Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 14
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Arigatomina 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 326 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 326 | Status: Work In Progress
Author's Note: I had a few people surprised that the last chapter was a little dark. Get used to it? No, not really, but with the backgrounds of some of the characters in this fic, aka Sasuke, you should expect some darkness now and then. I said in the second chapter that I never intended this fic to be half humor. Parts of this fic will be angsty. Other parts will be smutty, fluffy, cracktastic, violent, playful, etc. The main theme is romance. The secondary theme is subject to change at a moment's notice. Don't worry, I'll warn if anything extreme takes place.
Warnings: dialogue, shounen ai, NaruSasu
Part 14
Kakashi started a pot of coffee while Hiko fried up some hamburger for the dog. As usual, Pakkun was taking advantage of the situation, sitting on the table as if he were an important guest in the house instead of an uninvited stray. Kakashi was used to that. Pakkun had done the same thing to him the first time they'd met. He'd run across the mutt quite a few times since then. At first Pakkun had stuck to his story about being a mutant who'd accidentally turned himself into 'dog form' and gotten stuck that way. Kakashi hadn't believed it for a moment. Pakkun didn't just look like a dog, he acted like one, too. He panted, drooled, scratched himself, sniffed butts, and had a bad habit of shedding and leaving muddy paw prints everywhere he went. No, Kakashi had known within a few minutes of meeting him that Pakkun was a dog. He was just a dog who happened to be as intelligent and capable of speech as any human, with a few mutant talents and a bold muddy green energy signal to boot. He was also a dog on a mission. Kakashi wondered about that when he went back to the table.
"Did you ever find that cat?" asked Kakashi.
Pakkun looked up from his plate of ground meat. Leave it to Kakashi to interrupt a free meal. "Would I be here if I had?"
"Probably not," Kakashi sighed.
He knew the reason Pakkun traveled so much was because he was looking for another animal-pet-mutant-thing like himself. A black cat. That was the most Pakkun would ever tell him, that the mutant who'd turned him from an average puppy into a talking mutant dog had done the same thing to a kitten once. A kitten he'd never seen again but knew was still alive somewhere. Why Pakkun was so dedicated to searching for the cat was one of those details the mutt wouldn't expand upon. Kakashi suspected the dog was partial to the mutant who'd turned him, so loyal and defensive that it was a touchy subject. Kakashi respected that. He didn't exactly support bestiality, but, hey, love was love. For all he knew, a mutant capable of turning a dog into a mutant could turn a mutant dog into a human. He'd seen weirder things over the years.
"Nah," Pakkun sniffed, "just some puppy. Not the brightest, but a lot smarter than most of the mutts I've met. He was howling his fool head off so I had to listen to him just to shut him up. He got separated from his owner. The pup tried getting help, only no one believes in Lassie anymore. You know me, I had to stick my nose in it."
"In what, exactly," prodded Kakashi.
"Yeah," seconded Hiko. "All I got was some emergency, lots of wounded, and too much danger to talk about it over the phone."
"Mm, it's a mess," said Pakkun. He huffed sadly at his empty plate and settled on his heels so he could eyeball the men better. "The owner got taken by some military group. I got in to where they were holding him, really ugly place, way too many guards for me to do any good. Had to get some help. So I popped over to visit an old friend. I figured if the kid'd been in there for a few days a couple more wouldn't matter much."
"What kind of military group?" asked Hiko. His expression was wary.
Pakkun scrunched his face up. "How would I know? Some research place in Vermont, lots of lab rats in gray cages. They're all the same, you know."
Kakashi knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd avoided those places the same as he had the mental wards - no Samaritan rescues for him. That was a good way to get oneself killed and he planned to live a long life of selfish entertainment, thank you very much. "Vermont," he murmured thoughtfully. "So that's where Iruka went? The states?"
"Yep," said Pakkun. "I popped back to wait for backup with the pup, keep him out of trouble, you know." He sniffed at Hiko. "That's when your mate showed up. Your kid was one of the rats. The big guy didn't want to wait, even though I told him I had help coming. He didn't even bother sneaking in. Crazy fuck just knocked the door down and went right on in. Had the whole place crawlin' by the time Fay got there. Then he didn't wanna trust him." He gave a wry snort. "Can't really blame him for that after seeing the guy Fay brought with him. Anyhow, your kid wouldn't leave without getting the rest of the rats out, too. Then some freak showed up and started blowing the place apart. Biggest mess I ever seen. He took out three of the kids, half his own people - assuming he was on the same side as the guards. The place was coming down around our ears by the time he finally nabbed one of the kids and took off. We had to dig our way out."
Hiko had his head in his hands, a pained expression on his face. Kakashi shot him a worried look and then dismissed him for the moment. He didn't know any of the people Pakkun was talking about so the story didn't mean much to him. What he really wanted to know was where the escapees were hiding out now. If they were desperate enough to send an injured kid to pick Iruka up, it didn't sound like they'd found a very safe place.
"So they're all in a basement now?" asked Kakashi. He knew what he'd smelled, the bloody kid had definitely come from some place cold and damp. An uninhabited hiding place for sure, but not exactly a good place to put injured kids. And Iruka was the only healer they'd been able to get? "Any chance someone will find them there?"
"It should be safe enough," said Pakkun. "Between his mate," he nodded at Hiko, "and Fay, they got everyone in the neighborhood convinced they didn't see a thing. The big guy says he can hold it for a few days till the worst of the kids is healed enough to relocate."
"How did they convince the neighborhood?" asked Kakashi. He shot a look at Hiko, remembering what Iruka had told him about the man's boyfriend and his talents. Hiko looked too depressed and tired to ask right now.
Pakkun stared at Kakashi for a long minute. Then he turned his head a little, giving his best impression of a sneer. "You should know. I went to get Fay a little over a week ago. He still smelled like you." His upper lip curled some more. "You must have copied one of his talents if you got close enough for me to smell you over that mate of his."
"Wait, wait," Kakashi said quickly, waving his hands. Hiko had lifted his head high enough to give him a suspicious glare. At this rate he'd be set against him by the time Iruka came back. Just great. He shot a confused look at Pakkun. "Are you talking about the blonde guy in Russia?"
"Of course," Pakkun snorted. "Let me guess, you didn't even bother to get his name. You have a bad habit of messing with mutants better off left alone."
"He touched me," Kakashi scowled. "It was just a friendly encounter." No way he'd admit that kiss was also a recent sexual milestone. That would be bad for his ego and bad for his reputation, if Hiko's continued stare said anything. "It's not like I did anything with him. But how do you know so much about him? I didn't get the impression he stuck in one place very long."
Now it was Pakkun's turn to look uncomfortable. He rocked his shoulders and looked everywhere except at Kakashi. "He's an old friend, is all."
Kakashi blinked slowly at the dog, realization dawning over his face. He abruptly grinned and reached over to poke the wrinkled gray mutt in the side. "You have a crush on him!"
"Shut up," Pakkun snapped, literally, almost taking a few fingers off with his sharp little teeth.
"What are you two talking about?" Hiko frowned.
"The guy Pakkun here tracked down to help in the great escape," smiled Kakashi. "It turns out he's a mutual acquaintance."
"In Russia?" asked Hiko. He shot a confused look between the two of them, eventually settling on Pakkun. "Why did you go that far away to get help? It's no wonder Bunchu didn't wait for backup..."
"Oh, no," Kakashi waved. "Pakkun here can travel to a person in a few seconds. He can't bring anyone with him like that kid did, but he can move himself just about anywhere. That's the only useful talent he has."
Pakkun sniffed at the way Hiko gaped at him. "Yeah," the dog muttered, "I'm a little more than your average talking dog. Don't freak out and swallow your tongue. It's not as amazing as it sounds."
"Are you planning to pop back over there when you're done filling us in?" asked Kakashi.
"Nah," Pakkun sniffed. "Not unless you got a message you want to send. They'll call when they're ready to send that healer back over here."
"His name's Iruka," said Kakashi.
Pakkun gave him a knowing look. "Whatever you say, boss."
Kakashi quickly changed the subject, turning a curious gaze on Hiko. "Does Iruka always take off on a moment's notice? For problems like this?"
"No," sighed Hiko. "Not since he adopted Naruto, anyway. Tenka doesn't get into as much trouble as he used to. Even if he did, he wouldn't drag Iruka into it. He wouldn't call anyone. That's why I have to send Bunchu after him." He sent a harried look at Pakkun. "How many died because of his actions?"
"Ah, well, I wouldn't blame your kid too much," said Pakkun. "He was pretty out of it by the time your mate showed up. Most of the casualties were due to that psycho blowing the place up. And it's not like the lab coats would have kept them alive if we hadn't busted them out. Kids don't last long in places like that, you know. Total count? Three of the kids on the way out, the one the psycho took with him, and there's one we're not sure about. Fay snuck him out a few days ago, looking for a hospital too full to notice and report him. We haven't heard from them yet. The rest should be okay now that they got a healer. We got supplies enough, but some of that stuff the coats did to them isn't healing like it should. It's a mess."
Hiko shook his head, "Why did Bunchu wait so long to call me?"
"Didn't want you to worry," Pakkun sniffed. "Even if he'd called you right away and you flew out there, you'd have been stopped at the airport. The whole town's crawling. This way's better. We had to wait for-" He closed his mouth, sniffing at the air and blinking slightly beady eyes at the door. He promptly shot a doggy grin at Kakashi. "Still dragging the kid around with you, eh? You've got it bad."
Naruto crashed into the kitchen, all panting breath, tousled appearance, and rose madder red-blue eyes. Sasuke was much calmer, leaning casually in the doorway, sharingan taking in everything in the room.
"Where is he!" Naruto demanded. "What happened? Why-" He blinked and gave an odd twitch when he caught sight of Pakkun. "What's that doing here...?"
Pakkun bristled, a quietly insulted growl starting in his throat. How rude. He glowered at the blonde boy for a moment, then hopped to the floor. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, not looking the least bit surprised to see him. "Kid," Pakkun greeted, sitting at Sasuke's feet, "you got really bad taste in men."
Naruto sputtered, gaping from the talking dog to Sasuke, to Kakashi to Hiko, and finally giving a frustrated cry of confusion. "What the hell's going on!"
Hiko quickly caught hold of Naruto's shoulders and pressed him down in one of the chairs. "Calm down and we'll explain. No talking till we're done, got it?"
Naruto sent one more uncomfortable look at the dog and then folded his arms. "Make it quick," he muttered. "Iruka-sensei better be all right."
"I'm sure he is," Hiko sighed. He resumed his seat and gave Naruto an edited version of the story. By the time he was finished, Naruto's eyes were as blue as ever. Now he looked more unhappy and nervous than furious and scared. Once again Hiko wished his own son was half as protective and dependent toward him as Naruto was toward Iruka.
Naruto frowned at the table in front of him, doing his best not to throw another fit. He didn't want Iruka to be gone for days. But that was sort of expected, wasn't it? That was Iruka, saving the world one kid at a time. He should have been resigned to it. And they'd been in a really big hurry so it wasn't like Iruka had willingly gone off without saying anything to him. If he hadn't been lured off by that mutant in his head, Kyuubi would have woken him up and Iruka wouldn't have gone without saying goodbye. That meant it was at least partly his own fault, anyway, right? And it wasn't like Iruka was in danger or anything. Iruka used to live with Hiko's family, so he was with friends right now. There wasn't anything to panic about, really.
'You're allowed to panic and overreact,' Kyuubi murmured, humoring him in a tone so sympathetic he might as well have patted Naruto on the head. 'You came home to find Iruka gone who knows where and a dog on the kitchen table. Anyone would freak out.'
'You're the one who freaked over the dog,' Naruto muttered sullenly. 'I was surprised to see him on the table, but I don't have a problem with dogs, even ones that talk. That's kinda cool, really.'
'It's inherently wrong,' stated Kyuubi. 'Dogs are not supposed to talk. And they absolutely are not supposed to come into my house without permission. Get rid of it. Tell Hiko to take it home with him.'
'Now who's overreacting?' asked Naruto. A wan smile started as he listened to Kyuubi fume. His fox's territorial side was too endearing to ignore. 'He's just a little dog. And he's a friend of Sasuke and the pervert. We can't just run him off. Besides, he talks, so he's more like a person than a real dog.'
A mug was placed on the table in front of him, full of steaming light brown liquid. Naruto looked up in surprise, just in time to see Sasuke sit with a mug of his own. He gaped at him for a second, but Sasuke's attention was locked on Hiko. He dropped his eyes back to the drink.
'Wha...'
'You've been shivering since you sat down,' Kyuubi explained, in an amused tone. 'Panicking. He probably thought you were cold. You're covered in goosebumps.'
Naruto grimaced at the blush that rose to his face. Suddenly he was glad Sasuke was making a show of ignoring him. 'It was cold outside,' he glared at the smirking fox. 'Normal people get cold when they go running around in wet fields in the middle of the night. I was not panicking.' He took his hands off the table and rubbed the goosebumps as inconspicuously as possible, willing the embarrassing signs to away.
'Like I said,' Kyuubi drawled, 'you're allowed to panic. It's natural. Iruka's never gone away before so you had no warning. I doubt caffeine and sugar is a good remedy for nervous tremors, but it's the thought that counts. He's making a habit of taking care of you. It must be because you're such a cute little kid when you're trembling and missing your sensei.'
'Asshole,' muttered Naruto. 'If it's okay to panic, stop making fun of me. At least I didn't freak out over a puppy dog.' He took a tentative sip of the drink. Another wan smile broke out over his face when he realized what it was. 'Iruka would have a fit if he found out I was drinking coffee.'
'Better enjoy it before Hiko notices,' said Kyuubi. 'And don't feel too proud of yourself. The kid put cream and sugar in yours. He's drinking his black. Like a man.'
Naruto's smile faded into a glower. 'Do you have to spoil everything?'
'You make it too easy not to,' Kyuubi shrugged. 'At least you're not shivering anymore.'
Kakashi was engaged with staring at Sasuke. The brat hadn't looked at him yet, but it was only a matter of time. He supposed that since it was after midnight, that little action of his was Sasuke's 'social deed of the day' and nothing to make a fuss over. He still wondered what Iruka would say if he knew Naruto was now in danger of picking up Sasuke's bad habits. He shared a sly silent exchange with Pakkun, who was once more seated on the table where he'd be eye level with everyone else. Then he raised the question Sasuke must have been waiting for since the kids came in.
"What were you two up to while we were having a minor crisis?" Kakashi asked, in an innocently curious tone. "It's not like you to miss the...action. Sasuke."
Sure enough, Sasuke gave a full body twitch. What Kakashi hadn't expected was for Naruto to flinch, shaking the entire table. Wide cornered blue eyes shot up, staring at him from a very red face. Kakashi's eye widened slowly.
"Now wait a second," Kakashi frowned, staring at the blatantly guilty looking blonde. "I know I told you to keep at him, but I didn't mean to jump him. You've only known each other for two days..."
"It wasn't like that!" Naruto blurted.
Sasuke snapped a blazing red eyed glare on Naruto, the very first hint of a blush rising to his otherwise livid white face, "Shut up."
"But...!" Naruto looked frantically from Sasuke to the pervert, and then to Hiko, who was starting to get an expression just as shocked and disapproving as the pervert. "But it wasn't like that," he said more quietly, peeking tentatively at Sasuke. "Right...?"
"Idiot," Sasuke grimaced. He shot a disgusted glare at Kakashi. "Nothing happened. Not that it's any of your business. A mutant of your ilk was passing by and decided to be annoying. It had nothing to do with anything, so it doesn't matter." He snapped his glare back to Naruto. "Right?"
"Yeah," Naruto frowned. He blinked at Sasuke for a moment as that blush faded. Then he glowered in annoyance. "That's what I was gonna say if you'd let me finish. Don't tell me to shut up if you're just gonna say the same thing I was gonna say! The pervert's the one making it out like something it wasn't," and he turned his glare on Kakashi. "Nosey old pervert."
"Hmm," Kakashi frowned, his eye narrowing. A mutant of his ilk? Coming from Sasuke he could guess what that meant. Only if it were a mutant like him, he doubted nothing had happened. Especially if it had involved both boys. A mutant of his ilk drawing two boys away from the house in the middle of the night. Something bad enough to get a violent blushing reaction from Sasuke? Yes, he'd have to keep an eye on them. While he highly approved of Sasuke finally getting laid, two days was rushing it. Even he didn't move that quickly.
Hiko broke the uncomfortable impasse by placing a heavy hand on a certain blonde's shoulder. "Naruto," he said quietly, "I'd like to speak with you for a moment."
"Erm, okay," Naruto paled and fidgeted.
"I'm going to bed," Sasuke muttered, pushing back from the table. He was out of the room before the two could reach the doorway, unwilling to be left alone with Kakashi and Pakkun.
.-.
Naruto was very tired by the time he trudged his way upstairs. Hiko could be worse than Iruka when it came to some things. Part of that was because Iruka couldn't say the word sex without blushing and stuttering horribly. Hiko had no such problem. Add the fact that Hiko actually had a boyfriend, and his lectures were considerably more...explicit. Naruto couldn't remember ever blushing as much as he had in the last hour.
'How many times do I have to get The Talk?' Naruto grumbled irritably. 'I'm not stupid. It's not like I don't pick things up at school.'
'This time The Talk was mostly for me,' Kyuubi sniffed, just as irritably. 'Why am I always to blame? I'm no more gay than you are. I'm bi, if anything. And you're in control of the body.'
'Well, technically neither of us was in control tonight,' sighed Naruto. 'Still, it was just a kiss. I don't need an entire lecture over it. It's that old pervert's fault. Now no one's gonna believe nothing happened.'
'It's pure luck nothing did happen,' Kyuubi muttered. 'I'll give him that much. If that mutant could control us enough to make us kiss, he could have made us do anything.'
Naruto scoffed, feeling just as pessimistic, 'Yeah, but a lecture isn't gonna help in that case, anyway.'
'I should have known that mutant was nearby before he got close enough to control us,' said Kyuubi. 'I didn't even smell him on the kid. Either the guy didn't touch him before we got there, or he didn't have a physical body to leave a scent. Either way, that won't happen again.'
'Really?' Naruto grumbled. 'How are you gonna stop it?'
'I'll think of something.'
'You do that,' sighed Naruto. 'I have to think of what to say to Iruka-sensei when he gets back and Hiko blabs on us. I can't believe he reacted like that. And I used to think he was cool. Shows what I know.'
He stopped by the bathroom long enough to wash his legs and feet off. That was at least one reason to be glad Iruka was gone - he hadn't thought twice about how grimy his bare feet were and he was bound to have left some prints on the floor during his rush inside. Not to mention the way Iruka would have reacted to his and Sasuke's little post-midnight excursion. He shot a gloomy look at Sasuke's door on his way to his room. They'd been getting along so well and now this. Sasuke hadn't blamed him for the kiss, he hadn't even cared, he'd even gotten him a drink earlier. And then that nosey old pervert had to go and spoil everything. Well, there was another reason to be glad Iruka wouldn't be back for a few days. He'd have plenty of time for payback.
The first thing Naruto noticed when he entered his room was that his window was open. The second thing was the little red and white envelope sitting on his bed. He stopped just inside the door and looked around warily. Kyuubi was doing his coon hound impression, nose to the air and all but howling for attention.
'What?' Naruto demanded. 'I don't speak coon hound.'
'Moron,' Kyuubi growled. 'I have his scent now. He must have come in here while we were on our way back. We went out Sasuke's window earlier and that,' meaning the envelope, 'wasn't there. I could track him now.'
'Hrm,' Naruto sniffed. 'Is he still around here? I'm too tired to go chasing someone all over town. And what if he controls us again? You haven't figured out a way to block him, yet, right? No point catching him if we can't touch him.'
Grumbled silence answered this reasonable comment. Naruto rolled his eyes. It figured the only time he one-upped Kyuubi was when he was dead tired. He closed his window and plopped on the bed, picking up the envelope with a glare that was more exhausted annoyance than anything. What kind of mutant screwed with people's heads and then left them messages? Then again, Sasuke had compared the guy to Kakashi, so maybe it was just another old pervert. He could already imagine him giving that one-eyed leer and going 'thanks for the show!'
'Asshole,' thought Naruto.
He peeked inside the envelope and stopped. He closed it, eyeballed the familiar logo on the outside, and then peeked in again. Then he exploded.
'It was a frickin stalker! He must have been following us all day! He even had the nerve to develop the pictures at the mall here - what kinda stalker doesn't have his own dark room? Not just any stalker, oh, no, we had to get a perverted lazy stalker. How much you wanna bet that nosey ass at the PhotoBin saw these and told half the town already? Damn it! That's it, forget sleeping it off and forgetting it, we're gonna track this guy and kick his lazy perverted stalking ass right back wherever he came from. Lead the way, boy. I'm gonna kill him!'
'No,' Kyuubi growled sullenly, 'you were right before. He'd be able to control us before we could get close enough to lay a finger on him.'
'Damn it,' Naruto huffed, losing some of his steam. 'I can't believe this...'
He squirmed on his bed, pulling the stack of photos out of the envelope. The one on top would have been a great one if it had been taken by Iruka, or Hiko, or anyone but an unknown perverted stalker. It was a snapshot of him and Sasuke wrestling in the mud. A good shot, too, because it really captured Sasuke's horrified mud splattered face.
'He was in our yard,' Naruto moaned. 'Even if he had one of those stalker zoom cameras, he had to have been close and you didn't even sense him...'
Kyuubi just glowered darkly. There was nothing he could say in his defense.
The second photo was creepier than the first because Sasuke appeared to be staring right at the camera without actually seeing it. Naruto figured it must have been taken right before Sasuke went over to stare at the mud patch again, when they'd been walking around in the trees and he'd just realized he was being ignored. This one definitely hadn't been taken with a zoom. It was too close and clear, despite the drizzling rain.
'You think he was invisible?' Naruto wondered. He was starting to get the shivers again.
'Maybe,' Kyuubi muttered. If he was as disturbed as Naruto, he was keeping it to himself.
Naruto flipped quickly through the rest of the photos, not stopping on any one because each of them was perfectly taken and creepy as hell. There were only three more with him in them. One of him standing by the rock while Sasuke brooded, a strange high angled shot from behind of him opening Sasuke's umbrella for him, and one of him and Sasuke standing on the sidewalk outside the stone wall that surrounded the black windowed house. There were four pictures of Sasuke sitting alone on his rock, each one taken from a different angle. And seven of him standing in the rain outside that supposedly empty house. A few of these were taken from the other side of the stone wall, but one of them was a front shot as if the photographer had been standing in the middle of the street right in front of him.
'That one's almost pornographic,' Kyuubi said, without a trace of humor. 'You weren't the one being stalked.'
'And he said to forget about it,' Naruto shivered.
He quickly turned the photo over, setting it down on top of the others. Then he squinted. Something was written on the back, in cursive romanji, with a large fluid writing style and bright blue ink. He stumbled over the cursive and Kyuubi, despite his dislike of anything educational, read it for him.
'It says, "I'll send the rest to Uchiha-san when I get them developed. Thank you for the memories. No hard feelings. And don't worry about the boy at the PhotoBin, he won't remember ever having seen these." It's signed FS.'
'The bastard,' Naruto glared. 'No hard feelings? He was fucking stalking Sasuke - he made us kiss, and he says no hard feelings? And who the hell is Uchiha? He just outright tells me he's got more of these that he's gonna send to someone else, and no hard feelings? What the hell's wrong with this guy...'
Kyuubi lashed his tails restlessly. 'Better not tell Sasuke about these. If this FS knew you'd worry about the boy at the PhotoBin, he must have done more than control us when he was in here with me. There's probably a reason he left these for us and not Sasuke.'
'Oh, sure,' Naruto scoffed. 'Let's not mention that the guy who was playing a 'joke' on us just happened to be following him around all day taking pictures. Let's just do what Sasuke said and forget about it. That's a great idea!'
'We won't forget,' Kyuubi said, being pointedly calm to Naruto's blatant uncalm. 'He didn't see this mutant when he was staring right at him. It won't do any good to tell him. He's twitchy enough as it is. I have the scent now. If he comes back, I'll know. And I'll be ready for him.'
Naruto shoved the envelope in the bottom drawer of his desk, burying it under a mess of notebooks and loose papers. He really, really hated it when Kyuubi was calm and rational. 'You have a week,' he warned. 'If you can't figure out a way to keep that guy from getting in our head again, I'm telling Sasuke. It might not make a difference, but at least he'll be warned.'
'I only need two days to build a cage,' Kyuubi sniffed.
'Cage?'
'Mm. A cage with a trap door. That should do the trick...'
Naruto's face twisted into a scowl. 'Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?'
'Not yet,' Kyuubi smirked. 'I'll give you a tour when I'm finished. Get a good night's sleep. Assuming the caffeine and sugar doesn't give you nightmares.'
'More like the creepy stalker and pornographic wet Sasuke photos,' Naruto grimaced. 'I swear, you roll me out of bed before noon and I'm going in there and tying your tails in a knot.'
'Ah,' Kyuubi purred. 'I hope you have pleasantly vivid dreams. I know I will.'
'Pervert.'
.-.
TBC
-notes-
Okay, if you didn't guess, FS stands for Fuji Syuusuke from Prince of Tennis, and, yes, photography is one of his hobbies. He was too perfect not to use for this cameo role. As for the emergency Iruka took off to handle, we'll see more of that later, from Iruka's pov. You can bet there's a kid or two over there he'll be bringing with him when he comes home. The house is way too big for only four people. There'll be some more NaruSasu before that happens, though. Fair warning.
Warnings: dialogue, shounen ai, NaruSasu
Part 14
Kakashi started a pot of coffee while Hiko fried up some hamburger for the dog. As usual, Pakkun was taking advantage of the situation, sitting on the table as if he were an important guest in the house instead of an uninvited stray. Kakashi was used to that. Pakkun had done the same thing to him the first time they'd met. He'd run across the mutt quite a few times since then. At first Pakkun had stuck to his story about being a mutant who'd accidentally turned himself into 'dog form' and gotten stuck that way. Kakashi hadn't believed it for a moment. Pakkun didn't just look like a dog, he acted like one, too. He panted, drooled, scratched himself, sniffed butts, and had a bad habit of shedding and leaving muddy paw prints everywhere he went. No, Kakashi had known within a few minutes of meeting him that Pakkun was a dog. He was just a dog who happened to be as intelligent and capable of speech as any human, with a few mutant talents and a bold muddy green energy signal to boot. He was also a dog on a mission. Kakashi wondered about that when he went back to the table.
"Did you ever find that cat?" asked Kakashi.
Pakkun looked up from his plate of ground meat. Leave it to Kakashi to interrupt a free meal. "Would I be here if I had?"
"Probably not," Kakashi sighed.
He knew the reason Pakkun traveled so much was because he was looking for another animal-pet-mutant-thing like himself. A black cat. That was the most Pakkun would ever tell him, that the mutant who'd turned him from an average puppy into a talking mutant dog had done the same thing to a kitten once. A kitten he'd never seen again but knew was still alive somewhere. Why Pakkun was so dedicated to searching for the cat was one of those details the mutt wouldn't expand upon. Kakashi suspected the dog was partial to the mutant who'd turned him, so loyal and defensive that it was a touchy subject. Kakashi respected that. He didn't exactly support bestiality, but, hey, love was love. For all he knew, a mutant capable of turning a dog into a mutant could turn a mutant dog into a human. He'd seen weirder things over the years.
"Nah," Pakkun sniffed, "just some puppy. Not the brightest, but a lot smarter than most of the mutts I've met. He was howling his fool head off so I had to listen to him just to shut him up. He got separated from his owner. The pup tried getting help, only no one believes in Lassie anymore. You know me, I had to stick my nose in it."
"In what, exactly," prodded Kakashi.
"Yeah," seconded Hiko. "All I got was some emergency, lots of wounded, and too much danger to talk about it over the phone."
"Mm, it's a mess," said Pakkun. He huffed sadly at his empty plate and settled on his heels so he could eyeball the men better. "The owner got taken by some military group. I got in to where they were holding him, really ugly place, way too many guards for me to do any good. Had to get some help. So I popped over to visit an old friend. I figured if the kid'd been in there for a few days a couple more wouldn't matter much."
"What kind of military group?" asked Hiko. His expression was wary.
Pakkun scrunched his face up. "How would I know? Some research place in Vermont, lots of lab rats in gray cages. They're all the same, you know."
Kakashi knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd avoided those places the same as he had the mental wards - no Samaritan rescues for him. That was a good way to get oneself killed and he planned to live a long life of selfish entertainment, thank you very much. "Vermont," he murmured thoughtfully. "So that's where Iruka went? The states?"
"Yep," said Pakkun. "I popped back to wait for backup with the pup, keep him out of trouble, you know." He sniffed at Hiko. "That's when your mate showed up. Your kid was one of the rats. The big guy didn't want to wait, even though I told him I had help coming. He didn't even bother sneaking in. Crazy fuck just knocked the door down and went right on in. Had the whole place crawlin' by the time Fay got there. Then he didn't wanna trust him." He gave a wry snort. "Can't really blame him for that after seeing the guy Fay brought with him. Anyhow, your kid wouldn't leave without getting the rest of the rats out, too. Then some freak showed up and started blowing the place apart. Biggest mess I ever seen. He took out three of the kids, half his own people - assuming he was on the same side as the guards. The place was coming down around our ears by the time he finally nabbed one of the kids and took off. We had to dig our way out."
Hiko had his head in his hands, a pained expression on his face. Kakashi shot him a worried look and then dismissed him for the moment. He didn't know any of the people Pakkun was talking about so the story didn't mean much to him. What he really wanted to know was where the escapees were hiding out now. If they were desperate enough to send an injured kid to pick Iruka up, it didn't sound like they'd found a very safe place.
"So they're all in a basement now?" asked Kakashi. He knew what he'd smelled, the bloody kid had definitely come from some place cold and damp. An uninhabited hiding place for sure, but not exactly a good place to put injured kids. And Iruka was the only healer they'd been able to get? "Any chance someone will find them there?"
"It should be safe enough," said Pakkun. "Between his mate," he nodded at Hiko, "and Fay, they got everyone in the neighborhood convinced they didn't see a thing. The big guy says he can hold it for a few days till the worst of the kids is healed enough to relocate."
"How did they convince the neighborhood?" asked Kakashi. He shot a look at Hiko, remembering what Iruka had told him about the man's boyfriend and his talents. Hiko looked too depressed and tired to ask right now.
Pakkun stared at Kakashi for a long minute. Then he turned his head a little, giving his best impression of a sneer. "You should know. I went to get Fay a little over a week ago. He still smelled like you." His upper lip curled some more. "You must have copied one of his talents if you got close enough for me to smell you over that mate of his."
"Wait, wait," Kakashi said quickly, waving his hands. Hiko had lifted his head high enough to give him a suspicious glare. At this rate he'd be set against him by the time Iruka came back. Just great. He shot a confused look at Pakkun. "Are you talking about the blonde guy in Russia?"
"Of course," Pakkun snorted. "Let me guess, you didn't even bother to get his name. You have a bad habit of messing with mutants better off left alone."
"He touched me," Kakashi scowled. "It was just a friendly encounter." No way he'd admit that kiss was also a recent sexual milestone. That would be bad for his ego and bad for his reputation, if Hiko's continued stare said anything. "It's not like I did anything with him. But how do you know so much about him? I didn't get the impression he stuck in one place very long."
Now it was Pakkun's turn to look uncomfortable. He rocked his shoulders and looked everywhere except at Kakashi. "He's an old friend, is all."
Kakashi blinked slowly at the dog, realization dawning over his face. He abruptly grinned and reached over to poke the wrinkled gray mutt in the side. "You have a crush on him!"
"Shut up," Pakkun snapped, literally, almost taking a few fingers off with his sharp little teeth.
"What are you two talking about?" Hiko frowned.
"The guy Pakkun here tracked down to help in the great escape," smiled Kakashi. "It turns out he's a mutual acquaintance."
"In Russia?" asked Hiko. He shot a confused look between the two of them, eventually settling on Pakkun. "Why did you go that far away to get help? It's no wonder Bunchu didn't wait for backup..."
"Oh, no," Kakashi waved. "Pakkun here can travel to a person in a few seconds. He can't bring anyone with him like that kid did, but he can move himself just about anywhere. That's the only useful talent he has."
Pakkun sniffed at the way Hiko gaped at him. "Yeah," the dog muttered, "I'm a little more than your average talking dog. Don't freak out and swallow your tongue. It's not as amazing as it sounds."
"Are you planning to pop back over there when you're done filling us in?" asked Kakashi.
"Nah," Pakkun sniffed. "Not unless you got a message you want to send. They'll call when they're ready to send that healer back over here."
"His name's Iruka," said Kakashi.
Pakkun gave him a knowing look. "Whatever you say, boss."
Kakashi quickly changed the subject, turning a curious gaze on Hiko. "Does Iruka always take off on a moment's notice? For problems like this?"
"No," sighed Hiko. "Not since he adopted Naruto, anyway. Tenka doesn't get into as much trouble as he used to. Even if he did, he wouldn't drag Iruka into it. He wouldn't call anyone. That's why I have to send Bunchu after him." He sent a harried look at Pakkun. "How many died because of his actions?"
"Ah, well, I wouldn't blame your kid too much," said Pakkun. "He was pretty out of it by the time your mate showed up. Most of the casualties were due to that psycho blowing the place up. And it's not like the lab coats would have kept them alive if we hadn't busted them out. Kids don't last long in places like that, you know. Total count? Three of the kids on the way out, the one the psycho took with him, and there's one we're not sure about. Fay snuck him out a few days ago, looking for a hospital too full to notice and report him. We haven't heard from them yet. The rest should be okay now that they got a healer. We got supplies enough, but some of that stuff the coats did to them isn't healing like it should. It's a mess."
Hiko shook his head, "Why did Bunchu wait so long to call me?"
"Didn't want you to worry," Pakkun sniffed. "Even if he'd called you right away and you flew out there, you'd have been stopped at the airport. The whole town's crawling. This way's better. We had to wait for-" He closed his mouth, sniffing at the air and blinking slightly beady eyes at the door. He promptly shot a doggy grin at Kakashi. "Still dragging the kid around with you, eh? You've got it bad."
Naruto crashed into the kitchen, all panting breath, tousled appearance, and rose madder red-blue eyes. Sasuke was much calmer, leaning casually in the doorway, sharingan taking in everything in the room.
"Where is he!" Naruto demanded. "What happened? Why-" He blinked and gave an odd twitch when he caught sight of Pakkun. "What's that doing here...?"
Pakkun bristled, a quietly insulted growl starting in his throat. How rude. He glowered at the blonde boy for a moment, then hopped to the floor. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, not looking the least bit surprised to see him. "Kid," Pakkun greeted, sitting at Sasuke's feet, "you got really bad taste in men."
Naruto sputtered, gaping from the talking dog to Sasuke, to Kakashi to Hiko, and finally giving a frustrated cry of confusion. "What the hell's going on!"
Hiko quickly caught hold of Naruto's shoulders and pressed him down in one of the chairs. "Calm down and we'll explain. No talking till we're done, got it?"
Naruto sent one more uncomfortable look at the dog and then folded his arms. "Make it quick," he muttered. "Iruka-sensei better be all right."
"I'm sure he is," Hiko sighed. He resumed his seat and gave Naruto an edited version of the story. By the time he was finished, Naruto's eyes were as blue as ever. Now he looked more unhappy and nervous than furious and scared. Once again Hiko wished his own son was half as protective and dependent toward him as Naruto was toward Iruka.
Naruto frowned at the table in front of him, doing his best not to throw another fit. He didn't want Iruka to be gone for days. But that was sort of expected, wasn't it? That was Iruka, saving the world one kid at a time. He should have been resigned to it. And they'd been in a really big hurry so it wasn't like Iruka had willingly gone off without saying anything to him. If he hadn't been lured off by that mutant in his head, Kyuubi would have woken him up and Iruka wouldn't have gone without saying goodbye. That meant it was at least partly his own fault, anyway, right? And it wasn't like Iruka was in danger or anything. Iruka used to live with Hiko's family, so he was with friends right now. There wasn't anything to panic about, really.
'You're allowed to panic and overreact,' Kyuubi murmured, humoring him in a tone so sympathetic he might as well have patted Naruto on the head. 'You came home to find Iruka gone who knows where and a dog on the kitchen table. Anyone would freak out.'
'You're the one who freaked over the dog,' Naruto muttered sullenly. 'I was surprised to see him on the table, but I don't have a problem with dogs, even ones that talk. That's kinda cool, really.'
'It's inherently wrong,' stated Kyuubi. 'Dogs are not supposed to talk. And they absolutely are not supposed to come into my house without permission. Get rid of it. Tell Hiko to take it home with him.'
'Now who's overreacting?' asked Naruto. A wan smile started as he listened to Kyuubi fume. His fox's territorial side was too endearing to ignore. 'He's just a little dog. And he's a friend of Sasuke and the pervert. We can't just run him off. Besides, he talks, so he's more like a person than a real dog.'
A mug was placed on the table in front of him, full of steaming light brown liquid. Naruto looked up in surprise, just in time to see Sasuke sit with a mug of his own. He gaped at him for a second, but Sasuke's attention was locked on Hiko. He dropped his eyes back to the drink.
'Wha...'
'You've been shivering since you sat down,' Kyuubi explained, in an amused tone. 'Panicking. He probably thought you were cold. You're covered in goosebumps.'
Naruto grimaced at the blush that rose to his face. Suddenly he was glad Sasuke was making a show of ignoring him. 'It was cold outside,' he glared at the smirking fox. 'Normal people get cold when they go running around in wet fields in the middle of the night. I was not panicking.' He took his hands off the table and rubbed the goosebumps as inconspicuously as possible, willing the embarrassing signs to away.
'Like I said,' Kyuubi drawled, 'you're allowed to panic. It's natural. Iruka's never gone away before so you had no warning. I doubt caffeine and sugar is a good remedy for nervous tremors, but it's the thought that counts. He's making a habit of taking care of you. It must be because you're such a cute little kid when you're trembling and missing your sensei.'
'Asshole,' muttered Naruto. 'If it's okay to panic, stop making fun of me. At least I didn't freak out over a puppy dog.' He took a tentative sip of the drink. Another wan smile broke out over his face when he realized what it was. 'Iruka would have a fit if he found out I was drinking coffee.'
'Better enjoy it before Hiko notices,' said Kyuubi. 'And don't feel too proud of yourself. The kid put cream and sugar in yours. He's drinking his black. Like a man.'
Naruto's smile faded into a glower. 'Do you have to spoil everything?'
'You make it too easy not to,' Kyuubi shrugged. 'At least you're not shivering anymore.'
Kakashi was engaged with staring at Sasuke. The brat hadn't looked at him yet, but it was only a matter of time. He supposed that since it was after midnight, that little action of his was Sasuke's 'social deed of the day' and nothing to make a fuss over. He still wondered what Iruka would say if he knew Naruto was now in danger of picking up Sasuke's bad habits. He shared a sly silent exchange with Pakkun, who was once more seated on the table where he'd be eye level with everyone else. Then he raised the question Sasuke must have been waiting for since the kids came in.
"What were you two up to while we were having a minor crisis?" Kakashi asked, in an innocently curious tone. "It's not like you to miss the...action. Sasuke."
Sure enough, Sasuke gave a full body twitch. What Kakashi hadn't expected was for Naruto to flinch, shaking the entire table. Wide cornered blue eyes shot up, staring at him from a very red face. Kakashi's eye widened slowly.
"Now wait a second," Kakashi frowned, staring at the blatantly guilty looking blonde. "I know I told you to keep at him, but I didn't mean to jump him. You've only known each other for two days..."
"It wasn't like that!" Naruto blurted.
Sasuke snapped a blazing red eyed glare on Naruto, the very first hint of a blush rising to his otherwise livid white face, "Shut up."
"But...!" Naruto looked frantically from Sasuke to the pervert, and then to Hiko, who was starting to get an expression just as shocked and disapproving as the pervert. "But it wasn't like that," he said more quietly, peeking tentatively at Sasuke. "Right...?"
"Idiot," Sasuke grimaced. He shot a disgusted glare at Kakashi. "Nothing happened. Not that it's any of your business. A mutant of your ilk was passing by and decided to be annoying. It had nothing to do with anything, so it doesn't matter." He snapped his glare back to Naruto. "Right?"
"Yeah," Naruto frowned. He blinked at Sasuke for a moment as that blush faded. Then he glowered in annoyance. "That's what I was gonna say if you'd let me finish. Don't tell me to shut up if you're just gonna say the same thing I was gonna say! The pervert's the one making it out like something it wasn't," and he turned his glare on Kakashi. "Nosey old pervert."
"Hmm," Kakashi frowned, his eye narrowing. A mutant of his ilk? Coming from Sasuke he could guess what that meant. Only if it were a mutant like him, he doubted nothing had happened. Especially if it had involved both boys. A mutant of his ilk drawing two boys away from the house in the middle of the night. Something bad enough to get a violent blushing reaction from Sasuke? Yes, he'd have to keep an eye on them. While he highly approved of Sasuke finally getting laid, two days was rushing it. Even he didn't move that quickly.
Hiko broke the uncomfortable impasse by placing a heavy hand on a certain blonde's shoulder. "Naruto," he said quietly, "I'd like to speak with you for a moment."
"Erm, okay," Naruto paled and fidgeted.
"I'm going to bed," Sasuke muttered, pushing back from the table. He was out of the room before the two could reach the doorway, unwilling to be left alone with Kakashi and Pakkun.
.-.
Naruto was very tired by the time he trudged his way upstairs. Hiko could be worse than Iruka when it came to some things. Part of that was because Iruka couldn't say the word sex without blushing and stuttering horribly. Hiko had no such problem. Add the fact that Hiko actually had a boyfriend, and his lectures were considerably more...explicit. Naruto couldn't remember ever blushing as much as he had in the last hour.
'How many times do I have to get The Talk?' Naruto grumbled irritably. 'I'm not stupid. It's not like I don't pick things up at school.'
'This time The Talk was mostly for me,' Kyuubi sniffed, just as irritably. 'Why am I always to blame? I'm no more gay than you are. I'm bi, if anything. And you're in control of the body.'
'Well, technically neither of us was in control tonight,' sighed Naruto. 'Still, it was just a kiss. I don't need an entire lecture over it. It's that old pervert's fault. Now no one's gonna believe nothing happened.'
'It's pure luck nothing did happen,' Kyuubi muttered. 'I'll give him that much. If that mutant could control us enough to make us kiss, he could have made us do anything.'
Naruto scoffed, feeling just as pessimistic, 'Yeah, but a lecture isn't gonna help in that case, anyway.'
'I should have known that mutant was nearby before he got close enough to control us,' said Kyuubi. 'I didn't even smell him on the kid. Either the guy didn't touch him before we got there, or he didn't have a physical body to leave a scent. Either way, that won't happen again.'
'Really?' Naruto grumbled. 'How are you gonna stop it?'
'I'll think of something.'
'You do that,' sighed Naruto. 'I have to think of what to say to Iruka-sensei when he gets back and Hiko blabs on us. I can't believe he reacted like that. And I used to think he was cool. Shows what I know.'
He stopped by the bathroom long enough to wash his legs and feet off. That was at least one reason to be glad Iruka was gone - he hadn't thought twice about how grimy his bare feet were and he was bound to have left some prints on the floor during his rush inside. Not to mention the way Iruka would have reacted to his and Sasuke's little post-midnight excursion. He shot a gloomy look at Sasuke's door on his way to his room. They'd been getting along so well and now this. Sasuke hadn't blamed him for the kiss, he hadn't even cared, he'd even gotten him a drink earlier. And then that nosey old pervert had to go and spoil everything. Well, there was another reason to be glad Iruka wouldn't be back for a few days. He'd have plenty of time for payback.
The first thing Naruto noticed when he entered his room was that his window was open. The second thing was the little red and white envelope sitting on his bed. He stopped just inside the door and looked around warily. Kyuubi was doing his coon hound impression, nose to the air and all but howling for attention.
'What?' Naruto demanded. 'I don't speak coon hound.'
'Moron,' Kyuubi growled. 'I have his scent now. He must have come in here while we were on our way back. We went out Sasuke's window earlier and that,' meaning the envelope, 'wasn't there. I could track him now.'
'Hrm,' Naruto sniffed. 'Is he still around here? I'm too tired to go chasing someone all over town. And what if he controls us again? You haven't figured out a way to block him, yet, right? No point catching him if we can't touch him.'
Grumbled silence answered this reasonable comment. Naruto rolled his eyes. It figured the only time he one-upped Kyuubi was when he was dead tired. He closed his window and plopped on the bed, picking up the envelope with a glare that was more exhausted annoyance than anything. What kind of mutant screwed with people's heads and then left them messages? Then again, Sasuke had compared the guy to Kakashi, so maybe it was just another old pervert. He could already imagine him giving that one-eyed leer and going 'thanks for the show!'
'Asshole,' thought Naruto.
He peeked inside the envelope and stopped. He closed it, eyeballed the familiar logo on the outside, and then peeked in again. Then he exploded.
'It was a frickin stalker! He must have been following us all day! He even had the nerve to develop the pictures at the mall here - what kinda stalker doesn't have his own dark room? Not just any stalker, oh, no, we had to get a perverted lazy stalker. How much you wanna bet that nosey ass at the PhotoBin saw these and told half the town already? Damn it! That's it, forget sleeping it off and forgetting it, we're gonna track this guy and kick his lazy perverted stalking ass right back wherever he came from. Lead the way, boy. I'm gonna kill him!'
'No,' Kyuubi growled sullenly, 'you were right before. He'd be able to control us before we could get close enough to lay a finger on him.'
'Damn it,' Naruto huffed, losing some of his steam. 'I can't believe this...'
He squirmed on his bed, pulling the stack of photos out of the envelope. The one on top would have been a great one if it had been taken by Iruka, or Hiko, or anyone but an unknown perverted stalker. It was a snapshot of him and Sasuke wrestling in the mud. A good shot, too, because it really captured Sasuke's horrified mud splattered face.
'He was in our yard,' Naruto moaned. 'Even if he had one of those stalker zoom cameras, he had to have been close and you didn't even sense him...'
Kyuubi just glowered darkly. There was nothing he could say in his defense.
The second photo was creepier than the first because Sasuke appeared to be staring right at the camera without actually seeing it. Naruto figured it must have been taken right before Sasuke went over to stare at the mud patch again, when they'd been walking around in the trees and he'd just realized he was being ignored. This one definitely hadn't been taken with a zoom. It was too close and clear, despite the drizzling rain.
'You think he was invisible?' Naruto wondered. He was starting to get the shivers again.
'Maybe,' Kyuubi muttered. If he was as disturbed as Naruto, he was keeping it to himself.
Naruto flipped quickly through the rest of the photos, not stopping on any one because each of them was perfectly taken and creepy as hell. There were only three more with him in them. One of him standing by the rock while Sasuke brooded, a strange high angled shot from behind of him opening Sasuke's umbrella for him, and one of him and Sasuke standing on the sidewalk outside the stone wall that surrounded the black windowed house. There were four pictures of Sasuke sitting alone on his rock, each one taken from a different angle. And seven of him standing in the rain outside that supposedly empty house. A few of these were taken from the other side of the stone wall, but one of them was a front shot as if the photographer had been standing in the middle of the street right in front of him.
'That one's almost pornographic,' Kyuubi said, without a trace of humor. 'You weren't the one being stalked.'
'And he said to forget about it,' Naruto shivered.
He quickly turned the photo over, setting it down on top of the others. Then he squinted. Something was written on the back, in cursive romanji, with a large fluid writing style and bright blue ink. He stumbled over the cursive and Kyuubi, despite his dislike of anything educational, read it for him.
'It says, "I'll send the rest to Uchiha-san when I get them developed. Thank you for the memories. No hard feelings. And don't worry about the boy at the PhotoBin, he won't remember ever having seen these." It's signed FS.'
'The bastard,' Naruto glared. 'No hard feelings? He was fucking stalking Sasuke - he made us kiss, and he says no hard feelings? And who the hell is Uchiha? He just outright tells me he's got more of these that he's gonna send to someone else, and no hard feelings? What the hell's wrong with this guy...'
Kyuubi lashed his tails restlessly. 'Better not tell Sasuke about these. If this FS knew you'd worry about the boy at the PhotoBin, he must have done more than control us when he was in here with me. There's probably a reason he left these for us and not Sasuke.'
'Oh, sure,' Naruto scoffed. 'Let's not mention that the guy who was playing a 'joke' on us just happened to be following him around all day taking pictures. Let's just do what Sasuke said and forget about it. That's a great idea!'
'We won't forget,' Kyuubi said, being pointedly calm to Naruto's blatant uncalm. 'He didn't see this mutant when he was staring right at him. It won't do any good to tell him. He's twitchy enough as it is. I have the scent now. If he comes back, I'll know. And I'll be ready for him.'
Naruto shoved the envelope in the bottom drawer of his desk, burying it under a mess of notebooks and loose papers. He really, really hated it when Kyuubi was calm and rational. 'You have a week,' he warned. 'If you can't figure out a way to keep that guy from getting in our head again, I'm telling Sasuke. It might not make a difference, but at least he'll be warned.'
'I only need two days to build a cage,' Kyuubi sniffed.
'Cage?'
'Mm. A cage with a trap door. That should do the trick...'
Naruto's face twisted into a scowl. 'Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?'
'Not yet,' Kyuubi smirked. 'I'll give you a tour when I'm finished. Get a good night's sleep. Assuming the caffeine and sugar doesn't give you nightmares.'
'More like the creepy stalker and pornographic wet Sasuke photos,' Naruto grimaced. 'I swear, you roll me out of bed before noon and I'm going in there and tying your tails in a knot.'
'Ah,' Kyuubi purred. 'I hope you have pleasantly vivid dreams. I know I will.'
'Pervert.'
.-.
TBC
-notes-
Okay, if you didn't guess, FS stands for Fuji Syuusuke from Prince of Tennis, and, yes, photography is one of his hobbies. He was too perfect not to use for this cameo role. As for the emergency Iruka took off to handle, we'll see more of that later, from Iruka's pov. You can bet there's a kid or two over there he'll be bringing with him when he comes home. The house is way too big for only four people. There'll be some more NaruSasu before that happens, though. Fair warning.