke heard familiar footsteps.
"Naruto! Where did you run off to this early instead of getting some proper sleep?"
Wearing an apron, Sasuke confronted Naruto as he returned, panting for breath.
Seeing Sasuke like that, Naruto scratched his head with a grin. "I went to do some business, and let the Daimyo and all those ninja from other countries see Konoha's splendor while I was at it."
When Naruto mentioned business, Sasuke instinctively assumed he meant the Juxia Tower.
"Hmph. Can't Ichiraku and Hongle manage the Juxia Tower perfectly well?"
"Well, not this time. I had to handle this one myself, or it wouldn't work."
"Hmph. You're always being so secretive. Here, I've got your clothes ready. Go wash up, then come eat."
Naruto stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sasuke, whose sharp tongue hid a soft heart. "Hehe, thank you, Sasuke. You're so good to me."
"Hmph. Don't give me that." Sasuke's face flushed at Naruto's sudden embrace, but a